Landlord Must Accept Tenant's Section 8 Voucher

Tenant sued landlord and asked the court to order landlord to accept her Section 8 rent voucher. The whole building had received project-based Section 8 assistance for many years. In 2003, landlord withdrew from project-based Section 8 program. Landlord agreed to continue to accept tenant-based Section 8 vouchers from some tenants. Landlord refused to accept a Section 8 voucher from tenant because, it claimed, she was a chronic late payer, had damaged the apartment, and refused to provide access for repairs. Landlord argued that it didn't have to accept tenant's Section 8 voucher. Tenant and HUD claimed that, by law, landlord was required to accept tenant's Section 8 voucher. The court ruled for tenant. Under federal law, tenants receiving project-based Section 8 assistance can continue to receive tenant-based Section 8 assistance if the project-based assistance is terminated. Although landlord claimed that this didn't mean it had to accept tenant's Section 8 voucher, it would be illogical not to do so. And HUD interpreted the law to require landlord to continue to accept tenant's voucher.

Jeanty v. Shore Terrace Realty Assn.: NYLJ, 8/18/04, p. 24, col. 1 (SDNY; Jones, J)