Recent Court Rulings

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Facts: A local PHA sent a resident a notice of the termination of her participation in the Section 8 program. The PHA claimed that the resident improperly permitted an unauthorized occupant to reside with her and this occupant violated the rule against criminal activity by committing the crimes of terroristic threats, harassment, and disorderly conduct. The resident requested a hearing to challenge the PHA’s decision.

Facts: An owner sued the city over a new law that bars owners from screening out prospective tenants who use Section 8 vouchers. Under the new rules, owners can screen prospective renters but can no longer stipulate that Section 8 tenants aren’t allowed. The ordinance grants reprieve for landlords who can show compliance would create an “undue hardship,” though only after a discrimination claim is filed with the city’s Civil Rights Department.

Facts: A Section 8 resident signed a HUD model lease for a unit. The term of the lease was for one year, and the resident remained in the unit after the first year on a month-to-month basis. The owner filed for eviction based on the nonpayment of rent in the amount of $1,402.

Facts: A resident of a HUD-assisted site received a rent subsidy that reduced her monthly portion of the rent to $139 of the total rent of $532. The owner sent the resident a “Notice of Termination of Lease” informing her that her lease would be terminated effective Dec. 31, 2016.

Facts: A resident applied for the Section 8 program through the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center (VAMC), and the Veteran’s Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) program screened and approved him. The resident entered into a Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract with a private landlord. Under the HAP contract, the resident agreed “not to permit or act or practice illegal or legal acts injurious to the building, or persons, or in the building, on the property, or which may be disturbing to other residents or neighbors.

Facts: Following nonpayment of rent, a local PHA served a subsidized housing resident with an eviction notice. On the hearing date, the parties entered into an agreement that suspended the eviction action on the condition that the resident make a fixed monthly payment for use and occupancy and for past rent due. The parties agreed that if the resident failed to adhere to the payment schedule, the PHA could revive the eviction action.

Facts: A resident of Iranian national origin filed a discrimination lawsuit against the local PHA and its employees. The resident represented herself and filed the lawsuit on her own without an attorney’s assistance.

Facts: A group of residents of a Section 8 site claimed that the site manager didn’t do enough to protect them from bedbugs. Current and former residents of the site asked the court to certify a class based on the PHA’s allegedly inadequate response to a years-long bedbug infestation.

Facts: In October 2017, a PHA sent a resident an eviction notice explaining that she had breached her lease by threatening and punching the site manager, violently smacking a clipboard from the manager’s hands, and physically injuring her. The notice identified sections of the lease that the resident had breached, and it explained the legal basis for evicting her.

Facts: A resident’s sister and other guests engaged in a physical and verbal altercation with another resident of the site. The altercation was captured on video, and the police responded to the site. As a result, the owner sent the resident a notice to vacate based on the alleged breach of the lease, the Rules and Regulations, and the state’s landlord-tenant code. The resident didn’t vacate the unit, so the owner sued for possession of the unit.