3.1.4 Eviction

3.1.4 Eviction aetrahan Mon, 01/23/2023 - 16:33

Owners of multifamily federally assisted housing are required to have good cause to refuse to renew a lease or to evict a tenant. Tenants may only be evicted for material noncompliance with the rental agreement, material failure to carry out obligations under any state or local law, criminal activity, or other good cause.1  Material noncompliance includes one or more substantial violations of the lease; repeated minor violations of the lease that disrupt the livability of the project, adversely affect health, safety, or the right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises, interfere with management of the project, or have an adverse financial impact on the project; nonpayment of rent or other charges; criminal or drug-related activity; and failure to comply with the recertification process.

The owner must serve a termination notice upon the tenant by sending a letter properly addressed and stamped to the tenant at the tenant’s address in the project with a proper return address and by serving a copy of the notice on the tenant by delivering it to any adult person answering the tenant’s door, or if no adult responds, by placing the notice under the tenant’s door or affixing the notice to the door. Service is not deemed effective until service has been made by both methods.2

The notice of termination must be in writing and must state that the tenancy is terminated on a date which is specified therein; state the reasons for the eviction with enough specificity for a tenant to prepare a defense; advise the tenant that if the tenant remains in the premises on the date specified for termination, the landlord may seek to enforce the termination by bringing court action, at which time the tenant may present a defense; and be served properly.3

Many HUD multifamily properties use the HUD Model Lease for Subsidized Programs.4  The form lease and the HUD handbook require that any termination notice advise the tenant of the right to request a meeting to discuss the proposed lease termination and that the request be granted if made within 10 days of receipt of the notice. Even if the lease does not expressly provide for such a meeting, you should always ask for one per HUD Handbook 4350.3 Chapter 8 (if the handbook applies to the property’s subsidy program).5  This will give you a chance to negotiate and, even if a compromise cannot be reached, the meeting is an opportunity for pre-trial discovery.

The time period for the notice of termination depends upon the reason for the eviction. In material noncompliance terminations, state law and the lease determine the length of notice required. A 30-day notice of lease termination is required for terminations based upon “other good cause.” A landlord under the federally assisted multifamily housing programs may not rely upon any grounds at trial that were not stated in the notice of lease termination unless the owner had no knowledge of those grounds at the time of the notice to vacate.

As of November 8, 2021 and until rescinded by HUD, 30 days’ notice is required for eviction for nonpayment of rent from most HUD Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance properties or from Section 221(d), 236, and 202 below-market-interest-rate mortgage properties. The notice must include information about available rental assistance.6