Legal aid programs in New Jersey that receive federal funding from the Legal Services Corporation are charged with the task of meeting the everyday legal needs of the poor. Unfortunately, these programs all too often work to make housing for the poor in New Jersey more unlivable and difficult to find by creating tremendous difficulties for public and private landlords trying to provide low-cost housing.
Legal Services Sends Apartment Lease Terms To The Doghouse
Hudson
County Legal Services of New Jersey, a recipient of federal tax money, chose to
spend taxpayer dollars contesting a clear violation of a “no-pet” provision of a
Jersey City public housing lease. Ada Garcia lived in public housing with
a dog and cat even though a provision in her lease clearly prohibited her from
having pets in the housing complex. When the city started eviction
proceedings against Garcia because of the violation, Legal Services successfully
argued to a state court that a “reasonable” interpretation of the no-pet
provision should allow pets despite the clear language of the lease. The
court held that it was “reasonable” for Garcia to have the cat in her apartment,
but not her dog. Thanks to the effort of Legal Services, landlords across
the state can no longer count on the language of their leases being enforced by
the courts, especially if their tenants can use questionable legal arguments
cooked up by Legal Services.
See Jersey City Management v. Garcia, 1999 N.J. Super. LEXIS 192 (N.J. App. Div., June 3, 1999).
Legal Services Forces Landlords Into Section 8 Program
Thanks to
federally funded Hudson County Legal Services (HCLS), New Jersey property owners
can be forced to participate in the Section 8 subsidized housing program against
their will. HCLS convinced the New Jersey Supreme Court that state law
requires a landlord to accept Section 8 vouchers from one of their tenants, even
if the landlord did not wish to participate in the Section 8 program and had
never done so before. This court decision hurts landlords because
participation in the Section 8 program entails a large bureaucratic tangle of
paperwork and property inspections. Additionally, the decision limits the
options these private landowners have of using their property.
See Franklin Tower One, L.L.C. v. N.M., 725 A.2d 1104, (N.J. 1999).
Legal Aid Delays Paterson Public Housing Reform
The Passaic County
Legal Aid Society filed suit in April 1999 against the Paterson Housing
Authority seeking to prevent the city from relocating the last few tenants from
the dilapidated Christopher Columbus Housing complex slated for
demolition. Legal Aid’s suit additionally sought to force the city to
repair the facilities and provide security for the last remaining 12 families of
the 381 who once lived in the drug-infested high-rise complex. Legal Aid
pursued this case in spite of the fact that Paterson was giving relocated
tenants relocation assistance and subsidized private housing as part of its $70
million HOPE VI federally sponsored housing assistance program.
Ultimately, although granting an initital temporary order preventing the
relocation of the final few residents, the judge hearing the case ruled in June
1999 that the city could finally move on its plan to demolish the high-rise and
move the residents. As a result, Legal Aid’s action accomplished nothing
except to delay the move of poor public housing residents into better housing
and cost the city’s taxpayers a great deal of money while the suit was pending.
See Michael Casey, News Section article pg. L01, Bergen County Record, June 22, 1999.