Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 14, 1992 TAG: 9201140295
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
TENANTS PROTEST FEES
Jacqueline Bush has been told to pay $9.30 to repair a kitchen window she didn't break.To avoid the charge, she must obtain a copy of a police report on the incident.
That costs $9.30.
Bush doesn't think she should have to pay the bill to fix a window broken by vandals in her apartment in the Lincoln Terrace housing project in Northwest Roanoke. Henry Woodward, an attorney for the Legal Aid Society of the Roanoke Valley, agrees with her.
Woodward told the city Redevelopment and Housing Authority's Board of Commissioners on Monday that Bush's case is the latest in dozens of similar complaints he has heard from public housing tenants over the years.
The authority is illegally billing them for damages they didn't cause, said Woodward, who is representing Bush.
"It poses serious legal problems. The effect [of this policy] is that thousands of dollars in repairs are being billed illegally to tenants," he said.
Federal regulations and provisions in the authority's leases limit responsibility for charges for damages to those caused by tenants, their households or guests, Woodward said.
"It appears there exists a policy of billing such repairs to tenants despite the contrary lease provisions and federal law."
Bush was billed for the repair even though the work order that went to the authority's maintenance crews said the glass was broken by vandals.
If tenants want to escape charges for damages, he said, they must obtain police reports showing that the damage was caused by someone who doesn't live in the housing unit or was not a guest.
Bush reported the damage to both police and Lincoln Terrace's manager when it occurred, Woodward said. It's not fair to require tenants to pay for police reports "to clear their names," he said.
If Bush doesn't pay, the authority will likely take her to court to collect the money, he said.
Woodward urged the commissioners to drop the repair charge.