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Types of Grievances

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Grievances in Public Housing
By
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
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In this section, learn about the situations in which you can file a grievance in public housing.

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When do I have a right to file a public housing grievance?

In addition to being able to file a grievance when a housing authority sends you a notice about some action it is taking against you, you can file a grievance if you or anyone in your household has been hurt by something that the housing authority has done or not done.1 For example, you can file a grievance if the housing authority:

  • Refuses to adjust your rent
  • Does not process your request for a transfer
  • Does not answer requests for repairs2
  • Refuses your request to keep a pet3
  • Staff or board treats you unfairly or harasses you
  • Has acted (or not acted) in a way that causes you harm or hardship

The grievance procedure is also available to resolve any disputes that you have about how the housing authority is handling your personal information.4 For example, you may discover that the manager has inappropriately disclosed information that should be kept private.

There are some situations, however, where the housing authority does not have to hold a grievance hearing. They involve certain types of complaints and certain types of evictions. See the next question.

When don’t I have a right to a grievance hearing?

A public housing authority may, in some cases, deny you a grievance hearing if you are being evicted for certain types of behavior. State and federal rules about who has a right to a grievance hearing when facing an eviction are different and can be complicated.

To figure out whether you are entitled to a grievance, you will need to look closely at your housing authority’s grievance policy, your lease, and the facts involved in your situation.

State public housing

If you live in state public housing, you do not have a right to a grievance hearing if you are being evicted for:5

  1. Non-payment of rent, unless your lease gives you a right to a grievance hearing.6
  2. The following activities, if a tenant, household member or guest has:
    1. Caused serious physical harm, harassed or threatened a tenant, housing authority employee, or guest;
    2. Destroyed, vandalized, or stole property from a tenant, housing authority employee or guest;
    3. Unlawfully possessed, carried, or kept a weapon on or next to housing authority property;
    4. Unlawfully possessed or used an explosive or incendiary device on or next to housing authority property;
    5. Unlawfully possessed, sold, or possessed with intent to distribute a class A, B, or C controlled substance on or next to housing authority property (if the unlawful activity involves marijuana, which is a class D substance, a tenant should still get a grievance hearing)7
    6. Engaged in other criminal conduct that has seriously threatened or endangered the health or safety of a tenant, housing authority employee, or guest; or
    7. engaged in behavior that would be cause for terminating the lease because of an occupant’s illegal use of the apartment under state nuisance laws, such as prostitution, illegal gaming, or selling of alcoholic beverages.8

Note on behavior of guests:

In most cases, only if a housing authority believes that you knew or should have known beforehand that there was a reasonable possibility that your guest would engage in misconduct, can it deny you a right to a grievance hearing.9

Federal public housing

Federal rules permit, but do not require, housing authorities to deny tenants grievance hearings in evictions involving:10

  • any criminal activity that threatens the health, safety, or right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises of other residents or housing authority employees;
  • any violent or drug-related criminal activity on or off the premises; or
  • any criminal activity that resulted in a felony conviction of a household member.11

These types of evictions are not automatically excluded from the grievance process. Your housing authority must decide whether it wants to exclude any or all of the above types of evictions from the grievance process and then describe this in its grievance procedures.12

Note:

If you live in federal public housing and you would have the right to a grievance hearing under state law, you get this right as a federal public housing tenant, too.13 For example, while there usually is no grievance right for federal public housing tenants when a household member is charged with drug possession, state law does provide such rights if the drug is marijuana.

Can I file a public housing grievance against another tenant in the development?

No. You cannot use the grievance procedure to file a complaint against another tenant. If, however, you have complained about another tenant’s conduct to the housing authority and the housing authority has failed to adequately respond, you may file a grievance against the housing authority.14

Can a grievance be filed by one public housing tenant for another tenant?

No. A grievance cannot be filed by one tenant on behalf of another tenant. A tenant can file a grievance, however, on behalf of a member of their own household.15

Who can file a grievance?

In state public housing, a tenant who is an adult or emancipated minor, a group of tenants, certified participants of the Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP) or eligible participants of the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP), or a person about whom the housing authority holds data can file a grievance.16 A tenant can file a grievance on behalf of a member of their own household.17

In federal public housing, a grievance may be filed by a tenant which is defined as an adult person or persons living in the unit who either signed the lease or is the remaining head of household of the tenant family.18

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Can a group of public housing tenants file a grievance?

State public housing

Tenants in state public housing have the right to file grievances together, so long as each tenant individually files his or her own grievance.19 For example, if a manager of a development was completely unresponsive to tenant "no heat" complaints, tenants might want to file all grievances together asking that action be taken to require the manager to immediately fix the problem and reduce their rent in the meantime.

Federal public housing

In federal public housing, tenants cannot file a grievance together (otherwise referred to as a class grievance). The federal law is also clear that the grievance procedure is not a forum for negotiating policy changes between groups of tenants and the housing authority.20

 

What if a housing authority says my grievance is not “grievable?”

First you should make sure that the matter is grievable. Read Your Right to a Grievance.

State

If a housing authority staff person says that your grievance is not a matter that can be grieved, and you feel it is, you have a right to request your housing authority Board of Commissioners (or Administrator if there is no Board of Commissioner) to review this decision. You must do this within 14 days of when the housing authority sends you a decision saying that the matter is not “grievable.”21 If you do not receive anything in writing from the housing authority saying that you cannot have a grievance hearing on a particular matter, ask them to put that decision in writing. Maybe they will change their mind. But if not, you will have the piece of paper you need to challenge this decision.

Federal

In federal public housing, the Board of Commissioners may determine whether a grievance is not grievable.22 Therefore, a tenant should have the opportunity to ask the Board (or Administrator if there is no Board) to review a decision by the housing authority that the grievance was not grievable.

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Endnotes
Endnotes
1:

760 C.M.R. § 6.03 (definition of “grievance”), referencing 760 C.M.R. § 8.00: Privacy and Confidentiality.

3:

There are special pet grievance rules and committees for state elderly/disabled public housing. See St. 1989, c. 151, 760 C.M.R. § 6.07(5), and DHCD Pet Guidelines. Pet ownership is not specifically provided for in state family public housing. For federal public housing, there is a statutory right to keep common household pets, subject to reasonable rules, and the regular grievance procedure would apply. See 42 U.S.C. § 1437z-3.

4:

760 C.M.R. §6.03, see (c) under definition of “grievance,” and 760 C.M.R. § 8.05

5:

760 C.M.R. § 6.06(7)(a), 760 C.M.R. § 6.06(7)(b)(1-9), and M.G.L. c. 121B, § 32, paragraph 7.

6:

For example, the housing authority may use the same lease for its federal and state public housing tenants with permission (or under a waiver) from DHCD. This is the case for the Boston Housing Authority.

7:

The following are examples of classes of drugs under Chapter 94C:
Class A: Heroin, Morphine, Codeine, Prescription Opiates, Fentanyl
Class B: Opium, Cocaine, LSD, Methadone, PCP, Barbiturates, Amphetamines
Class C: Mescaline, Peyote, Psilocybin (psychedelic mushrooms

8:

M.G.L. c. 121B, § 32; 760 C.M.R. § 6.06(7)(b)1-8. The state’s nuisance law is M.G.L. c. 139, § 19.

9:

760 C.M.R. § 6.06(7)(b)(9)), M.G.L. c. 121B, § 32 paragraph 7. This standard is similar to that discussed in Hodess v. Bonefont, 401 Mass. 693, 519 N.E.2d 258 (1988). There may be an exception to this if the state nuisance laws are involved and the housing authority can show that the guest was really an “occupant” of the unit (e.g. live in boyfriend).

10:

24 C.F.R. §§ 966.53(d), 42 U.S.C.A. § 1437d(k).

11:

A felony conviction depends on whether the specific statute provides for sentencing to the house of corrections. Note further that the language here is "conviction", and so in some instances there may have been a felony charge but no felony conviction i.e. plea bargain or conviction on a lesser charge.

12:

24 C.F.R. §§ 966.53(d), 42 U.S.C.A. § 1437d(k).. .

13:

For circumstances in which an eviction is and is not grievable under state law, see M.G.L. c. 121B, § 32. For the proposition that state law grievance rights apply even if you live in federal public housing, see Spence v. Reeder, 382 Mass. 398, 416 N.E.2d 914 (1981).

14:

24 C.F.R. § 966.51(b) and 760 C.M.R. § 6.03, see (d) under definition of “grievance.” See also 760 C.M.R. §6.06(4)(p), which states that the housing authority must commence eviction proceedings against other tenants whose behavior has jeopardized the health and safety of the grieving tenant.

15:

This may raise issues related to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). For information for survivors of abuse in public housing read here. See also Notice of Occupancy Rights under the Violence Against Women Act, Mass Department of Housing and Community Development, available at https://casamyrna.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/DHCD-VAWA-Notice.pdf.

16:

760 C.M.R. § 6.03, see definition of “grievance” and “grievant.” See also M.G.L. c. 66A, § 1 (definition of “data subject”), 760 C.M.R. § 49.02 (definition of Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program “participant”), and 760 C.M.R. § 53.02 (definition of Alternative Housing Voucher Program “participant”).

17:

This may also raise issues related to domestic violence. See footnote 27 above.

18:

24 C.F.R. § 966.53(b). In state public housing, a remaining household member would be someone who qualifies as family. See definition of Family (Household) in 760 C.M.R. § 5.00. For discussion of how remaining household member issue is dealt with on the state side, see Arsenault v. Chicopee Housing Authority, 15 Mass. App. Ct. 939 (1983).

19:

The state definition of “grievance” at 760 C.M.R. § 6.03, unlike the federal rules, does not have any restriction on “class grievances.” However, to be on the safe side, each individual who is seeking relief should file a grievance.

20:

24 C.F.R. § 966.51(b). Tenants do have rights, however, through their tenant organizations, as well as their Resident Advisory Boards, to negotiate policy changes with the housing authority. See 24 C.F. R. Part 964 (tenant participation rules) and 24 C.F.R. Part 903 (Public Housing Agency Plan). In addition, the housing authority must give affected tenants 30 days’ written notice and an opportunity to comment on any proposed changes in the lease, the grievance procedure, or charges, policies, or rules that are incorporated by reference into the lease. See 24 C.F.R. §§ 966.3 (lease), 966.5 (charges, policies, or rules), and 966.52(c) (grievance procedure).

21:

760 C.M.R. § 6.08(4)(h).

22:

24 C.F.R. § 966.57(b).

Your Right to a Grievance
Mixed Finance Housing Grievance Procedures

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