Recent Court Rulings

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Facts: A resident sued the local housing authority for terminating her Section 8 rent assistance. At the time she first applied for assistance, she had been receiving Minnesota Supplemental Assistance (MSA) payments. The resident didn't disclose her MSA income where required on her initial Section 8 assistance application. She also failed to disclose her MSA income on her annual Section 8 assistance recertification applications for the following 11 years.

Facts: The daughter of a New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) resident, and the daughter's common-law husband, claimed succession rights to the unit after the resident died. NYCHA ruled that they weren't entitled to stay as remaining family members. The daughter appealed, claiming that NYCHA's decision was unreasonable. The court ruled against the daughter, and she appealed.

Ruling: The appeals court ruled against the daughter.

Facts: A local housing authority told a low-income and disabled applicant who was trying to pre-qualify for a unit that he wasn't eligible for Section 8 housing because he had an unfavorable credit history and criminal background. The applicant filed a complaint in court for the violation of his due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. The applicant's history with the housing authority dates back to June 2008, but his lawsuit wasn't filed un...

Facts: In 2004, a family applied to the local housing authority (PHA) for a Section 8 voucher. After completing the verification process, the family received a follow-up letter notifying them that they were scheduled to attend an orientation or briefing meeting. The letter notified them that their attendance was mandatory and that the attendance of any household members age 18 and older was also mandatory.

Facts: A resident sued the local housing authority (PHA) for allegedly violating her due process rights. She claimed that the PHA withheld permission for her to obtain new housing after she had been evicted from her previous unit, and denied her a hearing related to that permission.

Facts: A local housing authority filed a lawsuit to evict a resident for violating the terms of her lease and federal law due to two incidents of drug-related or criminal activity in her unit. The first incident occurred in November 2009 when officers saw a man standing outside the resident's building. The man tried to get away from the officers and ran into the building. Three officers chased him up the stairs to the resident's unit on the third floor.

Facts: A resident signed a one-year lease to rent a unit designated for Section 8 housing. At the time of signing, the resident was required to sign an additional lease for a term of one year with the local housing authority. The lease set forth various rules and regulations that restrict certain actions and behaviors at the building.

Facts: A woman sought to reverse a determination by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) denying her request for succession rights to her deceased mother's unit. The woman grew up in the building, moved out in 1998, and hasn't been listed as an occupant or tenant of the unit since that time. In August 2009, she returned to the unit along with her two young children to care for her mother whose health was declining rapidly. After her mother's de...

Facts: A disabled resident's immune system is unable to filter out toxic chemicals such as formaldehyde and asbestos. She sued the site owner and property management company for discrimination under the Fair Housing Act, claiming that they failed to make a reasonable accommodation for her disability, and under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which requires nondiscrimination and reasonable accommodation among recipients of federal financial assi...

Facts: A local housing authority terminated a resident's Section 8 rental assistance for violating the Section 8 requirement that all persons living in the unit must be approved by the housing authority. Specifically, the termination letter stated an unapproved person was "registered as a sexual offender, at your address on October 23, 2010." The letter advised the household of their right to dispute the determination by requesting an informal heari...