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Affordable housing in NYC is critically important for low-income residents. Section 8 vouchers, which are in limited supply, are like gold to their holders since they pay for the majority of the rental amount for a private apartment (typically, the holder pays 1/3 of monthly income to the landlord and Section 8 picks up the rest).

On October 27, 2008, New York County Supreme Court Justice Emily Jane Goodman reinstated a Section 8 voucher after it was terminated for a formerly homeless family because they missed two inspection appointments scheduled by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

The family was given a time between 9:30 and 4:30 for the inspection. The disabled husband waited for the inspector while his wife was at work. At some point he went out to the store, telling the superintendent to tell the inspector that he would be back in a few minutes. The inspector arrived during that time period, but left before the husband returned.

On the second inspection date, the family said an inspector came, but apparently it was not the HPD inspector. 

A hearing officer upheld the agency’s decision to terminate the Section 8 voucher, but the Supreme Court reinstated it, finding that the penalty was “so disproportionate to the offense that it shocks the conscience.” The judge noted that the HPD refused to reinspect the apartment during the time that the case was pending, thus adhering to rigid requirements and disregarding the purpose of the inspection to ensure safe and habitable housing.