ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Time and again, tenants in the Housing Choice Voucher Program, formerly known as Section 8, have said they believe the Rochester Housing Authority fails to enforce state laws designed to protect tenants.     

A Rochester renter recently told me, “Deanna, just because I’m poor doesn’t mean I have no rights.”  She’s correct.

Gloria Gomez and her sister Maritza Rosario both claim that RHA always sided with Rosario’s landlord, even when the landlord violated the law. So, they sued Rosario’s landlord in small claims court.

“Everything you see here is all the proof that we gave to the court, to the judge,” said Gomez referring to letters, receipts, and documents scattered across her kitchen table.  A judge considered that evidence and ruled that her landlord had raised her rent illegally.

“I said we won the case. We won the case,” Gomez recalled when she read the judgement.

A judge awarded Rosales $4500 plus interest totaling $6,159.98.  According to the judge, her landlord repeatedly failed to give Rosario the legally mandated prior notice of rent increases.

Rosario is disabled and qualifies for housing assistance, also known as Section 8.  Section 8 must approve any rent increases.  And according to the Rochester Housing Authority’s executive director, landlords must notify the tenant and Rochester Housing Authority 90 days before a rent increase. 

“Once the rent increased, the caseworker yelled at her and said, pay it pay it. You have to pay it,” Gomez recalled.

She was referring to the Section 8 Housing Specialist assigned to her sister’s case.  She says RHA insisted she pay the landlord or risk losing her benefits, even when she complained that the landlord had not informed her of rent increases as required by law.

I reached out to the Rochester Housing Authority, and the agency emailed the following reply: “Due to privacy laws, we cannot comment on the specific individual in question.” But the statement went on to say, “If there is a lease violation and the landlord does not follow the HAP [Housing Assistance Program] agreement, RHA advises tenants to consult legal counsel.”

Another Section 8 tenant, Yalitza Galan complains that her Section 8 housing specialist has repeatedly failed to alert her to her rights as a renter. When I met Galan in April, her landlord would not renew her lease, but Galan couldn’t find another home in her price range.

“Seeing my kids ask me will we have a home, that’s the worst thing that can happen to a parent,” said Galan tearfully.

She told her Rochester Housing Authority specialist that her family would be homeless if forced to vacate.

Her RHA Housing specialist replied “I don’t understand your question because I believe we already established that you will need to be out of the property by 4/30/2024, and your next statement was if I don’t have a place to go then I’ll be homeless.  While I hope that isn’t the case, if you don’t have someplace to stay then yes you will be homeless.”

But I reached out to RHA leadership and learned that specialist was wrong.  RHA’s executive director, Shawn Burr wrote, “RHA applicants and participants are entitled to an initial search term of 90 days, with additional extensions, as necessary.”

That’s something Galan says her RHA specialist never told her.

Asked if she feels as though RHA treats her as though she has no rights she replied, “No, I do not feel, I know I have no rights.”

While the Rochester Housing Authority does not provide legal advice, it does provide information on its website informing its tenants of their rights.

But when I combed the website, I found much of the information was wrong.  For example, on late charges a document it linked to said, “There is no law limiting the amount of late fees a landlord can charge.”

But in 2019 the law changed. In a pamphlet provided by the New York Attorney General it states, “The most your landlord can charge as a late fee is $50 or 5% of your monthly rent, whichever is less.”

The document on RHA’s website said the following about security deposits, “There is no specific time frame for return of a security deposit under New York State law.” That’s wrong.

The law changed five years ago. The AG’s pamphlet on tenant’s rights says that the law states “the landlord must return your security deposit within 14 days of you moving out.”

But the tenants who brought their concerns to me believe these protections don’t apply to the poor because not even the Rochester Housing Authority helps to enforce them.

“I’m not sitting down waiting for the first of the month, for the government to give me nothing,” said Galan. “In this interview I’m not asking for no one to give me nothing. I’m asking for justice.”

Burr emailed a statement saying in part, “as for the updates on the website, it was an inadvertent error caused by the 2020 pandemic which created a staffing shortage and allocation of resources to cover pressing issues facing the authority such as COVID. The authority has a limited IT team, and we certainly need more help.”

The authority would not comment on specific renters’ cases because of privacy laws, but after I made them aware of the incorrect information for tenants on its website, the Authority updated that information. 

I also informed them about outdated information I found in its guide for Section 8 landlords. After this investigation aired on News10 NBC on Tuesday, June 18, I learned RHA had updated that information as well.

If you are a Section 8 tenant, you do have rights. If in doubt, refer to the Attorney General’s recently updated pamphlet on tenants’ rights and responsibilities.

If you have a story idea for consumer investigations, send it to consumer@whec.com.