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Section 8

Citation
Section 8
Parent Document
Theodore Hayes v. Philip Harvey, 874 F.3d 98 (2017)
Effective Date
2017-10-18
Original Source
https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/4435296/theodore-hayes-v-philip-harvey/ ↗

Other Sections in This Document (260)

Full Text

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The majority pleads that it has not stripped all meaning from the words “may elect to remain.” It opines that those words “make clear that, following a valid opt-out, HUD could not force an assisted family to leave the unit.” Maj. Op. at 106 n.3. But this interpretation still fails to solve the problem: it fails to give the 2000 amendment independent meaning. As the majority acknowledges, the 1999 version of the statute already required HUD to provide enhanced vouchers to eligible families. Maj. Op. at 105; Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 § 524(d), Pub. L. No. 106-74, § 531, 113 Stat. 1047, 1113 (1999) (codified as amended at 42 U.S.C. § 1437f note) (“[T]he Secretary shall make enhanced voucher assistance under section 8(t) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(t)) available on behalf of each low-income family who, upon the date of such expiration, is residing in an assisted dwelling unit in the covered project.”). This obligation necessarily prohibits HUD from forcing eligible families out of their homes. After all, the requirement that HUD issue the vouchers is meaningless if HUD can remove tenants itself and eliminate the need for the vouchers in the first place. Thus, the- majority’s interpretation renders the 2000 amendment superfluous.