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program. (24 C.F.R. § 982.552.) Termination is mandatory when a participant has been
evicted from subsidized housing for serious violations of the participant’s lease. (24
C.F.R. § 982.552(b)(2).) Termination is discretionary when a participant violates any
“family obligations” imposed under the program including, as relevant here, committing
“any serious or repeated violation” of the participant’s lease, failing to supply any
information the housing authority determines is necessary in the administration of the
program and promptly giving the housing authority a copy of any landlord eviction
notice. (24 C.F.R. §§ 982.552(c)(1)(i); 982.55l(b)(l), (e) & (g).) In determining whether
to terminate assistance on a discretionary ground, the housing authority “may consider all
relevant circumstances such as the seriousness of the case, the extent of participation or
culpability of individual family members, mitigating circumstances related to the
disability of a family member, and the effects of denial or termination of assistance on
other family members who were not involved in the action or failure.” (24 C.F.R.
§ 982.552(c)(2)(i).)
A person receiving section 8 benefits has an interest in continued receipt of those
benefits that is safeguarded by procedural due process. (Nozzi v. Hous. Auth. (9th Cir.
2015) 806 F.3d 1178, 1192, as amended on denial of rehg. en banc (Jan. 29, 2016), citing
Goldberg v. Kelly (1970) 397 U.S. 254, 267 (Goldberg).) To terminate section 8 housing
assistance, due process requires, among other things, timely and adequate notice of the
reasons for the proposed termination and a written decision following a pre-termination
hearing that states the reasons for the determination and the evidence on which the
decision maker relied. (McCall v. Montgomery Hous. Auth. (M.D. Ala. 2011) 809
F.Supp.2d 1314, 1324, citing Goldberg, supra, at pp. 266-271.) The purpose of the
written notice is “to inform the tenant of the allegations so that he can prepare a defense.”
(Edgecomb v. Hous. Auth. (D. Conn. 1993) 824 F.Supp. 312, 314.) In light of that
purpose, the notice must be “sufficiently specific . . . to enable [the tenant] to prepare
rebuttal evidence to introduce at his hearing appearance.” (Id. at p. 315.) At the hearing,
the hearing officer must determine whether the termination of benefits is in accordance
with the law, federal regulations, and departmental policies and issue a written decision.