Alexandria, Virginia —The Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute filed a federal class-action lawsuit today challenging Virginia’s Fair Housing Law, arguing that it unlawfully forces landlords to submit to warrantless inspections of their property, records, and electronic devices.
Under federal law, participation in the Section 8 housing voucher program—and its required consent to intrusive warrantless searches by government officials—is voluntary. But Virginia’s Fair Housing Law prohibits landlords from declining tenants based on “source of funds,” and effectively forces landlords to accept Section 8 vouchers and comply with the program’s inspection and data-access requirements.
The lawsuit is brought by Lucinda LC, which owns a nine-unit apartment building in Arlington, Virginia, and its property manager, June Wheatley. The plaintiffs seek to represent a class of similarly situated landlords, property managers, and Virginia real estate professionals subject to Virginia’s Fair Housing Law.
The landlord came under enforcement after receiving a phone call from a housing “tester” who misrepresented himself as a prospective renter and asked whether Wheatley and Lucinda LC accepted Section 8 vouchers. After Wheatley responded that the unit did not participate in Section 8, the organization filed a discrimination complaint with Virginia authorities, despite having no intention of renting the apartment. No tenant was denied housing.
“The Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute is proud to protect the constitutional rights of Virginia landlords to just to rent out their property,” said Ted Frank, HLLI’s co-founder and director of litigation. “Section 8 is voluntary, and Virginia cannot use housing law to coerce warrantless searches.”
The lawsuit asks the court to block enforcement of the law and reaffirm that states may not condition the right to rent property on surrendering constitutional protections.
The name of the case is Lucinda LC and June Wheatley v. Jay Jones et al., No. 1:26-cv-252 (E.D. Va.). For more information about this case, please see our case webpage or contact the attorney below:
Ted Frank, Director of Litigation and Senior Attorney
(703) 203-3848, ted.frank@hlli.org
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