Public Housing Applicant Never Completed Application

Facts: A prospective resident sued to compel the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to reinstate her Section 8 housing voucher and to enforce a lease agreement she signed for a unit. The applicant had received a 180-day Section 8 voucher in July 2009. NYCHA located a unit for the applicant on Nov. 17, 2009, and advised her that she had to pay $375 within five days or lose the unit. The applicant didn't contact NYCHA until Dec. 14, and was then told that her lease was canceled because she didn't pay the fee. In January 2010, the applicant's Section 8 voucher expired, and NYCHA told her that no extension was available. The applicant claimed that NYCHA violated its own policy by not stopping the clock on the Section 8 voucher after she submitted a housing application and signed a lease.

Decision: The court ruled against the applicant and dismissed the case.

Reasoning: Since the applicant never paid the $375 fee, there was never an effective lease agreement. So the clock continued to run on her 180-day voucher.

• Bridges v. Rhea, October 2010