Housing assistants??

Eviction rights through public housing?

• PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE POST AND DO NOT BE RUDE. MY MOTHER HAS SEVERAL HEALTH ISSUES AND WAS THROWN IN THE STREET BY THE PUBLIC HOUSING AUTHORITY IN HER AREA. 5 stars to anyone that can help. My mother lived in a high-rise public housing home in Illinois. Recently, she had a note placed under her door written by the director of housing for the area telling her she had ten days to vacate. The do receive federal funding through HUD so after some research I explained to her that she had the right to appeal this decision with the housing authority, and if she still wasn’t satisfied she could later contest this and demand a court order to vacate. The next day she informed that that she intended to appeal this as it was here right, and they said they would produce witnesses against her and let her know when the appeal date is. Recently, the ten day period they gave her expired and she arrived home with her door booted. She called several numbers that were found online for Illinois Housing in order to complain about this, after hours of an automated call system she eventually talks to a live person, everyone has agreed that this is illegal but they either give her a number to someone else over housing, or don’t believe her. I have even called on her behalf to the state housing headquarters and was told no housing authority would do what they DID. The police in the small town say they cannot get involved, meanwhile they took all my mother’s belongings and threw them away today, including many of her medications! She is an insulin dependant and recently had heart surgery. I am very upset for her, I have called legal aid services that are too busy to take it, and housing officials until I am blue in the face. She called today and asked how they could do this as it is against Illinois law and they told her to call a lawyer and hung up on her. It’s obvious what they are doing is wrong, but is there anything or anyone we can talk to that can make them follow the law?!

• Answer:

  Before she got the 10 day notice, she must have known they wanted her to leave. All landlords will let a tenant know when there is a problem. That notice to vacate had to be after many other notices and communications. Your mother failed to take action in a timely fashion. It is illegal for a landlord to lock a tenant out unless it was after the 10 days at which time your mother had to be out of there. She knew that ahead of time. Your mother should have appealed the decision when she first heard about the eviction. What is the State Housing that said the local Housing could not evict her? The police have no authority in a civil matter. The only cause of action your mother has is to sue the local Housing agency for disposing of her things because they were not abandoned. You and your mother should go to Legal Aid for help.