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Individuals residing in public housing throughout the nation have particular protections meant to stop low-income tenants from being evicted after they fall behind on lease.
The consequence of an eviction from public housing for folks in Maine is particularly difficult as a result of there are usually not sufficient reasonably priced housing choices within the rural state, and people evicted usually tend to face homelessness. Maine public housing authorities file a disproportionately excessive share of eviction instances in contrast with all landlords within the state, in keeping with an evaluation of court docket knowledge obtained by the Bangor Every day Information and ProPublica.
If you happen to’re considered one of 1.6 million tenants residing in public housing nationally, together with 6,000 in Maine, listed here are some out there safeguards. The next isn’t authorized recommendation.
Hire Aid Choices
If you happen to begin having hassle paying your lease, there are alternatives out there to you earlier than you face eviction. You may ask for assist in the next methods:
Reducing your lease. In public housing, your lease is often based mostly in your revenue. So in case your paycheck decreases, you’ll be able to write to the housing authority to request what’s referred to as an interim recertification to decrease your lease.
Pausing rental funds. If you happen to at present pay the minimal lease allowed at your housing authority and fall behind, you’ll be able to request what’s known as a hardship exemption to pause your rental funds. You might qualify if:
- You misplaced authorities help equivalent to meals stamps or Medicaid, or are ready to see if you may get it.
- You misplaced your job.
- A member of the family died and it impacts your family revenue.
You can too ask in case your housing authority units different {qualifications} for a hardship exemption.
30-Day Discover
The eviction course of begins as quickly as you get a 30-day discover letter out of your housing authority. It is likely to be known as a “termination” or “eviction” discover. The letter ought to let you know what you owe. If you happen to fail to start funds inside 30 days, the housing authority can convey an eviction case in opposition to you in court docket. The discover doesn’t imply it’s a must to transfer out instantly.
- Public housing authorities have to provide you a 30-day discover, which is a brand new federal requirement as of January 2025.
- The discover should embrace directions on how one can replace your revenue with the housing authority and/or ask for a hardship exemption.
- It should present an itemized checklist of how a lot again lease you owe, damaged down by month. The checklist may embrace any penalties for lease violations or different charges you owe for upkeep, utilities or different providers.
- It additionally has to say how one can swap from flat lease to income-based lease. (Flat lease relies on what the federal authorities considers a good lease to your space, and income-based lease relies on how a lot you earn.)
- The discover should share details about the housing authority’s grievance course of, which lets you formally dispute the eviction earlier than it reaches court docket.
The Grievance Process
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After receiving the 30-day discover, you’ll be able to attempt to keep away from eviction by requesting an off-the-cuff assembly together with your public housing authority, which is step one within the grievance course of. It’s clever to make this request in writing by the deadline in your eviction discover. On this assembly, you’ll have the possibility to speak over your case and see what choices is likely to be out there to keep away from eviction, equivalent to agreeing to a compensation plan (extra on these beneath).
If that doesn’t work, you’ll be able to request a proper grievance listening to to attempt to forestall your eviction from going to court docket. It’s higher to do that in writing, too.
Forward of the listening to, you’ll be able to request:
- Paperwork in your tenant file.
- The housing authority’s Admissions and Continued Occupancy Coverage, which explains intimately the housing authority’s guidelines, together with how the grievance listening to ought to unfold.
On the listening to you may have the correct to:
- Have a lawyer current.
- Current your individual proof and query proof provided by the housing authority.
- Name witnesses to help your case and query any witnesses known as by the housing authority.
The listening to is determined by an arbiter or panel. If you happen to win the grievance, the housing authority can not file the eviction case in opposition to you in court docket. If you happen to lose, the case heads to eviction court docket.
Compensation Settlement
The federal authorities encourages housing authorities to enter into compensation agreements with tenants who’re behind on lease to be able to forestall evictions from public housing. Such an settlement, which housing authorities are usually not required to supply, is a legally binding contract that outlines how lengthy it’s a must to repay your debt. You may ask your housing authority if that is an possibility.
Regardless of federal steering to supply compensation agreements exterior of court docket, public housing authorities typically will take you to court docket earlier than providing one. If you happen to decline the settlement, you could possibly be evicted following the court docket listening to.
What to learn about in-court agreements:
- Signing a compensation settlement in court docket can put an eviction in your everlasting report, even in case you meet all of the settlement’s necessities. This necessary truth won’t even be talked about within the settlement, so it’s price asking.
- Housing authorities can ask you to comply with be evicted instantly in case you fail to abide by the phrases of the settlement, equivalent to making funds on time.
- A compensation settlement reached in court docket can require you to comply with all housing authority guidelines — equivalent to these prohibiting smoking, requiring you to take down vacation decorations or shovel your driveway — or face a direct eviction.
Pay cap. The federal authorities encourages — however doesn’t require — housing authorities to create compensation plans that don’t make you pay greater than 40% of your month-to-month revenue (considering your common month-to-month lease and extra fee to cowl again lease).
Timeframes differ. Each housing authority has its personal guidelines about how lengthy a compensation settlement can final.
Eviction Courtroom
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If you happen to lose the grievance course of, are usually not provided a compensation settlement or fail to uphold your finish of a compensation settlement reached exterior of court docket, the housing authority will probably file an eviction case in court docket. Analysis your native eviction court docket course of as a result of eviction guidelines can differ by state or municipality.
In Maine, right here’s what to anticipate on the courthouse:
- Like most states, Maine doesn’t offer you an legal professional in eviction court docket. However you continue to have the choice to rent your individual lawyer. There are a number of organizations in Maine that present free or reduced-cost authorized providers and legal professionals to folks with low incomes.
- Pine Tree Authorized Help
- Incapacity Rights Maine
- Authorized Providers for Maine Elders
- Volunteer Legal professionals Venture
- You do not need to reply to the general public housing authority’s eviction grievance forward of the listening to, however you do want to indicate up in court docket. If you happen to don’t seem on the listening to, the decide will mechanically rule in opposition to you. This implies you’ll be evicted.
- When you’re in court docket, there won’t be a jury. Eviction court docket is often crowded, and the method strikes rapidly.
- The decide will name your case and sometimes will ask in case you, the tenant, wish to attempt to attain an settlement with the housing authority’s legal professional.
- If you happen to don’t attain an settlement, the decide will evaluate the proof introduced by the housing authority and any protection you will have shortly earlier than making a ruling.
- Maine courts additionally allow you to resolve eviction instances by way of mediation on the identical day as your listening to. This casual course of occurs on the courthouse. It offers you a chance to talk with the housing authority and is directed by an unbiased mediator. Mediators haven’t any energy to resolve a case; their job is simply that can assist you and the housing authority discover a compromise.
We’re nonetheless reporting. Have you ever been evicted in Maine? To share your story, attain Bangor Every day Information reporter Sawyer Loftus at [email protected].
This story was supported partially by a grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism.
