Story of Justice: CCLA Saves Gulf War Veteran’s Housing Voucher

Jonathan is a senior and honorably discharged veteran who lives in federally subsidized housing. Like many tenants, he set up automatic rent payments for the convenience and security of knowing his rent would always be paid on time. Unfortunately, the property management company, a large corporate entity, repeatedly charged him the wrong rent amounts.

These errors caused overdraft fees and triggered wrongful non-payment notices, placing Jonathan at risk of eviction. That eviction would not only cost him his home but could also jeopardize his Section 8 housing voucher, a critical resource for this Gulf War veteran.

Despite months of effort, including intervention by other community agencies, the property management company failed to properly investigate or resolve the issue. Instead, they insisted Jonathan now owed them money. Even worse, they threatened him with eviction based on this disputed balance. At this point, exhausted and frustrated, Jonathan turned to Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida for an advocate who would fight for him when no one else had been able to successfully help.

Our CCLA attorney acted quickly, contacting customer service, then property managers, and then anyone who might be able to resolve the situation. Jonathan provided bank statements, detailed transaction histories, and a clear timeline of the overcharges. The CCLA attorney prepared a detailed report with bank statements and rent payment records, demonstrating exactly how the landlord had overcharged Jonathan and clearly exposing the property management company’s accounting errors.

Still, management largely ignored CCLA’s repeated calls and emails.

After getting no meaningful responses, the CCLA attorney escalated the case by sending a formal demand letter to the landlord, property manager, and even their registered agent. CCLA’s formal demand letter was the turning point that finally compelled management to act.

After weeks of CCLA’s continuous advocacy, management recognized their errors, waived the alleged balance, and dropped their threat of eviction. For the first time in months, Jonathan felt true relief knowing he could remain securely housed without fear of losing his Section 8 voucher or his home.

While working on the accounting dispute, CCLA resolved another issue: Jonathan had never been given a mailbox key. Though it seemed minor at first, access to his mailbox was critical to receiving timely notice of his annual inspection for recertification, a requirement to maintain his Section 8 Voucher. Our CCLA attorney also made sure to secure a mailbox key for Jonathan before completing his case ensuring he would not miss any important notifications in the future.

This outcome ensured that this proud Gulf War veteran not only kept his subsidized housing, but also regained his peace of mind.