The hearing must be conducted in a fair manner. At the hearing, the hearing officer or panel will ask both you and the housing authority to tell your side of the story. It is not uncommon for a hearing officer or panel to ask a tenant to go first. At the hearing, both you and the housing authority have the right to:
- tell your side of the story,
- question anyone who testifies, and
- question the validity or accuracy of any evidence.
Right to a person of your choice at the hearing
You and the housing authority have the right to have a lawyer, advocate, or any other person of your choosing with you during the grievance hearing and throughout all stages of the grievance process. In state public housing, you and the housing authority can specify a “reasonable” number of people who may be present at the hearing. The regulation does not say what a “reasonable” number of people is. The hearing officer or hearing panel will decide if you or the housing authority has any challenge to the presence of someone.7 Federal public housing has no similar regulation on those who can be present at a hearing.
Public or private hearing
As a state or federal public housing tenant, you have a right to request that a hearing be open to the public.8 Housing authorities cannot request that a hearing be public. If you have supporters and want them to come to the hearing, or this is a high-visibility case and you want the news media present, having a public hearing may be helpful to you. On the other hand, there can be private information that would come out at a hearing and you might not want it to be public.
If you request that a hearing be open to the public, this will occur unless the hearing officer or panel orders otherwise.9 If you don't make such a request, the hearing is held in private.
Important:
A hearing officer or panel may exclude any person who does not conduct himself or herself in an orderly fashion. If you or your supporters misbehave at the hearing, the hearing officer or panel may take other measures to deal with the misbehavior- including dismissing the grievance.10 While federal public housing rules are not as clear as state public housing rules, it is important that you and any supporters conduct yourselves in a respectful fashion to make the best presentation at the hearing.
Evidence
At the hearing, you have a right to submit written evidence such as a lease, or other documents to support your position.11 This is very important, because a hearing officer or panel cannot consider evidence unless either you or the housing authority present it at the time of the hearing. The only time that evidence can be submitted after a hearing is if a hearing officer or panel requests it.12 Also, it is important to give hearing officers or panels copies of relevant laws, policies, and rules so that they can take these into consideration when making a decision.
Note:
If the housing authority is asked to submit additional information, you must be given an opportunity to respond to it (and vice versa).
Witnesses
In addition to presenting evidence at the hearing, you have the right to bring people who have personal or direct knowledge about the problem to testify at the hearing. If the housing authority brings witnesses to testify, you also have a right to ask those people questions about what they are saying. A hearing officer or panel may also question any witnesses.
If the housing authority does not have witnesses who personally know what went on, they may not be able to win the grievance.13 For example, if the housing authority is relying only on the testimony of the manager who received reports of your suspected misconduct from other people, but the people who reported the conduct do not testify, you can ask the manager whether she has any personal knowledge of the misconduct. If the manager says no, you can ask the hearing officer or panel to rule against the housing authority because the manager does not have any direct personal knowledge of your misconduct and because you have not been given the opportunity to question the people who reported the conduct.
Record of the hearing
The housing authority must keep some kind of record of what happens at a grievance hearing.
State public housing
State regulations require that grievance hearings be tape-recorded.14 Only the housing authority, the tenant who files the complaint (or people with written authorization from the tenant), and the hearing officer or panel can listen to this tape. You can ask the hearing officer or panel to ensure that the hearing is being tape recorded. If the case is later appealed to the court, it may be very important to get a transcript of the hearing.15
Federal public housing
There is no specific requirement that grievance hearings be tape-recorded, although this is the best practice. Federal regulations do provide that the tenant or the housing authority may arrange, in advance and at the party’s own expense, for a written transcript of the hearing. This transcript must also be available for purchase by the other party.16 You can also bring your own tape recorder. This is a good idea if you find out that the housing authority is not going to record the hearing. If you record the hearing yourself, you should let the housing authority and hearing officer or panel know.
People with special needs or who need an interpreter
Federal rules require that the housing authority provide what are called reasonable accommodations in the hearing process for people with special needs, such as providing qualified sign language interpreters, readers, attendants, or accessible locations (including the holding of a telephonic hearing for a home-bound tenant). If a tenant is visually impaired, any notice to the tenant must be in an accessible format.17 State disability laws provide similar protections. If you need such accommodations, you should let the housing authority know this well in advance of the hearing so that they can take appropriate steps. If you or your witness is not fluent in English, the housing authority should provide a free interpreter.18
