Denied an Apartment Because of Your Section 8 Voucher? Massachusetts Law Says That Is Discrimination

In Massachusetts, a landlord who refuses to rent to you because you have a Section 8 voucher, a MRVP voucher or any other housing subsidy is breaking the law. So is a landlord who refuses because of something the program requires, like an inspection or a standard lease addendum (G.L. c. 151B, § 4(10)). You have 300 days to file with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, and if you take the case to court and win, the landlord can be ordered to pay actual damages, punitive damages and your attorney’s fees (G.L. c. 151B, § 9).

Here is what counts as discrimination, what to write down, and how to file.

What the statute says

Chapter 151B makes it unlawful for anyone furnishing rental accommodations “to discriminate against any individual who is a recipient of federal, state, or local public assistance … or who is a tenant receiving federal, state, or local housing subsidies, including rental assistance or rental supplements, because the individual is such a recipient, or because of any requirement of such public assistance, rental assistance, or housing subsidy program” (G.L. c. 151B, § 4(10)).

Two parts of that sentence matter. The first bans rejecting you because you have a voucher. The second bans rejecting you because of what the voucher program requires. That second clause is what makes the “I don’t do the paperwork” excuse illegal.

Who is protected

The protection is broader than Section 8. Section 4(10) covers two groups of people.

• Tenants who receive a federal, state or local housing subsidy, “including rental assistance or rental supplements.” That includes the federal Housing Choice Voucher program, state vouchers such as MRVP and AHVP, and local rental assistance programs.
• People who receive federal, state or local public assistance, “including medical assistance.” A landlord who turns you away because you receive public benefits is covered by the same rule, even if you have no housing voucher at all.

The statute applies to “any person furnishing credit, services or rental accommodations.” That reaches owners, and it can also reach the property managers, agents and brokers who handle the rental for them. If a management company or broker did the screening, write down who you dealt with.

“We don’t take programs” is not a neutral business decision

Landlords often say they have nothing against voucher holders, they just do not want to deal with the housing authority. The Supreme Judicial Court rejected that argument in DiLiddo v. Oxford Street Realty, Inc., 450 Mass. 66 (2007). A landlord refused a subsidized tenant because the program’s standard lease allowed the tenant to end the tenancy on short notice. The court held that refusing a tenant because of a program requirement violates § 4(10) whether or not the landlord has any ill will toward subsidy recipients. In the court’s words, “the statute contains no language requiring a showing of ‘animus,'” and the court refused to read in an exception for landlords who claim the program’s rules would cost them money.

The same decision closed another door. The landlord in DiLiddo said it had relied on its lawyer’s advice. The court held that advice of counsel is not a defense to a § 4(10) claim, because the statute does not require a willful or intentional violation.

So the following are all discrimination under Massachusetts law when the reason is the voucher or its requirements:

• Refusing to fill out the housing authority’s Request for Tenancy Approval or other landlord paperwork.
• Refusing to allow the program’s inspection.
• Refusing to sign the program’s lease addendum or tenancy addendum.
• Telling you the unit is no longer available after learning you have a voucher.
• Applying a minimum-income rule to the full rent without counting the portion the subsidy pays, which may amount to rejecting you because of a program requirement.
• Quoting a higher rent or demanding extra deposits once you mention the voucher.

Ads and statements count too

It is separately unlawful to publish any notice, statement or advertisement for covered housing that “indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on … public assistance recipiency” (G.L. c. 151B, § 4(7B)). “No Section 8,” “no programs” and “no vouchers” in a listing are evidence, and for most multi-unit and other covered housing the listing itself can be a violation. Phrases like “working professionals only” are worth saving too, since they may show the same intent. Screenshot it with the date visible before it disappears.

Does federal law help?

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability (42 U.S.C. § 3604). It does not list source of income or voucher status. Your source-of-income claim is a Massachusetts claim. That matters for where you file.

What to document

Discrimination cases are won on contemporaneous records. Starting today:

• Save the listing. Screenshot the ad, price, date and contact information.
• Save every message. Texts, emails, voicemails and application portals.
• Write down every call. Date, time, who you spoke to, what they said.
• Note when things changed. If the landlord was eager until you mentioned the voucher, write down exactly when and what happened next.
• Keep your voucher paperwork and any inspection scheduling.
• Check the unit afterward. If it is re-listed or rented to someone without a voucher, that is evidence.

If you can, have a friend without a voucher inquire about the same unit. Different treatment is powerful proof.

Where to file and when

File a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD). The deadline is strict: a complaint “must be so filed within 300 days after the alleged act of discrimination” (G.L. c. 151B, § 5). Count from the day you were refused, not from when you realized it was illegal. MCAD accepts complaints from the person aggrieved or their attorney.

You can also go to court. Ninety days after filing with MCAD, or sooner if a commissioner agrees in writing, you may bring a civil action in Superior Court or, because this involves residential housing, in the Housing Court for the district where it happened, within three years of the discrimination (G.L. c. 151B, § 9). For example, in an unpublished decision the Appeals Court reversed a Housing Court judge who threw out a tenant’s fair housing suit because the MCAD had already dismissed her complaint for lack of probable cause (Morecroft v. CPF Taylor Pond, LLC, No. 24-P-1210 (Mass. App. Ct. Nov. 20, 2025) (Rule 23.0 decision)). There is also a route directly to court without an MCAD complaint, but that must be filed within one year. Which path to take depends on the facts, so ask a lawyer before you choose.

One rule to keep in mind if you start at the MCAD and later go to court: once you file the court case, you must tell the MCAD, your MCAD complaint is dismissed without prejudice, and you cannot bring the same complaint back to the MCAD (G.L. c. 151B, § 9).

What happens at the MCAD, step by step

Many voucher cases start at the MCAD. Here is the path a housing complaint takes under G.L. c. 151B, § 5.

1. You file within 300 days. Describe what happened, when, and who was involved. Attach or keep copies of the listing, messages and your notes.
2. Investigation. A commissioner is assigned and the MCAD staff investigates.
3. Probable cause decision. The commissioner decides whether there is probable cause to credit your complaint. If the answer is no, you get written notice and have ten days after service to ask for a preliminary hearing on probable cause. The MCAD must grant that request.
4. Choosing court. If there is probable cause in a housing case, both sides are notified that either one may choose to have the case decided in court instead of at the MCAD. That choice must be made in writing within 20 days. If someone chooses court, the MCAD complaint is dismissed without prejudice and the case moves to court.
5. Conciliation. If no one chooses court, the commissioner tries to resolve the case through conference, conciliation and persuasion.
6. Hearing. If the case does not resolve, it goes to a hearing before the commission. Testimony is under oath, and the commission is not bound by the strict rules of evidence used in court.

If the commission finds that the landlord discriminated, it can order the landlord to stop and to take corrective action. In a housing case it can award damages, which include what you spent on other housing, storage, moving and other costs the discrimination caused. It can also assess a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for a first violation, up to $25,000 if the landlord had one other discrimination finding in the prior five years, and up to $50,000 if it had two or more in the prior seven years (G.L. c. 151B, § 5).

What you can win

If the court finds for you, it may award actual damages and punitive damages, and it “shall” award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs unless special circumstances would make that unjust (G.L. c. 151B, § 9). Actual damages are meant to cover what the discrimination cost you; ask a lawyer about what your case may include. The fee provision means a lawyer can take a strong case even when the dollar amount is modest.

If the landlord retaliates

Filing a complaint is protected. It is a separate violation to discriminate against someone because they opposed a practice forbidden by chapter 151B or filed a complaint, testified or assisted in an MCAD proceeding (G.L. c. 151B, § 4(4)). It is also unlawful to coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with anyone exercising a right under the chapter, or with someone who helped them (G.L. c. 151B, § 4(4A)). If you are already a tenant and things change after you complain, write down every change and its date.

Common mistakes

• Waiting. The 300-day MCAD deadline and the one-year direct court deadline run from the refusal. They do not wait for you to finish your housing search.
• Losing the listing. Ads are taken down or edited quickly. A screenshot taken the same day is worth more than a description months later.
• Relying on federal law alone. Voucher status is a Massachusetts protection. A federal complaint that does not also raise the state claim can miss the point of your case.
• Arguing at the door. You do not have to convince the landlord. Ask your questions, take notes, and leave. The record you build matters more than the argument you win.
• Letting the voucher lapse. Keep searching and keep in touch with your housing authority about your voucher’s deadlines. A claim does not replace a home.

Recent Massachusetts appeals decisions

These recent Massachusetts appellate decisions show how courts are handling these issues. Unpublished Rule 23.0 decisions are persuasive only, not binding precedent.

• Morecroft v. CPF Taylor Pond, LLC (Appeals Court, November 20, 2025; unpublished): An MCAD lack of probable cause dismissal did not bar a tenant’s later fair housing suit in Housing Court.
• Criswell v. Caritas Communities Inc. (Appeals Court, December 4, 2025; unpublished): A court appeal from a local human rights commission’s no probable cause finding was dismissed because the transcripts were not delivered on time.
• 387 Newton Street LLC v. Nwoye (Appeals Court, October 7, 2025; unpublished): A Section 8 landlord could end a lease at term for genuine owner family use stated in the notice.
• Francis v. Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department (Appeals Court, March 9, 2026; unpublished): A discrimination claim not filed with the MCAD within 300 days was time barred.
• PRI Glen Grove v. Laffan (Appeals Court, September 1, 2026; unpublished): An eviction of a disabled subsidized tenant was vacated because the judge may have rejected her accommodation defense only for lack of medical records.

See more decisions: Massachusetts appeals decisions in 2026 and Massachusetts appeals decisions in 2025.

What to do now

Write down what happened while you remember it. Note the date of the refusal and count forward 300 days. Keep looking for housing; you do not have to lose your voucher to bring a claim. Then call a lawyer.

Frequently asked questions

The landlord says the rent is too high for my voucher. Is that discrimination?

Not by itself. The housing authority sets what it will approve. But if the landlord raised the price after learning about the voucher, or will not negotiate when it would with anyone else, that may be discrimination. Keep the original listing.

My landlord lives in the building. Does the law still apply?

Section 4(10) does not contain the owner-occupied exception that appears in some other parts of § 4. Whether an exemption applies to your situation depends on the building and the facts. Ask a lawyer.

Do I need a lawyer to file with MCAD?

No. You can file yourself. But the fee-shifting provision in § 9 means many lawyers will take a strong housing discrimination case, and the 300-day clock does not stop while you decide.

I was already a tenant and the landlord refused to renew once I got a voucher. Is that covered?

Section 4(10) covers anyone furnishing rental accommodations and does not distinguish between applicants and existing tenants. Document the timing and talk to a lawyer.

How long do I have to act?

Three deadlines matter. You have 300 days from the refusal to file with the MCAD (G.L. c. 151B, § 5). If you file with the MCAD, you can later go to court, but no later than three years after the discrimination. If you skip the MCAD and go straight to court, you must file within one year (G.L. c. 151B, § 9).

I get MassHealth or other benefits but no housing voucher. Am I protected?

Yes. Section 4(10) protects recipients of federal, state or local public assistance, including medical assistance, not only voucher holders. A landlord may not refuse you because you receive those benefits.

The landlord says a lawyer told them they did not have to take vouchers. Is that a defense?

No. The Supreme Judicial Court held in DiLiddo that advice of counsel is not a defense to a § 4(10) claim.

Can the landlord punish me for filing a complaint?

No. Retaliating against someone for filing a complaint or taking part in an MCAD case is a separate violation of chapter 151B (G.L. c. 151B, § 4(4)).

If a landlord turned you away because of your voucher, call Doubleday Law at (617) 575-2006 or contact us online.