Author: /u/bradmillerbiz

This subreddit has helped me with this kind of thing in the past, so I’m hoping you can help me again.

I’m a housing choice voucher tenant. My rent is due on the 1st every month and I always pay my portion of it on time. Sometimes HHA’s portion doesn’t post to my account on time and I receive an eviction notice on my door come the 5th. When this happens I usually just text or email my landlord and and notify them of the situation (sometimes they don’t know because their office has high turnover) and they tell me I can ignore the notice. The last time it happened was at the beginning of the year and the payment was probably around 10 days late so late fees were piling up. I had been emailing HHA with no response (they are short staffed and working from home due to the pandemic so, understandable) so I finally called and was informed that the payment was not only sent on time, but before the 1st. When I told my landlord what they said, they were immediately able to find the payment in their system and they credited back all the late fees. This struck me as odd but I just told myself it didn’t mean anything and let it to. Today I received another notice. I text the landlord and again he immediately found the payment and credited my account.

I’m starting to think they are losing my payments intentionally so they can evict me. Am I crazy? And is there anything else I can do to protect myself, legally speaking, besides make sure that I’m using either text or email when I discuss these issues with them so that I have a record in some form of writing?

It’s really messing with the bus routes and making it difficult for me to get around, and it’s been this way since at least Tuesday.

I’m new to the state and found an apartment that I’m all set to sign a lease on, but I want to make sure I’m not being taken advantage of. For one thing they charged me $120 between the application and admin fee (50 and 70 respectively, both non-refundable), and quoted me a $250 refundable security deposit, plus $150 non-refundable pet fee and $10 monthly pet rent. I also pay my water with my rent, but it’s an additional amount based on usage. Then when they found out I’m on section 8, they said my deposit would be $500 instead of $250, with everything else remaining the same. Now that the unit has passed inspection and it’s time to sign the lease, they backed down the deposit to $350, but that’s still 100 more than it would be were I not receiving assistance.

Based on my initial research, they aren’t allowed to ask for a higher deposit due to being a section 8 recipient, so I’m wondering if I should hold them to the law or not. I assume that if I do, they could easily just decide not to rent to me at all. Is that correct, or am I protected by law in that regard? Also, a non-refundable pet fee in addition to monthly pet rent seems like a bit much. Shouldn’t it be one or the other, or at least a refundable pet deposit plus pet rent instead of a non-refundable fee plus pet rent? Finally, how do I ensure I’m not being ripped off on the water bill, since it’s being metered by the complex instead of a utility company?

Any help or advice is much appreciated.

I just moved to Houston and am living in the Westbury neighborhood. I use public transportation to get around and within walking distance of me, there’s exactly one barber, a crochety older woman who seems to really dislike younger people and is potentially about to have her power shut off anyway. Everything else that’s even remotely nearby seem to be primarily black barbershops, which I’m fine with, but I want to be sure they can handle straight caucasian hair with the same skill. I’m not looking for a fancy fade or anything like that, just a basic haircut at a reasonable price (hopefully less than $20 with tip, unless that’s being stingy, then maybe up to $25). Can anyone recommend a place that is nearby and/or easy to get to by bus from my neighborhood? Thank you.