Recent Court Rulings

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Facts: A disabled resident living in a Section 8 assisted living apartment refused to pay for damage to the building’s motorized front door. The owner sued to evict the resident.

Facts: A group of Section 8 residents claimed that owners improperly charged them for washer and dryer rentals, renter’s insurance, and covered parking. The residents argued that “side payment” for these services constitute impermissible rent under the Section 8 contracts and regulations, and the owners therefore violated the Section 8 contracts and submitted false claims for reimbursement under the federal program.

Facts: An owner sued to evict a tenant for breach of lease conditions other than nonpayment of rent. The parties eventually resolved the dispute through arbitration, which was memorialized in a settlement agreement. After the settlement, in May 2016, the tenant was involved in altercations in and around the site that escalated into physical violence and threats. As a result, the owner filed a motion for an evidentiary hearing with the trial court, asking it to find the tenant in default of the settlement.

Facts: A disabled resident received permission to have her son live with her as a live-in aide. The son signed a live-in aide agreement in which he agreed he was an “employee of Lou White” and that he “ha[d] no other rights to the unit. After the resident passed away, the son didn’t vacate the apartment immediately. He spoke to property managers about transferring the unit into his name. He was told he couldn’t live in the two-bedroom unit by himself and that he had no continued right to occupy the unit after his mother’s passing.

Facts: For most of her life, a resident’s daughter lived at a Section 8 site. In or prior to 2007, without her knowledge, her mother removed her from the household composition forms. She continued to live in the apartment. When her mother moved out and she sought to take over the lease, HUD denied the continuation of the Section 8 subsidy because she wasn’t a party to the lease.

Facts: A young child was shot and killed while visiting a resident at an assisted site. During her tenancy, the resident had several lease violations and alleged violations. These problems ranged from having breed-restricted dogs in her apartment, to playing loud music, to allowing individuals not on the lease to live with her.

Facts: A public housing resident appealed a trial court order granting possession of her apartment to the owner based on her violation of a settlement agreement. The resident claimed she didn’t breach the agreement. Specifically, she asserted that the owner failed to establish her conduct affected the health, safety, or right to peaceful enjoyment of the community.

Facts: A resident asked a court to overturn a local PHA’s decision to terminate her participation in the Section 8 program. The PHA sought to terminate the resident’s benefits because she didn’t report the births of two of her grandchildren in the household within 30 days as required by PHA’s administrative plan, and because she failed to pay rent for several months, which was claimed to be a “serious or repeated” lease violation.

Facts: After a local PHA placed an applicant for the Section 8 voucher program on a waiting list, the applicant claimed that he was entitled to, and has been denied, preferential treatment due to his mental disabilities, which include bipolar disorder/manic depression, schizoaffective disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Facts: A resident who has lived at a site managed by a local PHA for over 10 years sued the PHA, claiming that the PHA, as his landlord, attempted to have him sign a “lease that doesn’t have in it the accommodation for people with disabilities which is HUD regulation that is suppose[d] to be put in the lease.” The PHA asked the court for a judgment without a trial in its favor.

Ruling: A Mississippi district court granted the PHA’s request.