Scott v. Kaiuum

Court Prohibits Landlord From Collecting Section 8 Payment From Tenant or

Evicting Tenant Where the Premises Did Not Pass Inspections

 

 

In Scott v. Kaiuum, an Appellate Division of the Fresno Superior Court held that a landlord who forfeited Section 8 payments for the failure to maintain the premises, may not collect those payments from the tenant nor evict the tenant for nonpayment.  In Scott, plaintiff entered into a one-year rental lease with defendant landlord.  Part of the rental payment was paid through the Fresno County Housing Authority pursuant to Section 8 regulations.  The premises were inspected by the Housing Authority and defects were cited.  The landlord did not correct the defects and the Housing Authority stopped making the Section 8 payments.  The landlord then attempted to collect the Section 8 payments from the tenant.  When the tenant refused to pay, the landlord started eviction proceedings.  The trial court granted the landlord’s complaint for an unlawful detainer.  The Superior Court’s Appellate Division reversed holding that the landlord breached the agreement by failing to correct the defects and therefore, the landlord could not collect Section 8 payments from the tenant nor evict the tenant.

 

Shannon B. Jones, Partner sbj@sbj-law.com