Montco Landlord Must Pay Over $500,00 To Settle Sexual Harassment Claims For Section 8 Renter
by Alex Lloyd Gross
Section 8 housing is a program that has the federal government pay a portion of rent for low income people. Example, the rent is $1000,00. You pay $250.00 and the government pays the rest. Allan R. Posner and his property management company ILJOR Properties, LLC, violated their contract with the government by having one renter pay a portion of their rent with sexual favors, US Attorney Jaqueline Romero said. He must now pay $570,000 for collecting excess rent from section 8 tenants, this and other incidents.
According to the complaint, Posner would tell a tenant that he would reduce their rent for sexual favors. Not wanted to get evicted or anger Posner, the renter agreed.
In another circumstance, the housing authority determined that a tenant, JS, could only afford to pay $4 a month toward her rent. Posner agreed in the Section 8 contract with the housing authority that the tenant would have no additional charges, other than electric services, aside from the agreed-upon rent. But in the lease for this unit, Posner charged JS $25 a month for a storage locker. Posner later threatened to evict JS when she could not make a $30 payment for rent of her apartment and the storage locker. In another instance, Posner charged assisted tenant LR, someone with an amputation who used a wheelchair for mobility, $125 a month for a storage unit located down a flight of stairs in the basement. This additional fee was not included in the housing assistance payment contract Posner entered into with the housing authority, as required. From January 1, 2017, to December 1, 2020, Posner received over $38,000 in fees he was not allowed to receive from HCVP-assisted tenants.
“Exploiting vulnerable individuals through sexual misconduct or overcharging HUD-assisted tenants is both reprehensible and abusive,” said Inspector General Rae Oliver Davis with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “We will continue to partner with the United States Attorney to hold these landlords accountable, protect low-income households from sexual and financial predation, and promote the integrity of HUD programs.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and HUD’s Office of Inspector General invite participants in HUD’s Section 8 program who have experienced sexual harassment by a landlord or a landlord requesting extra money from them to call the HUD OIG hotline at 1-800-347-3735.