I was told I had to leave my house within 10 days after the rent went up from $450 to $1,400 - I am a victim of a "mistake" but no one will help me

A woman had to leave her apartment due to an error by the housing authority.

Nikki Jones, a resident of Richmond, Virginia, is just one of many victims of wrongful eviction.

Nikki Jones left her Richmond social housing apartment after a mistake caused her rent to rise dramaticallyPhoto credit: Getty Images – Getty

Many tenants in social housing faced eviction due to errorsPhoto credit: Getty Images – Getty

Housing authorities can make mistakes and overcharge or undercharge tenants.

Just last year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development examined the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority regarding income and rent adjustments.

The audit found that RRHA had made incorrect adjustments to revenue and rent, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.

“There is no doubt that some of these calculations were wrong – some charged residents too much, some charged too little,” Richard Monocchio of HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing told The Washington Post.

The audit revealed that 23 of 35 randomly evaluated tenant files contained errors.

Steven Nesmith, the CEO of the RRHA, told the Washington Post that his agency did not have enough brokers to meet residents’ demands and eventually gave residents another chance to pay rent without facing eviction.

But Jones had already moved out of home for fear of eviction.

Help never came

Jones moved into social housing with her son in 2009 after her parents died.

She was unemployed at the time and paid only $50 a month for the unit.

Jones then found a job as a security guard and her rent was adjusted to her income.

“I feel so hurt,” says mother who “sacrificed a lot” for her $480,000 home – now she is threatened with eviction by a mysterious landlord

Social housing is intended for low-income families, the elderly and people with disabilities.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides federal grants to public housing authorities so residents can pay subsidized rents.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), approximately 970,000 families across the United States live in public housing managed by 3,300 housing authorities.

To qualify for the units, housing authorities check applicants’ income, citizenship/immigration status, and whether they are senior citizens or disabled.

In Richmond, the income limit for a two-person household is $70,600.

Housing authorities determine each individual’s rent based on what they can afford.

Tenants are checked once a year to see whether their income situation has changed and their rent payments are adjusted accordingly.

Jones said she cooperated with the inspections and tried to fight the rent increases.

Although her income had not changed, her rent still increased dramatically in 2020.

Explaining rent gouging

Rent gouging occurs when landlords increase the rent significantly and reach an unreasonable amount. Read more about this below.

Rent gouging is illegal and state laws protect tenants from becoming victims of it.
Thirty-seven states have laws defining price gouging.
Landlords are legally obliged to terminate a lease and enter into a new one at a higher price. If they do not do this, they may end up paying excessive rents.
Tenants are also protected by rent control ordinances. Landlords cannot raise rent beyond the amount allowed by a city or state.
Landlords must wait until the end of the tenancy to increase the rent.
New York, Washington DC, San Francisco and Los Angeles have rent control laws designed to prevent landlords from charging excessive prices.
Rent gouging also includes bribing landlords to approve or extend rental contracts.

Source: Law District

AGAINST THE PATHS

Jones paid $450 in 2019 and $554 in 2020, but the most dramatic increase came later that year when her payments skyrocketed to $1,128.

She said she fought the increase and tried to prove it was a mistake because her income remained the same.

The housing authority never fixed her rent, and in September 2021, the payments became too high for her to afford.

In March of this year, Jones appeared in court because he owed more than $12,000 in back rent.

At that time, she was already paying $1,400, but her monthly income was only $2,500.

Public housing residents in Virginia typically pay about 30% of their income on rent. Jones, on the other hand, paid more than half of her monthly income on rent.

At her trial, Jones wanted to defend herself and draw the judge’s attention to the error, but was not given the opportunity to voice her opinion.

An eviction date was set and Jones had no choice but to consider her next steps.

She decided to pack her things and move before she was forced to flee.

“I told (the landlord) that I needed a home or I would be homeless,” she told the Washington Post.

Jones found a two-bedroom apartment worth $1,500 for herself and her son.

Even though rent made up a significant portion of her monthly income, she felt she had no choice but to move out.

After settling into her new home, Jones saw the announcement that the housing authority was resetting eviction payments.