Mass Civil Rights Complaints Filed Against 165 Chicago-Area Real Estate Agents, Brokerage Firms, and Landlords for Rampant Housing Discrimination

Non-profit watchdog group’s historic undercover investigation uncovered systematic and illegal discrimination against families with Housing Choice Vouchers

January 20, 2025—Chicago, IL—Following a sweeping undercover investigation by a housing watchdog group, today Housing Rights Initiative (HRI) filed the largest housing discrimination case in Illinois history against 165 real estate agents, brokerage firms, and landlords alleging they illegally discriminated against low-income families who sought to use Housing Choice Vouchers (“Section 8”). HRI submitted the 176 complaints against 165 defendants in a massive series of filings with the Illinois Department of Human Rights. The defendants include some of the largest real estate companies in the country, including Coldwell Banker, Christie’s International Real Estate, Keller Williams, and Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Chicago.

HRI is represented in these complaints by two public interest law firms, Handley Farah & Anderson PLLC and Peter Romer-Friedman Law PLLC, and by Disability Rights Advocates, a national nonprofit disability rights legal center with offices in Chicago, Berkeley, and New York.

In 2022, Governor Pritzker signed HB 2775, which made it illegal for landlords, brokers, and agents to discriminate against housing applicants who seek to use housing vouchers to pay their rent. Today’s historic filing builds upon that foundation by holding discriminatory real estate companies accountable and sending a message that landlords can’t slam the door in the face of low-income families in Illinois.

Housing voucher holders are disproportionately families, people of color, and people with disabilities.

Over the course of the past year, HRI trained, equipped, and deployed a team of undercover investigators, who posed as prospective tenants with Section 8 vouchers. These investigators contacted hundreds of brokers and landlords by text message to determine whether they were complying with the Illinois Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination against voucher holders. For completed tests (in which HRI’s investigators were able to determine whether a real estate company accepted vouchers), HRI found that voucher holders were explicitly discriminated against approximately 36% the time.

Below are examples of the alleged discrimination that HRI uncovered during its investigation:

• The complaints allege that a broker at Coldwell Banker Realty, which is one of the largest brokerage firms in the county, illegally discriminated against one of HRI’s undercover investigators:
  
  

• The complaints also allege that a broker at Baird & Warner Realty, a residential real estate services company based in Chicago, illegally discriminated against one of HRI’s undercover investigators:
  
  

View the full list of alleged violators and screenshots of the discriminatory and illegal conduct.

The goal of these filings is to get the real estate companies to stop their discriminatory housing practices that are exacerbating Chicago’s homelessness and affordable housing crisis.

Aaron Carr, Founder & Executive Director of Housing Rights Initiative:

“Today is the day where an unscrupulous landlord gets inaugurated into the White House,” said Aaron Carr, Founder and Executive Director of Housing Rights Initiative. “Let this historic filing send an important message to every real estate player: no matter how empowered you feel over the next four years, you will be held accountable to the law. Break the law and it will not be a question of whether you get caught, but when.”

Joshua Murillo, Deputy Executive Director of Housing Rights Initiative:

“Discrimination against voucher holders is not just a violation of the law—it’s a barrier that keeps families in Illinois from accessing stable and affordable housing. HRI’s investigation and this filing are critical steps toward holding landlords and brokers accountable and ensuring that everyone, regardless of how they pay their rent, has a fair chance at finding a home.”

State Senator Javier L. Cervantes:

“Access to safe, stable, and affordable housing is a fundamental right. Denying Sec8 housing applicants an opportunity to live in safe housing perpetuates inequality and reinforces systemic barriers,” said Senator Javier L. Cervantes (D-Chicago). “These practices are discriminatory and exacerbate the housing and rental search process for members of our community.”

State Senator Robert Peters:

“If we want to have good public safety, then we need to have good housing. Anyone who is looking for housing with the assistance of a voucher, should not have to worry about being discriminated against,” said Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago). “Sadly discrimination still happens in the rental search process, and it makes it harder for members of the community to ensure their right to affordable and safe housing.”

State Senator Willie Preston:

“The pain of living without a roof over your head is a reality no Illinoian should endure in 2025. In the 1960s, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. came to Chicago to fight for fair housing, recognizing—then as we do now—that housing is not a privilege but a fundamental human right. In Illinois, we will not tolerate those who disregard our laws and exploit our communities.”

State Representative Will Guzzardi:

“We fought hard for years to make sure that discrimination against voucher holders was illegal in Illinois. If landlords are continuing these discriminatory practices, they need to be held accountable. The cases uncovered in this investigation are egregious, and I hope this lawsuit sends a clear message to every landlord and broker in our state: just because someone gets help to afford an apartment doesn’t give you the right to turn them away. Today’s action is a vital step toward securing housing justice for all Illinoisans.”

State Representative Yolonda Morris:

“As a strong advocate for equitable housing access, I am deeply concerned about the ongoing discrimination faced by low-income tenants, particularly those utilizing housing vouchers such as Section 8,” said State Representative Yolonda Morris. “It has come to my attention that certain stakeholders, including brokers and landlords, are not only holding apartments off the market but also misrepresenting their rental policies by falsely advertising as accepting low-income tenants.”

“This behavior not only undermines the intent of housing assistance programs but also perpetuates systemic inequality within our communities. I urge all stakeholders to adhere to fair housing laws and promote inclusivity by genuinely welcoming all prospective tenants, regardless of their income status. Together, we can work towards a more just housing landscape for all Illinois residents.”

Peter Romer-Friedman, Founder of Peter Romer-Friedman Law and Former Labor Counsel to Senator Edward M. Kennedy

“This thorough investigation and massive fair housing complaint should be a wake-up call for all landlords, brokers, and agents in Chicago. It’s unlawful and immoral to refuse to rent to families simply because they want to use a housing voucher. And this troubling practice undermines our federal housing programs that are supposed to help millions of Americans access quality, affordable housing.” 

Emily Roznowski, Staff Attorney at Disability Rights Advocates

“People with disabilities make up a disproportionate share of housing choice voucher holders. HRI’s investigation and the complaints filed today will ensure that people with disabilities in Illinois have access to the decent, safe, and accessible affordable housing of their choice. No one should be turned away from renting an apartment based on their source of income, whether that income comes from a voucher or Social Security Disability Insurance.”

Matthew Handley, Partner at Handley Farah & Anderson PLLC

“Source of income discrimination in the greater Chicago area is a pernicious and persistent problem, further aggravating the affordable housing crisis that has plagued cities around the country.  The complaints filed today are designed to stop this practice.”

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About Housing Rights Initiative – Housing Rights Initiative takes a proactive and systematic approach to targeting, investigating, and fighting fraudulent real estate practices, promoting fair housing, and connecting tenants to legal support. HRI educates tenants about their rights to fair and affordable housing, launches investigations, and generates class-action lawsuits against predatory real estate companies. Through a legal mobilization effort, HRI lays the foundation for tenants who have been defrauded or discriminated against by the real estate industry, to seek redress and secure their rights under the law. HRI’s successful investigations into and class action lawsuits against Kushner Companies were featured in the Netflix documentary Dirty Money. www.housingrightsUS.org

Peter Romer-Friedman Law PLLC is a public interest law firm that represents people, non-profits, and unions to advance social and economic justice in class actions and individual cases involving civil rights, employment, constitutional rights, consumer protection, and tech abuses. The firm’s lawyers have secured more than $1.4 billion of relief in class and individual actions and obtained novel legal precedents, groundbreaking settlements, and impactful reforms from corporations and governments.

About Disability Rights Advocates – With offices in Chicago, Berkeley, and New York, Disability Rights Advocates is the leading national nonprofit disability rights legal center. Its mission is to advance equal rights and opportunity for people with all types of disabilities nationwide. DRA represents people with all types of disabilities in complex, system-changing class action and other high impact cases. Thanks to DRA’s precedent-setting work, people with disabilities across the country have dramatically improved access to housing, education, health care, employment, transportation, and voting. For more information, visit www.dralegal.org.

Handley Farah & Anderson is a law firm that seeks to improve the world. We fight for: workers deprived of wages, consumers deceived about products, tenants denied access to housing, farmers mistreated by processors, parents deprived of adequate parental leave, investors who were defrauded, small businesses harmed by antitrust violations, persons with disabilities denied access, whistleblowers who uncover fraud, and women and communities of color subject to discrimination.