Dos & Don'ts, Q & A, Recent Court Rulings, HUD Audits, In the News

Resident Omitted Self-Employment Income at Recertification

October 17, 2014    

Facts: As a participant in the voucher program, a resident attended a recertification meeting in November 2010. In her recertification application, she stated that she didn’t receive income from self-employment, and listed Social Security payments as the sole source of...

Owner Must File Eviction Case on New Grounds

October 17, 2014    

Facts: On June 1, 2012, a PHA executed a housing assistance payments (HAP) contract with an owner, and the owner entered into a Section 8 lease with a resident. The rent under the contract was $1,250; the PHA provided assistance of $1,216 per month, making the resident’s...

Owner Not Liable for Former Employee’s Retaliation Claims

October 17, 2014    

Facts: A site manager claimed that her former employer retaliated against her for opposing unlawful housing discrimination and unlawful employment discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. She claimed that she was harassed and ultimately...

PHA Not Liable for Resident's Dog Bite Injuries

September 27, 2014    

Facts: A resident sued the local PHA for injuries she suffered when another resident’s dog bit her. The other resident had acquired the dog, a pit bull, in late 2009. The suing resident described the dog as aggressive and vicious, barking at her ferociously, and jumping on...

Owner Can Refuse to Rent to Sex Offender

September 27, 2014    

Facts: A prospective resident sued two private apartment building owners for refusing to rent him a unit. The prospective resident tried to rent a unit using a voucher provided through the local PHA. But after he applied for a unit, each owner informed him that he hadn’t...

PHA Can Terminate Subsidy for Serious Lease Violations

September 27, 2014    

Facts: The brother of a Section 8 resident often visited the resident’s unit and babysat her children. In October 2011, the police investigated the brother after a confidential informant told officers that the brother kept a black .380 caliber firearm in the resident...

PHA Not Liable for Discrimination

September 12, 2014    

Facts: When a resident lived in another county, the local PHA approved her reasonable accommodation request for a live-in aide. The PHA found that the resident has a permanent cognitive disorder and “needs 24 hours a day care to function normally.” The resident...

PHA Bypassed Due Process Requirements in Seeking Eviction

September 12, 2014    

Facts: In June 2011, a resident signed a one-year lease to rent a unit. The resident was initially approved for rental assistance that reduced her rent to $199 per month. She paid that amount until her next certification in January 2012, when her subsidy was increased to an...

HUD Updates Form 92006

September 12, 2014    

HUD recently updated and posted a new HUD Form 92006, “Supplement to Application for Federally Assisted Housing,” to the HUDClips website. This form has an updated expiration date of Nov. 30, 2015. And owners and managers must begin using this new form immediately. The form can be...

Social Security Reverses Its Decision on Benefit Letters

September 12, 2014    

At the end of 2013, the Social Security Administration (SSA) posted information that it intended to stop providing paper benefit/award letters from the local SSA offices beginning in February 2014. The rationale was that requiring individuals to use the online technological investments that SSA...

Report Describes Growing Affordable Rental Housing Gap

September 12, 2014    

On Aug. 25, the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) released a paper entitled “The Affordable Rental Housing Gap Persists.” It summarizes the findings of a report NLIHC recently published on the availability of affordable rental housing for lower income households and...

Federal Court of Appeals Denies HUD's Request for PBCA Rehearing

August 17, 2014    

On Aug. 8, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied HUD’s request for a rehearing and rehearing en banc in the ongoing performance-based contract administrator (PBCA) lawsuit. PBCAs administer Section 8 housing assistance payment (HAP) contracts for HUD.