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A hearing officer may terminate your Section 8 Housing. You can appeal this decision in court. By appealing, you are asking to keep your voucher. The court will look at the information already presented at the hearing.
An appeal can be filed within 6 months from the decision date.
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.
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 share of the rent during the appeal process. This continues 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 why the housing authority should continue to pay their portion of the rent. For example, your landlord gives you an eviction notice. This is after the housing authority stopped paying. You would then bring the 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 many months, before the judge makes a final decision on if you keep your voucher long term.
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.
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