CAA has filed an amicus brief in Federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the property owner in the case of Barrientos v. 1801 - 1825 Morton LLC. In this case, the property owner served tenants with a 90-day notice, indicating that the owner planned to opt out of 22 below market Section 8 voucher tenancies. The owner elected to opt out of the program based upon legitimate economic reasons as allowed by HUD regulations. Business or economic reasons for terminating a tenancy under the Section 8 program include the desire to raise rents. The issue in federal court is whether the Los Angeles Rent Control Ordinance's just-cause provisions prevent an owner from exiting the Section 8 voucher program for business or economic reasons. CAA's brief argues that the lower court decision, "essentially locks a landlord subject to [the rent ordinance] into the Section 8 Program indefinitely once the landlord accepts a Section 8 voucher." This "significantly frustrates the goal of the Section 8 program to encourage private sector participation in the Nation's housing programs by mandating perpetual participation in the voucher program and requiring the landlord to subject itself to regulation by HUD, regardless of the monetary and personnel costs, so long as the Section 8 tenant chooses to reside at the landlord's premises." To read CAA's brief, go to:
http://www.caanet.org/AM/TemplateRedirect.cfm?Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=17193