On January 16, 2007, two recipients of federal benefits under the Section 8 Housing Voucher Program and a non-profit advocacy organization filed a lawsuit in the Central District Court of California. The plaintiff sued the Housing Authority of Los Angeles under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The plaintiff, represented by private counsel, claimed that the Authority had violated due process by altering housing benefits to voucher recipients without adequate notice. The plaintiff claimed that the Authority violated six due process and federal regulations by failing to provide proper notice of Section 8 rent increases, which would affect approximately 22,000 tenants receiving federal benefits.

The Section 8 Housing Voucher Program was designed to aid low-income families in acquiring housing by subsidizing private landlords who rented to low-income tenants. In 2004, the defendant proposed cutting back on these federal subsidies in order to meet a federally-set budget. The changes were announced publicly, and would not take effect until April 2005. Individual tenants would not be subject to new regulations until their next annual evaluation, unless they moved before that time.

On November 26, 2007, the Court (Judge George H. Wu) ruled in favor of the defendants on a cross-motion for summary judgment. The court found that the plaintiff's five causes of action did not support a due process claim.

The plaintiff appealed the case to the Ninth Circuit, where it was again dismissed. A second appeal is pending.

Asma Husain - 11/02/2015


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