Wilhite v. Scott County Housing & Redevelopment Authority, 759 N.W.2d 252 (2009)

Citation: Wilhite v. Scott County Housing & Redevelopment Authority, 759 N.W.2d 252 (2009)
Parent Document: Wilhite v. Scott County Housing & Redevelopment Authority, 759 N.W.2d 252 (2009)
Jurisdiction: Minnesota (state)
Effective Date: 2009-01-13
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1783744/wilhite-v-scott-county-housing-... ↗

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Wilhite maintains that even if she was evicted for a violation of the lease, it was not a “serious violation.” Wilhite argues that the hearing officer should have invoked discretion and considered the mitigating factors presented. But we initially note that a failure to pay rent constitutes good cause to terminate a Section 8 lease and that there is only a minimal practical difference between a tenant with a lease who occupies a premises but does not pay rent and a former tenant who, after expiration of her lease, continues to occupy the premises without paying rent. Further, we believe that the seriousness of the violation becomes apparent when compared with what we consider to be minor violations of a lease — late payment of rent, improperly boarding a pet, or ignoring homeowner-association rules, for example. In the case of minor violations, the landlord may suffer minor economic harms or inconvenience, but neither the landlord’s property nor economic interest is significantly affected. In the case of serious violations, the landlord is deprived of either a tangible property interest or a real, significant, economic benefit. Like the destruction of property or the failure to pay rent, events previously explicitly deemed to be serious lease violations, a holdover tenant deprives the landlord of both a property interest and an economic benefit. Because of the holdover, the landlord is unable to re-let the property, and the landlord will not only lose rental income, but also may lose a successor tenant who had been contracted to lease the premises. *257

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