Noundja v. Lynn Community Development Housing Corporation

No. 96-CV-00192 (Mass. Housing Ct. Northeast May 26, 2005) ; Clearinghouse Number: 55929

Description

Community Development Corporation Violates Federal Relocation Assistance Laws by Not Notifying and Assisting Displaced Single Room Occupancy Residents

Abstract

The court held that displaced single room occupancy residents were entitled to summary judgment on their federal relocation assistance claims against a community development corporation. Plaintiffs claimed that defendant’s f urban renewal project undertaken with city block grant funds and federal financial assistance improperly displaced them from their single room occupancy housing. Defendant rehabilitated 130 of 244 units; 30 units were converted and sold to other than low-income residents; and 84 units were demolished. Plaintiffs sought relief under the federal Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, 42 U.S.C. 4601; Section 104(d) of the federal Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, 42 U.S.C. § 5304; Section 105 of the National Affordable Housing Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12705(b)(16); and state relocation assistance and consumer protection laws. After acquiring title to six rooming-house properties through a foreclosure sale, defendant sent displacement notices to some but not all rooming house occupants. The court stated that a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development determination issued on April 4, 2005, had ruled that the properties were part of a federally funding demolition plan requiring relocation benefits for eligible tenants under the first two federal laws cited above. Finding defendant’s notices inadequate, the court required defendant to renotify all persons who occupied any of the single room occupancy properties between May 15, 1996, and April 24, 1997, about their potential entitlement to relocation assistance cash benefits.

Additional Information

Attorney Information
Plaintiffs represented by Marc Potvin, Neighborhood Legal Services, 170 Common St., Lawrence, MA 01840 (978.686.6900).
Docket Date
2005-05-26 00:00:00+00:00
Attorney Email
mpotvin@nlsma.org