House & Apartment

A hearing officer may terminate your Section 8 Housing. You can appeal this decision in court. You need to file a "Complaint for Review of Final Administrative Decision by Certiorari."

By appealing, you are asking to keep your voucher. The court will look at the information already presented at the hearing.  The court will decide if your voucher was terminated in compliance with the law.

A certiorari action (through a summons and complaint) should be filed in Circuit Court within 6 months of the date you receive the hearing decision.

You can file an appeal without a lawyer. But appeals are very complicated. It is best to contact a lawyer as soon as possible. 

 Learn more about hiring the right lawyer.

You will need to file a motion for a temporary injunction to keep your Section 8 in place pending the Circuit Court review of the hearing decision. Otherwise, the Housing Authority will stop paying its share of your rent while you wait for your appeal.

 File a motion right away for a "stay" or "temporary restraining order" (TRO). A stay is a delay. This makes the Housing Authority pay its part of the rent during the appeal process. If the court grants your motion, the Housing Authority must continue to pay its portion of the rent. They must continue paying until the court makes a decision on the appeal.

The judge will expect you explain why you are likely to win. The judge will want to know what the case is about and why the housing authority should continue to pay their portion of the rent. For example, if your landlord gives you an eviction notice because you are unable to pay the full amount of monthly rent without the Housing Authority's financial support. You would need to bring the eviction notice to court. 

Be ready to explain why the housing authority's decision to terminate your voucher was wrong. This must be based on the information from the hearing. The judge will be reviewing the hearing transcript and all evidence from the hearing that already happened. You usually will not get to show the judge new information. See Reasons to keep my section 8 voucher.

The judge might decide if your motion to stay is approved on the first court date. But it will usually be at least a few court dates, and the judge may ask you for written and oral arguments. The process can last many months before the judge makes a final decision on whether or not you will keep your voucher. 

The judge can decide to give you back your voucher, not give you back your voucher, or send the case back to the housing authority for a new hearing. 

If the judge sends the case back to the housing authority for a new hearing this is called "remanding." It is important to treat any new hearing with the housing authority like you would treat court and be prepared. 

If you disagree with the judge's decision, you can appeal it. See Appealing a circuit court decision.