Facts: A disabled resident sued the owner and management of a low-income senior housing site for discrimination and retaliation. After receiving an announcement that the site was opening its Section 8 waiting list, the resident completed an application for the Section 8 housing...
Facts: A Section 8 resident signed a one-year lease, which required her to pay a security deposit and $465 each month. Shortly after moving in, the resident thought she heard bats in the walls of her unit. She began to run the water for extended periods of time, including...
Facts: After a hearing, a PHA terminated a resident’s Section 8 voucher and denied her request for reasonable accommodation. The resident then sued the PHA for allegedly violating her due process rights.
HUD is expected to announce a Final Rule implementing the revisions to the requirement for disclosure of Social Security numbers, says Linda Kornegay, director of HUD's Rental Housing Improvement Integrity Project (RHIIP) Listserv.
Facts: An occupant sued the local PHA for discrimination for failure to lease him the unit in which he claimed he had resided with his mother before her death.
As a child, the occupant moved with his mother and her husband into the unit. But records show that he moved out...
You can—and should—evict residents who engage in illegal drug activity in their units. But make sure you have adequate proof that the illegal activity took place.
Facts: A PHA filed an eviction lawsuit against a resident based on drug-related criminal activity and an altercation with a neighbor that disturbed other neighbors.
The resident was arrested for driving under the influence of psychotropic medication in August 2011. A year...
Before seeking to evict a resident for failing to comply with Section 8 rules, make sure you comply with any local notice requirements that would give the resident an opportunity to cure his Section 8 lease violation. As stated in the previous item, don't assume that termination of Section 8...
Facts: The lease between an owner and a Section 8 resident included an addendum providing that "[t]he owner shall not terminate the lease except for ... [m]aterial noncompliance with the lease." The addendum further specified that before terminating the lease, the...
Beware of telling ethnic prospects or residents not to cook certain foods with exotic or unpleasant odors. Experts say that there's a common misconception among even well-meaning site managers that people from certain countries cook foods that give off objectionable odors. Sometimes, it'...
Facts: In March 2010, an applicant applied to a PHA for admission into the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program. The PHA denied her application based on the results of her criminal background check, indicating that she didn't provide evidence of rehabilitation, and because, at the...
HUD recently released Notice PIH 2012-28 “State Registered Lifetime Sex Offenders in Federally Assisted Housing.” Although this notice was released under the Public and Indian Housing Department, it still applies to many multifamily programs. The notice supersedes Notice H 2009-11...
