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A WOMAN was forced to leave her home due to an error by the housing authority.
Nikki Jones, a resident of Richmond, Virginia, is just one of the many victims who have faced wrongful eviction.
Housing authorities can make mistakes and overcharge or undercharge tenants.
Just last year, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development audited the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority for income and rent adjustments.
The audit found that RRHA made inaccurate income and rent adjustments, according to documents reviewed by the Washington Post.
“There’s no question that some of these calculations were wrong — some asking residents to pay too much, some asking for too little,” Richard Monocchio of the HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing told the Washington Post.
The audit found that 23 of 35 randomly sampled tenant files had errors.
Steven Nesmith, the CEO of the RRHA, told the Washington Post that his agency didn’t have enough agents to support resident demand and eventually gave residents another chance to pay rent without facing eviction.
But Jones had already moved out of her home in fear she’d be forced out.
HELP NEVER CAME
Jones had moved into public housing in 2009 with her son after her parents died.
She was unemployed at the time and only paid $50 a month for the unit.
Jones then found a job as a security officer and her rent was adjusted to her income.
Public housing units are intended for low-income families, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
The US Department of Housing and Urban Development gives federal aid to Public Housing Authorities so residents can pay subsidized rent.
Approximately 970,000 families live in public housing across the US and 3,300 housing authorities manage them, according to the US HUD.
To qualify for the units, housing authorities evaluate applicants’ income, citizenship/immigration status, and whether they’re seniors or have a disability.
In Richmond, the income cap for a household of two is $70,600.
Housing authorities evaluate each individual’s rent based on what they can pay.
Tenants are subject to annual check-ins to evaluate if their income status has changed and adjust their rent payments accordingly.
Jones said she cooperated with the checks and tried to fight her rent increases.
Even though her income hadn’t changed, her rent still drastically increased in 2020.
Explaining rent gouging
Rent gouging occurs when landlords significantly increase rent payments to an unconscionable price. Read more about it below,
- Rent gouging is illegal and state laws protect tenants from falling victim to it.
- Thirty-seven states have laws defining price gouging.
- Landlords legally must follow steps to terminate a lease and create a new one with a higher price. If they don’t – they could be rent-gouging tenants.
- Tenants are also protected by rent control ordinances. Landlords cannot raise the rent above a city or state’s amount allowed.
- Landlords must wait until the end of a lease to raise rents.
- New York, New York, Washington DC, San Francisco, and Los Angeles have rent control laws put in place to prevent landlords from price gouging.
- Rent gouging also includes bribing landlords to approve or renew leases.
Source: Law District
FIGHTING BACK
Jones paid $450 in 2019 and $554 in 2020, but the most dramatic increase came later that year when her payments skyrocketed to $1,128.
She said she fought the increase and tried to prove that it was an error since her earnings remained the same.
The housing authority never fixed her rent and in September 2021, the payments became too much for her to keep up with.
In March of this year, Jones attended a court hearing for owing over $12,000 in back rent.
By then she was paying $1,400, but her monthly income was only $2,500.
Public housing residents in Virginia typically pay around 30% of their income in rent, however, Jones was paying over half of her monthly earnings.
At her court hearing, Jones planned to fight back and inform the judge of the error, but she didn’t get a chance to speak on her behalf.
An eviction date was set and Jones had no choice but to evaluate her next steps.
She decided to pack up and move before she was forced out.
“I told [the landlord] I needed a home or I would be homeless,” she told the Washington Post.
Jones found a $1,500 two-bedroom apartment for her and her son.
Even though the rent was a significant portion of her monthly income, she felt like she had no choice but to leave.
After settling into her new home, Jones saw the announcement that the housing authority was re-evaluating eviction payments.
