• NY Apartment Law
  • Fair & Affordable Housing
  • Commercial Lease Law
  • Guidebooks
  • Archives
  • Main Articles
  • Departments
  • eAlerts
  • Blogs
  • Log In
  • Log Out
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • NY Apartment Law
  • New York Apartment Law Insider
  • New York Landlord V. Tenant
  • Co-Op & Condo Case Law Digest
  • New York Rent Regulation Checklist, Fourth Edition
  • 2025 New York City Apartment Management Checklist
  • Fair & Affordable Housing
  • Fair Housing Coach
  • Assisted Housing Management Insider
  • Tax Credit Housing Management Insider
  • Fair Housing Boot Camp. Basic Training For New Hires
  • Commercial Lease Law
  • Commercial Lease Law Insider
  • Best Commercial Lease Clauses, 17/e
  • Best Commercial Lease Clauses: Tenant's Edition
  • Best Commercial Lease Clauses, 17/e
  • Best Commercial Lease Clauses, 17/e
  • Main Articles
  • Features
  • Certification
  • Compliance
  • Crime & Security
  • Dealing with Households
  • Income Calculations
  • Maintenance
  • Screening Applicants
  • Departments
  • Dos and Don'ts
  • Q and A
  • Recent Court Rulings
  • HUD Audits
  • In the News
  • Ask the Insider
  • Ask the Insider
  • Send Us A Question
May 29, 2025
We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
The Habitat Group Logo
  • NY Apartment Law
    • New York Apartment Law Insider
    • New York Landlord V. Tenant
    • Co-Op & Condo Case Law Digest
    • New York Rent Regulation Checklist, Fourth Edition
    • 2025 New York City Apartment Management Checklist
  • Fair & Affordable Housing
    • Fair Housing Coach
    • Assisted Housing Management Insider
    • Tax Credit Housing Management Insider
    • Fair Housing Boot Camp. Basic Training For New Hires
  • Commercial Lease Law
    • Commercial Lease Law Insider
    • Best Commercial Lease Clauses, 17/e
      • Best Commercial Lease Clauses, 17/e
    • Best Commercial Lease Clauses: Tenant's Edition
  • Guidebooks
  • May 29, 2025
  • Log In
  • Log Out
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • May 29, 2025
AHMI Logo.webp
  • Archives
  • Main Articles
    • Features
    • Certification
    • Compliance
    • Crime & Security
    • Dealing with Households
    • Income Calculations
    • Maintenance
    • Screening Applicants
  • Departments
    • Dos and Don'ts
    • Q and A
    • Recent Court Rulings
    • HUD Audits
    • In the News
    • Ask the Insider
      • Send Us A Question
  • eAlerts
  • Blogs
Free Issue
The Habitat Group Logo
May 29, 2025
  • Log In
  • Log Out
  • My Account
Home » Member Can't Sue HUD for Dispute with Local PHA

Member Can't Sue HUD for Dispute with Local PHA

Dec 15, 2014

Facts: During a dispute with an owner over utilities, a Section 8 resident asked her local PHA for a transfer of her voucher to another unit. The PHA denied her request because she wasn’t in good standing with her current owner and after submitting additional hearing requests, she was again denied.

The dispute centered around the initial lease signed with the owner, which represented that water in the unit was heated by natural gas and would be paid by the owner. The resident was responsible for electric service to the unit. Contrary to the lease obligations, the resident failed to transfer electric utility service to her name and didn’t pay for electric service to the unit. She claimed that the owner breached the lease because the water heater in the unit was electrical, not gas, so she asked to be transferred to another unit.

The PHA retroactively increased her utility allowance and made an additional housing assistance payment to the owner to reconcile the difference between the electric hot water and gas hot water allowance. The PHA also advised her that under the lease she was responsible for the remainder of the electric utilities.

Unsatisfied with the response, the resident repeatedly requested a hearing, which the PHA denied because it hadn’t taken adverse action against her. The PHA also clarified that it denied her transfer request because the owner indicated that the resident owed a balance on her rental account for utilities and attorneys’ fees. If she resolved the landlord-tenant dispute, the PHA stated it would process her paperwork to be ported out to different housing.

She continued not to pay rent and the PHA warned her of a termination of benefits. She then contacted HUD to request a compliance review of the PHA. HUD replied that based on a review of the documents provided, it recommended that she resolve the utility dispute by working with the owner and the PHA. HUD explained that the PHA was acting properly in seeking to enforce her obligations and warned that her failure to pay for electric service could result in termination of benefits. HUD also clarified that pursuant to applicable regulations, the PHA wasn’t required to give her a hearing on the denial of her “port out” requests.

The resident then sued HUD, asking the court to require HUD to intervene in her dispute with the PHA and the owner; specifically, she asked the court to direct HUD to require that the PHA hold an informal hearing and provide a voucher for her to transfer. HUD asked the court to dismiss the case.

Ruling: A District of Columbia district court granted HUD’s request.

Reasoning: The court stated that the resident couldn’t sue HUD on these grounds. The cause of the injury that the resident seemed to claim stems from a disagreement with the PHA and the owner over utilities. HUD isn’t a party to the housing assistance contracts of Section 8 participants.

The lease and housing assistance contract at issue here are no exception: The parties subject to these contracts are the resident, the owner, and the PHA. HUD merely funds the program but doesn’t make individualized determinations such as the ones about which the resident had complained. The PHA is ultimately responsible for administering the program and a participant’s status in it.

  • Robbins v. HUD, October 2014
Recent Court Rulings
    • Related Articles

      Resident Can't Sue PHA for Injuries

      Section 8 Resident Can't Sue HUD for Unit Conditions

      Owner Can't Sue HUD for Cancellation of Rent Subsidies

    • Publications
      • Assisted Housing Management Insider
      • Commercial Lease Law Insider
      • Co-op & Condo Case Law Tracker Digest
      • Fair Housing Coach
      • New York Apartment Law Insider
      • New York Landlord v. Tenant
      • Tax Credit Housing Management Insider
    • Additional Links
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Group Subscriptions
      • Privacy Policy
    • Boards of Advisors
      • Assisted Housing Management Insider
      • Commercial Lease Law Insider
      • Fair Housing Coach
      • New York Apartment Law Insider
      • Tax Credit Housing Management Insider
    ©2025. All Rights Reserved. Content: The Habitat Group. CMS, Hosting & Web Development: ePublishing
    The Habitat Group Logo
    • NY Apartment Law
      • New York Apartment Law Insider
      • New York Landlord V. Tenant
      • Co-Op & Condo Case Law Digest
      • New York Rent Regulation Checklist, Fourth Edition
      • 2025 New York City Apartment Management Checklist
    • Fair & Affordable Housing
      • Fair Housing Coach
      • Assisted Housing Management Insider
      • Tax Credit Housing Management Insider
      • Fair Housing Boot Camp. Basic Training For New Hires
    • Commercial Lease Law
      • Commercial Lease Law Insider
      • Best Commercial Lease Clauses, 17/e
        • Best Commercial Lease Clauses, 17/e
      • Best Commercial Lease Clauses: Tenant's Edition
    • Guidebooks
    • May 29, 2025
    • Log In
    • Log Out
    • My Account
    • Subscribe
    • May 29, 2025
    AHMI Logo.webp
    • Archives
    • Main Articles
      • Features
      • Certification
      • Compliance
      • Crime & Security
      • Dealing with Households
      • Income Calculations
      • Maintenance
      • Screening Applicants
    • Departments
      • Dos and Don'ts
      • Q and A
      • Recent Court Rulings
      • HUD Audits
      • In the News
      • Ask the Insider
        • Send Us A Question
    • eAlerts
    • Blogs
    Free Issue
    The Habitat Group Logo
    May 29, 2025
    • Log In
    • Log Out
    • My Account