Housing Unit

JALA’s Housing Unit handles a variety of housing-related matters and focuses on landlord-tenant law, including evictions and other issues that commonly affect tenants in subsidized housing. Has your landlord locked you out of your home? Has your landlord refused to repair problems in your home? Is your landlord trying to evict you from your home? If so, JALA may be able to assist you. If you are experiencing a legal problem with your landlord or other housing provider, you may contact our office to apply for assistance.

Please understand that because there are only a few attorneys in our housing unit, and because we receive many requests for assistance, we cannot offer to represent everyone who applies. If you are eligible for our assistance and we cannot take your case, we will still try to be helpful by giving you information and advice that is relevant to your problem.

THE INFORMATION BELOW IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR LEGAL ADVICE. It is intended to give you some basic knowledge of Florida’s landlord-tenant law and some initial guidance if you are experiencing one of the common landlord-tenant problems. The laws described here may change without notice.

A separate unit at JALA handles housing cases involving discriminatory practices. If you believe your case involves housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, handicap, familial status, or religion, please click here.

1. Legal Protection for a Tenant Whose Rental Home is in Foreclosure

Federal law protects tenants from being immediately evicted after their rental home is sold at a foreclosure sale. The law is called the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009, and it is briefly described below.

If the home you are renting is sold at a foreclosure sale, the person or entity that purchases the home cannot force you to move out right away. Instead, they are required to honor your tenancy and let you remain in the home for the rest of your lease term (if you have a written lease that has not expired) or for 90 days, whichever is longer.

These protections only apply to you if you are a tenant who began renting the property before the title (ownership) was transferred to a new owner as a result of foreclosure, and only if:

1. You are not the borrower whose mortgage is being foreclosed, or the borrower’s spouse, parent or child;

2. Your tenancy was the result of an “arms-length transaction” (a normal market transaction between two independent parties, not a special deal where a friend or family member let you rent the home for less than the normal amount); and

3. Either your rent is not substantially less than the “fair market rent” for the property, or your rent is reduced or subsidized because you participate in a subsidy program.

If you learn that a foreclosure lawsuit has been filed against your landlord and you meet the conditions listed above, then we recommend that you notify the foreclosure court of your tenancy and your presence on the property. Click here for a form that you can fill out and file in your landlord’s foreclosure case in order to notify that court that you are a tenant who is protected by the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009.

If the ownership of your rental home has already been transferred as a result of foreclosure and you have received a notice from the court telling you to move within 24 hours, if you are not sure whether you are protected by this new law, and/or if you have other questions about your situation, then you should immediately apply for assistance at JALA or contact another attorney.

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2. Tenant Rights When Served with an Eviction Notice

· You have rights as a tenant!

Although your landlord may own the property you live in, it is your home. It gives your family stability, security and shelter. If your landlord tries to evict you, you can act to protect your home. This section explains your rights when your landlord tries to evict you.

This section does not talk about specific defenses to an eviction case or how to file a written response in court. For more information about how to file a response in court, click here. For assistance with a particular case, you should apply for assistance at JALA, or contact another attorney.

· Can my landlord just throw me out?

NO! Landlords may not change your locks, move your belongings out of the home, cut off your utilities or do anything else to force you to leave. Those kinds of self-help eviction measures are illegal. You should immediately contact the police if your landlord tries to drive you from your home by threats, harassment, or other self-help eviction measures. Information about other remedies for illegal eviction measures may be found in Section 3, below.

In order to evict you lawfully, your landlord must file an eviction case against you in court and obtain an eviction order from the judge. ONLY a JUDGE can order you evicted, and only the Sheriff can put you out of your home after the judge has ordered you evicted.

· What is the proper eviction process?

A landlord must follow these steps before the tenant can be lawfully evicted:

1. Give the tenant a written notice of lease termination, asking the tenant to leave by a certain date;

2. File an eviction case in court if the tenant refuses to leave;

3. Get a court order of eviction from the judge, after the tenant has had a chance to be heard by the judge; and

4. Direct the Sheriff to evict the tenant.

· What is the difference between a notice of lease termination and an eviction case?

The notice of lease termination is the landlord's written demand to the tenant. It asks the tenant to move out by a certain date. It is delivered to the tenant only, and it is not filed in court.

If the tenant does not voluntarily move out as requested in the notice of lease termination, the landlord may file an eviction case in court. In an eviction case, the landlord makes a formal request to the County Court. The landlord commences the eviction case by filing an Eviction Complaint, which asks the court to evict the tenant, and gives the reason(s) why the landlord wants the tenant evicted. The Eviction Complaint is delivered with an Eviction Summons to the tenant by a process server and by mail.

Important: after receiving the Eviction Summons and Complaint, the tenant has only five (5) business days to file a written response in court and deposit any unpaid rent in court, or else he/she will lose the case automatically and be evicted.

In the written response (sometimes called the "Answer"), the tenant responds to the allegations made by the landlord in the Eviction Complaint, and lists any defenses the tenant may have. In other words, the tenant explains why he/she should not be evicted.

Under Florida law, the tenant must deposit any unpaid rent with the court at the time his/her response is filed. After initially depositing the unpaid rent along with the response, the tenant must then continue to deposit his/her rent in court each month as it comes due, until the eveiction case is resolved. IF THE TENANT DOES NOT DEPOSIT HIS/HER RENT WITH THE WRITTEN RESPONSE AND CONTINUE TO DEPOSIT RENT AS IT COMES DUE UNTIL THE CASE IS RESOLVED, THE TENANT WILL LOSE THE CASE WITHOUT THE RIGHT TO A HEARING.

If the tenant disagrees with the amount of rent the Eviction Complaint states is due, then the tenant must include in his/her written response a “Motion to Determine Rent.” In this portion of the response, the tenant must state the amount of rent that is actually due and explain why that is the correct amount. The tenant must also attach documents that support his/her explanation of the correct amount of rent due. If the tenant's written response includes a “Motion to Determine Rent," he/she should go ahead and deposit the correct amount of rent, if any, and then call the judge’s assistant to request an initial hearing for the judge to decide whether any more rent must be deposited.

If the tenant files a written response in court and deposits the rent that is due, the tenant is entitled to have a hearing in court before the judge determines whether eviction is proper or not.

Click here for more specific information about cases in which a landlord wants to evict a tenant because of unpaid rent.

Click here to find out about local agencies that might be able to provide financial assistance in you live in Duval County and have fallen behind on your rent.

· Must I move out after receiving a notice of lease termination?

NO. You have the right to stay in your home until the landlord files an eviction case against you and a judge decides your case. The Sheriff may only evict you if your landlord wins the eviction case in court.

If you believe that you have not done anything to deserve eviction and that you are likely to win an eviction case, you may wish to stay and fight the eviction case in court so that you do not have to move. On the other hand, if you believe you are likely to lose an eviction case because of something you or your family members or guests have done, you may wish to move out before any eviction case is filed against you. That decision is yours to make. For advice on your specific situation, you may apply for assistance at JALA or contact another attorney.

· How long does an eviction case take?

The eviction process in court will take at least l0 days from the date when you receive the Eviction Summons and Complaint, even if you do not file a response and deposit your rent in court or take any other action to stop the eviction. For example, assume you received an Eviction Summons and Complaint on April 14, and you did not file a response or deposit your rent in court. The judge could enter a judgment against you for eviction, attorney fees and courts costs on April 22, and the Sheriff could evict you from the home as soon as April 24. If you respond to the Eviction Summons and Complaint properly, the case will take longer because you will be entitled to be heard by the judge before he/she decides your case.

· Important Exception

The eviction information in this section applies to normal landlord-tenant situations, such as the rental of a house, mobile home, or apartment. It does NOT apply to some other situations, such as occupancy in a hotel room or in a treatment facility. In some of those other situations, a property owner may lawfully remove an occupant without filing an eviction case in court. If you are unsure whether your situation is covered by the eviction procedures discussed above, you should seek advice from JALA or another attorney.

3. Lockouts and Other Unlawful Actions by Landlords

· Has your landlord locked you out, thrown your belongings out or turned off your utilities without evicting you through the courts? This is against the law.

A landlord may not:

1. Lock you out of your rental unit by changing the locks, or otherwise interfere with your access to the rental unit;

2. Cut off your utilities, such as water, gas, lights, etc.;

3. Remove your belongings from the rental unit; or

4. Try to prevent you from staying in your rental unit by doing such things as removing the outside doors, locks, windows, etc.

These things are called “self-help eviction” and they are against the law. If you successfully sue a landlord who violates this law, the landlord will be liable for your actual damages or three (3) months’ rent, whichever is greater, as well as your court costs and attorney fees. "Actual damages" are the amounts of money you lost or had to spend as a direct resiult of the landlord's illegal action. For example, if you had to spend $100 on a hotel room because your landlord illegally locked you out, or of you lost belongings at $100 because your landlord threw them out of your home, those amounts would be "actual damages." Even if you are behind on rent, you have the right to stay in the rental unit unless or until the landlord completes the lawful eviction process described in section 2, above.

· What can I do if my landlord tries to evict me unlawfully?

If your landlord is somewhat reasonable, you may start by asking him/her to undo the unlawful action so that you can go back to living in the rental unit as usual. If this is not possible or does not work, you may wish to go straight to one of the next steps:

If your landlord has shut off your utilities, you may:

1. Contact Jacksonville's Municipal Code Compliance Division by phone at 255-7000 or in person at 407 N. Laura St., Second Floor, Suite 200, and ask them to contact your landlord and explain that his/her action is illegal and violates the Jacksonville Property, Safety and Maintenance Code;

2. Contact your utility company and ask them to turn the utilities back on in your name (you may be required to pay a deposit and service charge); and

3. File a lawsuit against your landlord (see more information on this step below).

If your landlord has locked you out of your rental unit, you may get back in by cutting off the lock or going in through a window. If you are going to do this, first be sure that:

1. You have proof with you that shows you live in the rental unit (to prevent the police from arresting you for breaking in); and

2. You can re-enter the rental unit safely. Some landlords threaten to beat or shoot tenants who are re-entering the unit. DO NOT RISK YOUR SAFETY OR YOUR FAMILY'S SAFETY IF YOU ARE THREATENED.

Important Exception: The information in this section about illegal evictions does NOT apply if:

1. Your situation is not governed by landlord-tenant laws (for example, if you were staying in a hotel or treatment facility);

2. The landlord did not know you were living there (do not break back into a place you were not renting from the landlord);

3. A judge has ordered you evicted and the sheriff has come to evict you; or

4. You have abandoned the rental unit or surrendered it back to the landlord.

If you are not sure whether you would be considered to have abandoned or surrendered the rental unit, or if you are not sure whether the law against self-help eviction applies to you for other reasons, you should apply for assistance at JALA or contact another attorney.

· Suing your landlord

If your landlord has violated the law by locking you out, shutting off your utilities, or doing one of the other illegal things listed above, you may sue the landlord in court for compensation and/or for an injunction requiring the landlord to undo the illegal action and leave you alone unless or until the landlord completes the lawful eviction process. If your landlord violated the law by taking your personal belongings from the rental unit and/or denying you access to your belongings, you may also ask the judge for an order requiring your landlord to return your belongings. This type of claim is called a “replevin” claim, and it can be filed as a separate claim in the same lawsuit.

If you sue your landlord, you should state in your complaint that you are suing under section 83.67 of the Florida Statutes and specify whether you are seeking money, an injunction, an order of replevin, or all of those things. As stated above, you may sue for the actual amount of damages you suffered or three (3) months’ rent, whichever is greater, as well as your court costs and attorney fees (if you have an attorney). If your landlord committed more than one violation of the law (for example, if your landlord shut off the utilities on one day and then changed the locks on the next day), you may recover a separate award of compensation for each of his/her violations.

If the total amount of compensation you are seeking from your landlord is $5,000 or less, you would need to file the lawsuit in Small Claims Court. Click here for more information about Small Claims Court. If the amount you are seeking is more than $5,000 but less than $15,000, your lawsuit would need to be filed in County Court. If you are seeking more than $15,000, it would need to be filed in Circuit Court.

4. Enforcing a Landlord's Obligation to Maintain the Rental Unit

* This information is specifically for tenants in Duval County because it is based, in part, upon Jacksonville ordinances. If you live in another county and are experiencing problems in your rental home, then you should seek advice from JALA or another attorney because your local ordinances may not place all of the responsibilities listed below on your landlord. *

· What is the landlord’s responsibility to the tenant?

Section 83.51, Florida Statutes, requires a landlord in Duval County to comply with Jacksonville’s building, housing and health codes. This means, among other things:

1. The roof must not leak;

2. The walls must be weather-tight, and in good repair;

3. The stairs must be safe for normal use and maintained in good repair;

4. Windows and doors must be basically weather-tight, water tight, rodent-proof, and kept in sound working condition, and outside doors must have proper locks;

5. Window panes cannot have cracks and holes, and outside windows must have screens;

6. Inside floors, walls, ceilings must be basically rodent-proof and kept in sound condition and good repair, and should be safe;

7. The house or apartment must have hot water, which is connected to the kitchen and bathroom sinks, tub or shower;

8. All houses or apartments must have a flush toilet in good working condition;

9. When cooking and heating equipment are provided by the landlord, they must be safely installed and in good working order;

10. There must be adequate garbage disposal facilities or garbage storage containers;

11. Every habitable room must have at least two separate floor or wall electric outlets and, additionally, every kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and hallway must have a ceiling or wall-type fixture, or an outlet controlled by a wall switch near the entrance to the room; and

12. All electrical systems must be in good repair and good working order.

IMPORTANT EXCEPTIONS:

A landlord is NOT responsible for maintaining a mobile home or other structure that is owned by the tenant.

A landlord is NOT responsible for damages created by the negligence or wrongful act of the tenant, the tenant’s family, or the tenant's guests.

If you live in a rental house or duplex (not an apartment) and you have a written lease agreement, your landlord’s obligations may be different than what is listed above.

If you live in a house or duplex, it is very important for you to read your lease carefully because it may require you, the tenant, to make any/all repairs that are needed during the term of your lease. (Whereas, if you live in an apartment, the landlord may not shift his/her responsibilities to you in the lease.)

If you are on the Section 8 Voucher Program and the Jacksonville Housing Authority pays some or all of your rent, you should notify your Section 8 caseworker of any problems you encounter in your rental home. The Housing Authority has its own property inspectors and its own procedures for making a landlord comply with the Section 8 property standards. You should ask your caseworker to follow those procedures before you take other action. If your caseworker does not help, or if your landlord still fails or refuses to comply with the Section 8 property standards, then you should apply for assistance at JALA.

· What is the tenant’s responsibility to the landlord?

Section 83.51, Florida Statutes, requires a tenant to comply with Jacksonville’s building, housing and health codes. This means that the tenant must:

1. Keep the house or apartment in a clean and sanitary manner;

2. Remove all garbage from the house or apartment in a clean and sanitary manner (for example, use garbage cans);

3. Keep all plumbing fixtures in the house or apartment used by the tenant in a clean and sanitary manner and in good repair;

4. Properly use and operate all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air conditioning and other facilities and appliances, including elevators, which are in the apartment or house;

5. Not destroy, damage or in any way misuse the property itself (or allow any guest to destroy or damage the property);

6. Not remove anything from the house or apartment which does not belong to the tenant (for example, cannot remove light fixture which was in the property when tenant moved in); and

7. Conduct him/herself and require all guests to conduct themselves in a way that does not disturb the peace.

· What should I do if there are maintenance problems in my rental home?

You should first determine whether the problems you are experiencing in your rental unit are things that your landlord is responsible for fixing. Your landlord's obligations are found in your written lease (if you have one) or in section 83.51 of the Florida Statutes. Section 83.51 provides the minimum standards. That means if you have a written lease and it imposes higher standards on your landlord, your landlord must meet those higher standards.

As stated above, section 83.51 of the Florida Statutes requires landlords to comply with any applicable building, housing, and health codes. This means that in Jacksonville, landlords must comply with Jacksonville's Property Safety and Maintanance Code, among other things. If your landlord is not complying with that code, then he/she is not complying with Florida law, and you may be able to take action.

In order to determine whether your landlord is in compliance with Jacksonville's code, you should call the Municipal Code Compliance Division at 255-7000 to request an inspection of your rental unit. You may also contact them in person at 407 N. Laura St., second Floor, Suite 200.

If the City inspects your rental unit and finds code violations that are your landlord's responsibility, the City will cite your landlord and give your landlord a certain amount of time to make the necessary repairs in order to avoid fines and other penalties. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS ASK THE CITY FOR A COPY OF ITS INSPECTION REPORT SO THAT YOU WILL HAVE DOCUMENTATION OF ANY CODE VIOLATIONS. It is also a good idea to take pictures of the problem area(s) and make a note of the date and time when you took the pictures.

· What can I do if my landlord will not fix things that are his/her responsibility?

Florida law does NOT give you the right to simply pay to have the repairs made yourself and then deduct that cost from your next rent payment.

If your landlord is not in compliance with Jacksonville’s code or his/her other maintenance obligations under your written lease, and if the problem is significant (not just a minor inconvenience or annoyance), then you have the right under Florida law either to:

1. Withhold your rent until the needed repairs are made; or

2. Terminate your lease.

HOWEVER, YOU MUST BE CAREFUL TO EXERCISE THESE RIGHTS PROPERLY IN ORDER TO BE PROTECTED BY THE LAW. BEFORE WITHHOLDING RENT OR MOVING OUT OF THE RENTAL UNIT BECAUSE OF YOUR LANDLORD’S FAILURE TO MAKE REPAIRS, YOU MUST GIVE YOUR LANDLORD A WRITTEN NOTICE THAT LISTS THE PROBLEM(S) AND DEMANDS APPROPRIATE REPAIRS WITHIN SEVEN (7) DAYS. It is recommended that you use the form notices approved by the Supreme Court of Florida for these purposes. Click here for the form notice to terminate a lease, or click here for the form notice to withhold rent. If there is not enough room on the form for you to list all of the problems, you may write something like, “see the attached list of code violations documented by the city,” and attach the city’s inspection report to your notice.

Your notice may be hand-delivered or mailed to your landlord. You should keep a copy of any notice you give your landlord and, if you send it by mail, you should keep some proof of mailing.

If your landlord does not make the needed repairs within seven (7) days after delivery of your notice, then you may withhold your future rent payments until the repairs are made or consider your lease terminated and move out, depending on which notice you gave the landlord.

If you withhold rent after giving proper notice, you should keep the rent money in your bank account or another safe place. DO NOT SPEND THE RENT MONEY ON OTHER THINGS. YOU MUST HAVE IT AVAILABLE because if your landlord were to file an eviction case, you would be required to deposit the unpaid rent with the court in order to present your defense(s) to the judge. If you had a lawful basis for withholding rent and gave your landlord a proper notice, you would have a good defense in the eviction case, but you would still be required to deposit the unpaid rent with the court. Depending on how bad the conditions were and how long they existed, the judge might give some or all of the rent back to you after he/she decides the eviction case.

If you terminate your lease after giving proper notice, you should take a set of pictures of the problem area(s) in your rental unit just before you move out. If you had a lawful basis for terminating the lease and gave your landlord a proper notice, your landlord should not impose or try to collect any early termination fee or other penalties. However, your landlord may not agree that you had a lawful basis for terminating the lease. In the event your landlord disagrees and takes the dispute to court, you would want to have pictures of the bad conditions to show the judge along with the city’s inspection report and any other evidence.

· Can my landlord evict me for withholding my rent?

If your landlord fails to maintain the property as required by the law and/or your lease, and if you withhold rent after giving your landlord the proper 7-day notice, then you will have a defense in the event your landlord tries to evict you for not paying the rent. Further, Florida law specifically prohibits a landlord from trying to evict a tenant in retaliation for the tenant's legitimate complaints about code violations or other problems that are the landlord’s responsibility. As long as you follow the proper steps for responding to the Eviction Summons and Complaint (see section 2, above), it should be very difficult for your landlord to win the case.

· If the landlord tries to evict me, what should I do?

If you receive an Eviction Summons from the court, you will need to read it carefully because it will list the things you are required to do. (See section 2, above.) You will be required to file an "Answer" in court that responds to the allegations in your landlord’s Eviction Complaint and explains why you withheld your rent. You should attach to your Answer a copy of the 7-day notice you delivered to your landlord before starting to withhold rent. You will also be required to deposit all of the unpaid rent with the court when you file your Answer, and then continue to deposit your rent as it comes due until the case is resolved. IF YOU DO NOT FILE AN ANSWER AND DEPOSIT YOUR RENT WITHIN FIVE (5) DAYS AFTER RECEIVING THE EVICTION SUMMONS, YOU MAY LOSE THE CASE AUTOMATICALLY AND BE EVICTED.

Once you file your answer and deposit your rent with the court, you will wait to receive a notice of your court date. Each time rent comes due while the case is pending, you must deposit it with the court. When you go to court, you should take all of the documents relating to the dispute with your landlord, including your lease, your 7-day notice to the landlord, your pictures of the conditions in the rental unit, a copy of the city’s inspection report(s) and any other witnesses who have experienced the bad conditions in the rental unit.

For advice about your specific situation, or for help with a particular case, you should apply for assistance at JALA or contact another attorney.

5. Security Deposits

· How soon does my landlord have to return my security deposit after I move out?

The rules depend on when you move out of the rental unit, and on whether you have a written lease or just a verbal agreement.

1. Moving out when a written lease has ended or is terminated

If you moved out of a rental unit because the term of your written lease ended or because your written lease was terminated by you or your landlord, the landlord has 15 days to return your security deposit (if he/she does not intend to impose any claim on it), or the landlord has 30 days to send you a notice of any claim(s) he/she intends to impose on your deposit. The landlord’s notice must be sent by certified mail to your last known address. If your landlord does not send you any notice within 30 days after you moved out, he/she forfeits the right to impose a claim on your deposit.

If you receive notice of a claim on the deposit, you have 15 days to dispute that claim, or else the landlord will be authorized to deduct the amount of his/her claim and send you what is left of the deposit. The best way to object to a landlord’s claim on your deposit is to explain your objection in a letter and mail it to the landlord by certified mail. Your objection letter must be mailed within 15 days after you received notice of the landlord’s claim on your deposit.

2. Moving out before a written lease ends or when there is no written lease

If you are going to move out of the rental unit before the term of your written lease ends, or if you do not have a written lease, you must give your landlord a written notice seven (7) days before you move out. Your notice must provide a mailing address where you can be reached, and the notice may be hand-delivered to your landlord or sent by certified mail.

If you do not give your landlord that 7-day notice, then your landlord will not be required to send you a notice of his/her claim(s) on the security deposit, and the landlord’s right to impose a claim on the deposit will not be forfeited if he/she does not send you a notice of the claim.

If you do give your required 7-day notice, then the same rules will apply as if you had moved out at the end of a written lease: your landlord will have 15 days to return your deposit or 30 days to send you a notice of his/her claim(s) on the deposit so that you can dispute the claim(s).

· How can I get my security deposit back if the landlord refuses to return it?

If the landlord has not notified you of any claim on the deposit and fails to return it to you, or if you have disputed the landlord’s claim on the deposit and cannot reach an agreement, you may sue your landlord for the whole security deposit or for any portion that you believe should have been returned to you. Assuming the deposit was $5,000 or less, your lawsuit would need to be filed in Small Claims Court. Click here for more information about Small Claims Court.

Be aware that if you sue the landlord for your security deposit, the landlord may sue you in return for any money you owe to him/her. The landlord could file what is called a “counterclaim” against you. Therefore, before suing your landlord for the security deposit, you should consider whether your landlord might have valid claims against you. For example, if you moved out before the end of a written lease without any lawful basis for terminating the lease or without terminating the lease properly, your landlord may be able to charge an “early termination” fee or he/she may be able to charge you rent for the months after you moved out. For another example, if you damaged the rental unit or left it excessively dirty, your landlord may be able to charge you with the expense of cleaning or repairing the unit. Your landlord may file counterclaims against you for those kinds of charges, even if the landlord failed to send you any notice of a claim on your security deposit within 30 days after you moved out. These are some of the things to consider before deciding to sue for your security deposit.

6. How to Find Affordable Rental Housing

If you are looking for affordable rental housing, there are a couple of places where you might start. The options listed below are not the only options, nor are they in any way endorsed or recommended by JALA. These are just options we are aware of.

You might start by visiting the Florida Housing Search website.

You might also start by contacting the Jacksonville Housing Authority (“JHA”) to learn more about their housing programs and availability. JHA’s main housing programs are:

1. Public Housing

This is housing that is owned and managed by JHA.

2. Section 8 Voucher Program

This program provides rental assistance to a tenant who rents from a private landlord. JHA gives the tenant a “voucher” for rental assistance, and the tenant is responsible for finding a landlord who will accept the voucher. The voucher is portable in the sense that the tenant can take it with him/her when it is time to move to another rental unit.

3. Mod Rehab

This program provides rental assistance similar to the Section 8 Voucher Program, but here the assistance stays at the particular rental unit to help whatever family lives there. If you live in an apartment under the mod rehab program, you receive the rental assistance; but if you move out, you don’t take the assistance with you.

Tenants who participate in one of JHA’s housing programs pay rent that is based on the tenant’s income. The rent is roughly equal to 30% of the tenant’s monthly income (up to 40% in the Section 8 Voucher Program). To find out more, or to apply for one of those programs, you may call JHA at 630-3810, visit their office at 1300 Broad St., or visit their website.

Another affordable housing option is a HUD-subsidized apartment. As with most of JHA’s housing programs, a tenant in a HUD-subsidized apartment can generally expect to pay rent in an amount that is roughly equal to 30% of his/her monthly income. A list of HUD-subsidized apartments in Jacksonville is available here.