Belinda is a young mother of two who has lived in public housing for eight years. After failing to pay her rent she received a notice for nonpayment. The notice provided that she had two weeks to pay. It also stated that she had 30 days to contest the action through the Housing Authority’s grievance procedure, and specified that the Housing Authority will not take any further action to terminate the lease until the later of “the time within which you may request a grievance hearing has expired” or “if you have requested a hearing, until the completion of the grievance process.” Sixteen days after Belinda received the notice, the Housing Authority filed an eviction action.
Belinda applied to BALS’ St. Petersburg office for help. Her BALS’ attorney, filed a motion to dismiss and asserted that based on the date of the notice, the date rent was supposed to be paid each month, and the relevant terms of the notice, the Housing Authority had filed the eviction action too soon. In the meantime, Belinda was able to deposit two month’s rent prior to the date of the hearing. At the hearing, the Housing Authority attorney acknowledged that the eviction action was filed too soon and the court dismissed the case.
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