my daughter is disabled and has a small child she has section 8 housing. She found a condo and all the necessary paperwork was completed. Just before she was set to move in she was admitted to the hospital and went to a care unit for about 2 weeks. ...

Submitted by bernell on

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my daughter is disabled and has a small child she has section 8 housing. She found a condo and all the necessary paperwork was completed. Just before she was set to move in she was admitted to the hospital and went to a care unit for about 2 weeks. I moved her belongings into the unit. When she was released she was confined to a wheelchair.She has been in the hospital several times since the start of the lease.Her child has been with her off and on over these last months . Lease started in sept of 2011. She is unable to care for her child fulltime at this time. and has given us her parents temporary custody until which time she can care for her. Section 8 housing is telling her that since her child does not reside in the condo full time she will have to move to a smaller unit. What recourse does she have. It is very difficult to even find someone that will rent to section 8. Can they force her to break the lease move out and than when she is able to take her child back have to relocate again. As I said she is disabled and trying very hard we are helping care for our grandchild and this is so much added stress for my daughter Please is there any legal action that we could take to make these people understand that I cannot furnish them with a date that this situation will be resolved we are just going one day at a time.

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DakotaLegal's picture

 

Submitted by DakotaLegal on

 
 
Your efforts to help your daughter and care for your granddaughter should not be punished. The good news is that changes, in the way people with disabilities are treated, recognize these rights. So, let’s talk about three very different sets of rights. First, Section 8 rights. Second, rights under California state law. Third, rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To begin with, though, all of these rights can be protected by working with California’s protection and Advocacy agency, commonly called a state “P&A.” Here’s their contact information: http://www.disabilityrightsca.org/. You (or your daughter if she’s having trouble doing it herself) can also reach them and start an on-phone “intake” by calling Toll Free 800.776.5746. You may also find your daughter has eligibility for low-income legal aid through CCLS: http://www.centralcallegal.org/. If you are outside CCLS’s service area, they can help refer you to more local help.
 
Now, let’s look at those legal rights and talk about what can be done to help get them:
 


  1. Section 8 Housing Rights

 
The federal government, through HUD, has an extensive set of rules and guidelines for the millions of people who need special housing assistance. You might focus in on what are called the Section 8 occupancy requirements… http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/administration/hudclips/handbooks/hsgh/4350.3
 
and also
 
http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/ph/rhiip/phguidebooknew.pdf.
 
You should be able to pretty convincingly show that when you moved your daughter’s property into that residence, and acted at her direction, she probably then had legal possession. If there were utility assignments, have that proof. You can certainly argue that emergency hospitalization is something that is within the purposes of specialized housing needs, in line with the rights to the granting and keeping of Section 8 eligibility. In turn, you can couple that with your granddaughter’s ADA rights (to be discussed below). You can also ask HUD for help: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/contact.
 
 

  1. California State: Welfare Rights and Human Rights Complaints

 
Even under California law, there are two different sets of rights involved: your daughter’s, and also your grand daughter’s. First, there are welfare rights, aimed to stop discrimination, especially against the most fragile, and specifically protecting entitlements under Section 8. Businesses or organizations that agree to provide Section 8 housing sometimes need reminding that they have made binding promises to best serve tenants. You should look at Section 8 rights: http://www.dss.cahwnet.gov/forms/english/pub13ada.pdf. That link will describe the four separate ways your daughter has a right to complain about any denial of services. Keep in mind, the 90 day period to appeal any denial of services can be changed if your daughter has some disability in understanding her rights to appeal on behalf of her daughter, too.
 
To help guard these state-based rights, get a hold of the Assembly member where the housing is located: http://192.234.213.69/amapsearch/.
 

  1. The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)

 
Before someone with a disability can be evicted from Section 8, she has a right to argue that their hardships must be balanced against any rules violated. Here’s a case explaining how to test for whether the landlord ignored the hardship of eviction causes to someone who is disabled and protected under the ADA… http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=search&case=/data2/circs/9th/9816322.html.
 
In this case, it’s not clear whether the housing/landlord authority has sent legal, written notices of any lease violations. It’s not at all clear they have considered the hardships affecting both your daughter and her daughter. In general, the landlord will have to prove their case to support eviction. http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/contact.

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DakotaLegal's picture

 

Submitted by DakotaLegal on

 
 
Your efforts to help your daughter and care for your granddaughter should not be punished. The good news is that changes, in the way people with disabilities are treated, recognize these rights. So, let’s talk about three very different sets of rights. First, Section 8 rights. Second, rights under California state law. Third, rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To begin with, though, all of these rights can be protected by working with California’s protection and Advocacy agency, commonly called a state “P&A.” Here’s their contact information: http://www.disabilityrightsca.org/. You (or your daughter if she’s having trouble doing it herself) can also reach them and start an on-phone “intake” by calling Toll Free 800.776.5746. You may also find your daughter has eligibility for low-income legal aid through CCLS: http://www.centralcallegal.org/. If you are outside CCLS’s service area, they can help refer you to more local help.
 
Now, let’s look at those legal rights and talk about what can be done to help get them:
 


  1. Section 8 Housing Rights

 
The federal government, through HUD, has an extensive set of rules and guidelines for the millions of people who need special housing assistance. You might focus in on what are called the Section 8 occupancy requirements… http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/administration/hudclips/handbooks/hsgh/4350.3
 
and also
 
http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/ph/rhiip/phguidebooknew.pdf.
 
You should be able to pretty convincingly show that when you moved your daughter’s property into that residence, and acted at her direction, she probably then had legal possession. If there were utility assignments, have that proof. You can certainly argue that emergency hospitalization is something that is within the purposes of specialized housing needs, in line with the rights to the granting and keeping of Section 8 eligibility. In turn, you can couple that with your granddaughter’s ADA rights (to be discussed below). You can also ask HUD for help: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/contact.
 
 

  1. California State: Welfare Rights and Human Rights Complaints

 
Even under California law, there are two different sets of rights involved: your daughter’s, and also your grand daughter’s. First, there are welfare rights, aimed to stop discrimination, especially against the most fragile, and specifically protecting entitlements under Section 8. Businesses or organizations that agree to provide Section 8 housing sometimes need reminding that they have made binding promises to best serve tenants. You should look at Section 8 rights: http://www.dss.cahwnet.gov/forms/english/pub13ada.pdf. That link will describe the four separate ways your daughter has a right to complain about any denial of services. Keep in mind, the 90 day period to appeal any denial of services can be changed if your daughter has some disability in understanding her rights to appeal on behalf of her daughter, too.
 
To help guard these state-based rights, get a hold of the Assembly member where the housing is located: http://192.234.213.69/amapsearch/.
 

  1. The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)

 
Before someone with a disability can be evicted from Section 8, she has a right to argue that their hardships must be balanced against any rules violated. Here’s a case explaining how to test for whether the landlord ignored the hardship of eviction causes to someone who is disabled and protected under the ADA… http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=search&case=/data2/circs/9th/9816322.html.
 
In this case, it’s not clear whether the housing/landlord authority has sent legal, written notices of any lease violations. It’s not at all clear they have considered the hardships affecting both your daughter and her daughter. In general, the landlord will have to prove their case to support eviction. http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/contact.