Asian Law Alliance
Success Stories - 2009
(Names changed to preserve confidentiality)

Housing

Mrs. Lin is an Asian senior who participates in the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program. The Section 8 Program, administered by the Santa Clara Housing Authority, assists low-income tenants by helping pay for a portion of their monthly rental payments. In August 2008, Mrs. Lin wanted to move to a new apartment that was closer to her two daughters. Ordinarily, there are several steps a Section 8 tenant must take before moving from one apartment to another. Unfortunately, Mrs. Lin is elderly and speaks very little English, thus she was not aware of the exact steps that needed to be taken. Instead, Mrs. Lin relied on the advice and misguidance of her new apartment manager who told Mrs. Lin that they would take care of everything for her. A few weeks later, the new apartment manger told Mrs. Lin that they had signed a new contract with Housing Authority and that Mrs. Lin could begin moving into her new apartment.

For several months, Mrs. Lin paid her portion of the rent, believing that Housing Authority was paying the balance. Unfortunately, the new apartment manager never notified Housing Authority that Mrs. Lin had moved into their apartment building, nor did the new apartment manager ever sign a contract with Housing Authority. As a result, Housing Authority was not making any payments on Mrs. Lin’s behalf. Sometime in December 2008, the new apartment manger notified Mrs. Lin that she owed thousands of dollars of unpaid rent that had to be paid immediately or else she would be evicted from her home. Mrs. Lin was shocked because she believed that Housing Authority was making those payments all along. Making things even worse, Housing Authority also notified Mrs. Lin that her Section 8 voucher was being revoked because she had not followed the correct procedures for moving into her new apartment.

It was at this point that Mrs. Lin came to the ALA offices for assistance. ALA was first able to persuade Housing Authority to reinstate Mrs. Lin’s Section 8 status. ALA was also able to convince Mrs. Lin’s apartment management that their apartment manager had committed fraud upon a senior by misleading Mrs. Lin into believing that they had actually signed a contract with Housing Authority. Thankfully, the apartment management agreed not to charge Mrs. Lin the entire back rent in which they claimed was owed. Currently, Housing Authority is now paying their correct portion of the rent and Mrs. Lin is happily living in her new apartment and visits her two daughters daily.