Exclusive: Housing authority late on evacuee funds

[TexasStooge]

Renters face eviction; agency cites number of applicants

By KIM HORNER / The Dallas Morning News

Some Hurricane Katrina evacuees who received short-term rental vouchers from the Dallas Housing Authority are now facing eviction because the agency still has not paid their December rent.

A Housing Authority official said the agency is behind on processing the rent payments to landlords because of an unexpectedly high volume of applications – more than 6,000 – and incorrect or missing paperwork from many apartment managers.

But that doesn't ease the concerns of Mikesha Hagan, who said her landlord recently warned her of possible eviction.

The Katrina evacuee from New Orleans moved into the Hampton Greens apartments in Far East Dallas at the end of November with her 3-year-old son and a cousin. She said the Housing Authority still has not paid the rent for December or January – and now there are late fees adding $240 to the $619 rent.

"I'm trying not to think about it," Ms. Hagan said of possible eviction, adding that she and her family have nowhere else to go. Ms. Hagan's landlord could not be reached Monday.

To date, FEMA has provided $20 million for the Dallas program. The federal money, which includes administrative costs, rent and furniture, is distributed to the state before reaching the local level.

So far the Housing Authority has paid about $986,000 of that money to landlords for about 700 households, said Michelle Raglon, spokeswoman for the authority.

She said her agency, which has hired extra staff, is working to speed the process. The Housing Authority is working on payments for December before it can start on January rent.

"We will pay appropriately," she said. "We're just asking for people to be patient."

Attorneys with Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas say the group has received a number of calls from evacuees in a panic after receiving written eviction notices, verbal warnings or lockouts, said Maryann D'Aniello, a Legal Aid staff attorney who works with evacuees. Attorneys plan to meet today with Dallas Housing Authority officials to discuss ways to avoid evictions.

Pay two months of rent

"I would like them to process both December and January rent payments at once so they can get on track and have landlords receive payments in a timely manner so evacuees don't have to worry about being displaced once again," Ms. D'Aniello said.

Ann Lott, Housing Authority president and CEO, was lauded in November for stepping forward to administer special vouchers as thousands of evacuees faced a Dec. 1 deadline to move out of hotels and into permanent housing.

The city of Dallas was unwilling to take on such a program because of concerns that reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency would not come through. Residents whose free rent ended through the city's privately funded Project Exodus were encouraged to apply.

FEMA's hotel deadline has since been extended to Feb. 7, and the authority is still issuing vouchers.

Under the program, evacuees receive a voucher to cover their rent and utilities through February. Once evacuees have a voucher, they must find a landlord willing to accept it. The tenant signs a lease, and the authority pays the rent directly to the landlord. The program also provides furniture – another service officials say has been delayed.

More than twice as many people as expected – 6,600 families – have signed up so far for the vouchers, Ms. Raglon said.

She said many landlords have not submitted complete, or any, paperwork. For example, many who housed evacuees through the city's Project Exodus did not think they needed to submit additional paperwork to receive rent payments.

"We're working as fast as we can, and it's getting a little faster," Ms. Raglon said. "It's an extraordinary effort, and it's taken some extraordinary work to get it done. Ms. Lott has helped to stabilize Dallas when no one else would step forward."

Officials with the Apartment Association of Greater Dallas say they have heard concerns from members who have not received rent payments from the agency, said Gerry Henigsman, the apartment association's executive vice president. But he said he believes only a small group of landlords is threatening to evict.

Trying to catch up

"A great deal of that is due to a logjam that occurred when we had thousands of these individuals who had to go in and register," he said. "I think for the most part it really is a situation of trying to catch up. ... Many of our members realize that and know they are going to get paid down the road."

One hurricane evacuee said she has repeatedly called the Dallas Housing Authority for answers – but only gets busy signals.

She asked not to be identified because her family has moved three times since the storm, and she doesn't want her three children to worry about being uprooted again.

"I can't get any information," she said. "I don't know what's going on."

Candra Stewart, another Legal Aid attorney, said some evacuees got scared of the eviction threats and paid the rent from their own pockets. She is encouraging people not to do that because the Housing Authority has said it cannot reimburse them. But in the meantime, attorneys are determining the best way to help their clients.

"You have a lot of clients who are really scared. They don't know what to do," she said. "It's been a nightmare."