March 17, 2015
I've heard about a very scary rent problem twice in the past year from tenants here at Kenmore Hall - HRA mysteriously stopping their rent payments without notifying them. In one case, a tenant found out while he was down at our local center (Waverly) on other business entirely; a caseworker there volunteered the information while they were reviewing his budget information, and he was able to fix the situation before it became an issue here at the building. In the second case, it became very much a problem - the tenant has had to go to Housing Court about the missing rent payments (and I'll get to a summary of the details soon). This situation prompted me to ask some questions. I've also heard of one other situation that was so bizarre and ridiculous I could barely believe it, except that it came from the horse's mouth and it could only happen to him - and he's still in the building, so he must have found a solution. This particular tenant started getting paper checks twice a month in his mail box in the amount of $107.50 (which adds up to $215 a month; most of us who have a portion of our rent paid by HRA know perfectly well that that's the amount they pay here) and he just started cashing them and spending the money. After a while, he got called into a conference on the second floor and was asked to account for it. His rationale for spending the money was that the checks were arriving in his mailbox, and had his name on them, so he felt entitled to spend them because - after all - HRA must know what they're doing. Long story short, and he didn't tell me the rest of the details, it got solved somehow and it's a few years later, and he's still very much here.
Apparently, HRA's rent checks (yes, they're still paper) go directly to our rent office and get logged in there. I've been assured that if those payments stop, tenants are notified because H.S.I. wants to get paid, and they're supposed to be notified BEFORE it becomes cause for eviction.
The situation isn't completely hopeless provided tenants move quickly and their HRA case isn't completely screwed up. I've checked around with several organizations, and of course there are several "pieces" to the big answer that need to be cobbled together. DISCLAIMER: Please keep in mind that I am NOT a lawyer. This is not legal advice, and I'm not telling you what to do - I'm merely passing on information. I emailed the following question to a batch of organizations that provide assistance to tenants:
"A neighbor of mine is being taken to Housing Court by her landlord because public assistance apparently missed making several rent payments in the past that they were supposed to because she has an open case. PA is making her current direct rent payments, and her Section 8 subsidy is also recently recertified and active. From what she's told me, it sounds like a bureaucratic mistake on the part of public assistance (and they've done this to other people in the same building), and that the problem can be corrected if she goes down to the PA center, makes a complaint, goes through mediation and asks for a fair hearing. Can she ask for an adjournment so that she can pursue getting this taken care of, or should she ask for a stipulation agreement? Her court date is this coming Friday, so she doesn't have a lot of time, and she needs to find a way to avoid having the court judge against her right away since the problem was something she wasn't directly responsible for - she needs some additional time to try to solve the problem. I understand that you don't give legal advice, but given the situation, what options are open to her? Thanks for your assistance."
I got mixed results via email - but keep in mind that the court date was on Friday the 13th (somehow this figures...) and I was sending out the question just days before. I'd like to point out here that it always pays to start asking questions, gathering your documentation, and making contact with any organization that can help as soon as you suspect there's a problem
: most of them are non-profits working on a shoestring budget with small staffs and only a day or two per week (if you're lucky) when they can answer questions and give advice - and you may need to make multiple trips or calls to get the results you need. It may help to "rehearse" what you need to explain ahead of time so you can hit all the relevant points without dragging the whole thing out so long that they can't help you efficiently. Going to your caseworker here at Kenmore Hall may have limited value: keep in mind that they work for the same landlord that may have you in court, or be about to take you into court. You may need to get information from them in order to establish how bad the situation really is (details on how far behind management claims you are on your rent - get it in writing - but this should be in your court papers) or to let them know that you're trying to solve the problem, but think carefully about signing anything they offer you. You may get a better deal, and one that's legitimate and can be enforced, if you do it in court where there are witnesses.
One organization, Housing Court Answers (they apparently have tables to help tenants in the courthouses), told me this:
"When she goes to Housing Court she can ask in the HRA office for a printout of payments. If she can't get into the HRA office (in some boroughs they are very crowded), she can ask the judge or the court attorney for a note to take to HRA. The printout will show if the payments were not made, or if they were made and the landlord did not cash or accept them. HRA can issue duplicate payments if they were either not made in error or if they were lost. If she was sanctioned and HRA intentionally stopped the payments, she will need to do the type of challenge you mentioned."
Met Council on Housing offered this suggestion:
"Sorry, I know that your friend is slated to go to court today and this is a little late, but it is our understanding that landlords do not have the right to demand rent from the tenant that was meant to be paid by public assistance, even if public assistance makes an error. She should definitely ask for an adjournment and clear things up with the public assistance agency if she hasn't already. Also, Housing Court Answers is a legal organization that has a table in housing court and might be able to walk her through the process."
And finally, I contacted the OTDA (after all, they're essentially HRA's "bosses" and might as well know what's happening to poor people because of HRA's mistakes). They recommended contacting Legal Aid in the appropriate borough. That's fine advice if you have plenty of time, but Legal Aid is chronically backlogged. Here's the appropriate contact information for Manhattan:
Harlem Community Law Offices
230 E. 106th Street
New York, NY 10029
Tel.: (212) 426-3000
Lower Manhattan Neighborhood Office
199 Water Street
New York, NY 10038
Tel.: (212) 577-3300
Fax: (212) 509-8761
Manhattan Housing Court Project
New York County Civil Courthouse
111 Centre Street, Room 106
New York, NY 10013
Tel.: (212) 577-3300
This at least provides a starting point. Make sure to respond to any court papers you receive, PROMPTLY. Ask for an adjournment. Get your documentation organized. If and when I hear of additional solutions, I'll post them on the blog. If you're in the mood for humor, you can also contact the Office of Constituent Affairs if you want to file a complaint about a problem with either OTDA or HRA: call 212-331-4640.
And finally, if you want another way to keep track of your case, check out the eCourts NYS Unified Court System online at
http://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/housing/NameSearchServlet
. You can put your name/index number in and get basic information about what's going on - court dates, material on file, etc. I think there's even a way to e-track your case, getting reminders and updates by email. Take a little time to explore the site because there are additional resources about the court system there that's available for free to anyone.
And finally, HRA's Homelessness Diversion Unit (at Waverly, they're on the 3rd floor) is the unit that clears up this kind of mess, especially if you don't have a sanction.