Can my landlord charge me a late fee if I’m on Section 8?

Sophia

I recently moved into a new place under the HUD-VASH program, and I just found out that HACLA (Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles) can take up to 30 to 60 days to process and send their portion of the rent payment to the landlord. I’ve been paying my share of the rent on time every month, but my landlord is still charging me late fees because the HACLA portion hasn’t arrived yet.

My HUD-VASH caseworker told me HACLA doesn’t cover late fees, even if the delay is on their end. But I’m confused because I’ve done everything right on my part — I signed the lease, moved in, paid my portion of the rent on time, and followed all the rules. So why am I getting penalized for something that’s completely out of my control?

Has anyone else gone through this? Were you charged late fees even though you paid your portion on time? Did your landlord eventually get the back payment from HACLA? Were you able to get the late fees waived or refunded? I’m trying to understand if this is normal or if I need to push back harder with my landlord or HUD-VASH rep.

Any advice or experiences would really help. I just don’t want to get stuck paying for something that’s not my fault.

Thanks in advance.

Rodriguez

When they sign a hap contract they are also understanding that any payment delay on the HA part is not the tenants responsibility nor does it incur late fees. Reach out to the housing specialist

Hannah

The deal is that you pay late fees if the portion you pay is late.The agreement that section 8 has is that if the section 8 part is late then you don't pay.Only If your part is late.I have ben on section 8 for a few years and its how mine works.