Petty Officer “Sarah Townsend’s” neighborhood Homeowners’ Association filed a foreclosure lawsuit against her as a result of minor yard maintenance issues. She had rented out her house so she could live closer to the Navy base. Although Officer Townsend believed that she had taken care of the yard issues, her HOA continued to send notices to her tenants rather than her, and they piled up.
“Emily” notified her HUD subsidized property of her new employment so that the management could make income-based rent adjustments. Federal law required that the property manager give Emily at least 30 days’ notice of the change in rent. Instead, however, he informed her that her rent would be increased by several hundred dollars the day before it was due. Unable to produce such a large sum so quickly, Emily was threatened with eviction and reached out to JALA.
Anticipating moving into a new rental home with her family, “Rachel” paid her deposit, first month’s rent, and fees to a person she thought was the property agent. Upon moving in, however, the police and the true property agent showed up and warned her to leave. Although she explained that she had unknowingly paid the rent to a scam artist, the property owner refused to let her stay in the home or pay any new form of rent. Confused and not knowing where to go, Rachel remained in the home and began her search for a new place to live.
“Evelyn,” 64, resorted to washing dishes in her bathtub in February after a broken pipe had left her kitchen sink unusable. She texted and called her property manager to try to get the sink repaired, but no repairs were made. Later that month, she had a stroke. From her hospital bed, Evelyn continued to try to get her property manager to repair her sink. She needed to make sure it was done before she got home from rehabilitation.
“Joel,” a 32-year-old veteran, came to JALA after moving into a new apartment complex. Before moving in, Joel had informed the property manager that he had a service animal and had even provided pictures and immunization records. But once Joel moved into his apartment, the property manager said he would need to obtain a signed letter from a doctor and fill out lengthy, unlawful forms.
A Look At First Coast Renters' Rights During COVID-19 WJCT by Cyd Hoskinson, April 22, 2020 The economic shutdown enacted to slow
Housing subsidies are a critical lifeline for many low-income families, and they vary depending on the tenant’s income. “Brianna” and her three children lived in an apartment complex where their share of the rent was $224 a month, with the Jacksonville Housing Authority paying the $376 remainder. But in 2019, Brianna lost her Social Security income, leaving her with just $272 a month in child support.
At 90, “Edgar” can’t get around as well as he used to. With no car, he relies on taxis to go places, and sometimes when he can’t get a taxi, he walks to Walmart to pick up his medications or groceries. With no job, friends or family to support him, money is tight – so tight that Edgar was about to lose his home to foreclosure. Saving Edgar’s home was truly a collaborative effort, beginning with private attorneys Clyde Taylor and Brad Waldrop, who referred the case to JALA and have assisted Edgar with legal issues on a pro bono basis in the past. JALA in turn reached out to the St. Johns Housing Partnership (SJHP) for help with a loan modification as JALA attorneys prepared to go to court to stop the foreclosure.
“Timir and Amal Asan” and their four young children are refugees who were legally admitted to the United States in 2016. They had applied for housing from the Jacksonville Housing Authority in 2016 and finally got their Section 8 subsidized housing voucher in the fall of 2019. Under this program, the voucher entitles them to subsidized rent. Once they got the voucher, the family had 60 days to find a rental property within a defined low-income rent range, get the landlord to agree to rent to them under the Section 8 program, and have the unit pass an inspection by the Housing Authority.
“Sabrina” lives with her four children in public housing operated by the Jacksonville Housing Authority. There, the share of the rent she pays can increase or decrease based on household income, with her housing subsidy covering the remainder. Recently, Sabrina received a notice that her lease was being terminated because she’d failed to report some child support income in a timely fashion. She was going to be evicted for this alleged violation of her lease agreement. The notice further alleged that she owed $584 in back rent based upon the unreported child support income.
