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??? Where did you casually assume I'm not disabled?
Oh, and I go past a public housing project every day and see the Section 8 residents hanging out on the block with the recent drive-by shooting, with the baby mamas and the upcoming generation of gangbangers.
well really, i have known several section 8 voucher holders, who do not live in projects but individually chosen apartments. they are all over 50, and excellent renters. disabled and / or elderly. clean living people. how do you know those gangland types are even on section 8, did you ask them all? right. what a lot of false stereotyping.
How about escrowing your portion of rent and with court approval, using it to pay 4 the repairs do apt will pass inspection?
i think there are a few answers, maybe the one above: but you need to know your state and local landlord-tenant statutes/laws, which might be online. and you do need a good attorney. see if you can find a private one who will listen to you for a half hour for free. sometimes they can help because someone else will be the one paying for it. but seems you may have a little time, so get that june appointment with legal aid if nothing else!
i once did repairs on my place, because the landlord ignored requests. they were minor, and it was worth it. I learned a lot by watching youtube how-to videos about them too.
Check your state /local laws online to see if you can withhold rent due to paying for repairs . I think you may need to 1) make a repair request in writing (already done by the housing authority probably) , and 2) send landlord a notice that you will repair it and pay, and deduct from the rent, after such and such date. This may be required notice perhaps, it is in some states.
Best of luck to you.
I don't understand why you can't contact the landlord, are they MIA or something? Surely you've had contact with them before?
If you need to find the owner, you might try the local county tax assessor's office records for the property's address.
They are often online, otherwise you call them. how do you pay rent, thru a manager? in the mail?
It has been more than a month since this thread started. I'm curious how it was resolved.
I have several section 8 renters, but since we always do our repairs, we've never had this happen. When the OP said section 8 said to talk to the landlord to get the proper forms, I was surprised, because I would have no idea what "the proper forms" for this situation would be. I'd just be calling section 8 myself to find out.
I had my annual Section 8 inspection. They found something wrong with the stove, reported it to the landlord, but it took the landlord 2.5 months to send a technician over, at which point Section 8 had already suspended landlord's portion of the rent. I wanted to simply have the Completion of Repairs formed signed by both parties and submitted to Section 8, but there was no way to get in touch with the landlord to get the forms. So, I ended up scheduling a re-inspection, but they found even more problems with the apt, reported it to the landlord, and still nothing from the landlord. I left numerous voice messages, sent letters (regular and certified), and still nothing.
I've been living there for 25 years. It's in Brooklyn, NY. And this case has now dragged on for almost 6 months. My Section 8 voucher is set to expire at the end of May, and I simply can't move to another apt due to health issues. I'm freaking out! What am I to do? Will I end up losing Section 8 if I don't move? Is there any recourse for this? Please help!!!! Any advice would be appreciated!
Sounds like your landlord is trying to force you out so they can rent for a higher amount, go to legal aid or get your case manager involved. I know some places where people have been there that long and with rent stabilization people are only paying a few hundred dollars. it might be cheaper to buy a used stove on your own and get the repairs done yourself.
Actually I'm not making assumptions. I know about Medicare, I know how you have to qualify for it outside the age requirement, and you've divulged enough about yourself to substantiate the fact that you cannot qualify for it. Unless of course you haven't been truthful and of course that's always a possibility.
When I was 17 I was severely disabled and I had Medicare. Yes, mediCARE. It took me many years to improve to the point where I was no longer disabled to that point, but you can't judge who gets what based on age.
I don't understand why you can't contact the landlord, are they MIA or something? Surely you've had contact with them before?
Unfortunately, when you live off a system you must follow the rules of the system. I have no idea what your housing rules and regulations are or if they will try to move you but you aren't calling the shots here. 25 years is longer in place than most people ever live so I don't think you have any reason to complain, especially if you get into another place without having to do the legwork. My guess it that a lot of people in worse shape than you health wise have to deal with moving and rent and whatnot on a fairly regular basis.
How could you possibly know what OP's health situation is?
I had my annual Section 8 inspection. They found something wrong with the stove, reported it to the landlord, but it took the landlord 2.5 months to send a technician over, at which point Section 8 had already suspended landlord's portion of the rent. I wanted to simply have the Completion of Repairs formed signed by both parties and submitted to Section 8, but there was no way to get in touch with the landlord to get the forms. So, I ended up scheduling a re-inspection, but they found even more problems with the apt, reported it to the landlord, and still nothing from the landlord. I left numerous voice messages, sent letters (regular and certified), and still nothing.
I've been living there for 25 years. It's in Brooklyn, NY. And this case has now dragged on for almost 6 months. My Section 8 voucher is set to expire at the end of May, and I simply can't move to another apt due to health issues. I'm freaking out! What am I to do? Will I end up losing Section 8 if I don't move? Is there any recourse for this? Please help!!!! Any advice would be appreciated!
Make sure that you keep documentation of all your efforts to complete the forms in a timely manor...so if you do get a hearing, the LL negligence hopefully won't be used against you. Hoping things are going well for you.
Thanks for everybody's input. It's been a doozie of a case, but I finally got my apartment re-inspected, and this time they passed it. Here's the breakdown of what happened:
The suspension for landlord subsidies turned into a long-term suspension. As a result, Section 8 terminated the subsidy contract with the landlord. I didn't understand how that was going to affect me, since they had already issued a voucher transfer for me to look for another apt altogether. The voucher transfer had an expiration date. According to customer service, they said that I didn't find another apt in time, I could lose Section 8. And they place the burden of responsibility for all the expenses and hassles squarely on you, and that was an impossibility for me. By then, the landlord hadn't received a penny from Section 8 for about half a year. He may have very well been trying to get rid of me as some posters suggested, figuring he would just write off the losses, and rent out to a new tenant at market price. Well, I couldn't move, period, and so I never did. I was advised advised by a legal aid lawyer to simply keep paying my portion of the rent as if nothing's the matter while they would look into the case for me.
Well, two months later, I come to find out that my Section 8 voucher itself (not the voucher transfer) is still active even after the voucher transfer had expired! Go figure... Customer support said that while the contract with the landlord had been terminated, my Section 8 voucher itself was not! My own guess is that since I, the tenant, never actually violated the terms of the Section 8 voucher agreement, still allowing access to inspections, as well as repair attempts by landlord, and last but not least, still paying my portion of the rent, the case remained! So, they said that I should just schedule another inspection.
Altogether a good ending, but I wonder about two things. 1) Will they resume subsides to the landlord, and 2) would the landlord get subsidies for all those past months?
The most ridiculous thing about this whole case is that the people that come to inspect your apartment are always different, and while there are some guidelines to follow, every inspector makes their own SUBJECTIVE determination of the condition of a certain something in your apt, making for a passed or failed inspection as a result. That's what kept screwing me over. I actually anticipate similar nonsense in the future, as they keep adding regulations every year.
Any comments are welcome, and I appreciate everybody's efforts to help with advice.
No the LL will not get the rent portion from Section 8... Since the place Failed! Course now that it has passed they will re-start paying him. LL like this are Slumlords! He had plenty of time to fix or replace the stove & didn't.
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