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Prairie State Legal Services - "Making a Positive Difference" |
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| Sandra's Story Homelessness Prevention |
| When you are a disabled mother of three, the Section 8 voucher you have is the key to preventing homelessness for your family. Sandra knew how important it was to take care of her responsibilities in order to provide a decent place to live for her children. She paid her rent on time and kept her receipts. It is no surprise then that she was alarmed and confused when she received notice she was being sued for non-payment of rent. |
| About a month before Sandra received the notice her landlady requested the Housing Authority approve an increase in rent. The request was denied and the landlady was instructed to make repairs to a broken lock and window. The landlady was heard to say that she would be getting rid of her Section 8 tenants. The repairs were made, but the next time Sandra paid her rent, the landlady deducted from the rent the cost of repairs, declared the rent unpaid, assessed a late charge and issued a notice of termination of tenancy. |
| Sandra offered in writing to pay for the cost of the repairs and even made a partial payment toward them. She also requested a personal meeting. Her request was ignored and her landlord filed for eviction. |
| If you are evicted for cause, you can lose your Section 8 voucher. This could mean Sandra and her children would be left homeless. The Prairie State staff filed a motion to dismiss. Due to the strength of the argument, we were able to settle the case by terminating the lease, by Sandra only paying for the damage her family had done, and by Sandra having sufficient time to move. As a result, Sandra kept her voucher, and moved her family to a new apartment. |