1/ This is a "failure to pay rent” complaint filed against Chermire Gladden. It says she owed the Annapolis Housing Authority $604 plus late fees.

But she owed $0 — and it took her 7 court appearances to prove it.

She’s one of hundreds sued for rent they may never have owed.

One night, Chermire Gladden approached me after a community meeting

Gladden is a school bus driver, and was out of work for the summer. She let the Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis know, so she could get her rent lowered temporarily.

Laws allow public housing authorities to adjust rent so residents who lose income aren’t struggling to pay. Theoretically, residents like Gladden should be able to get their rent lowered, in some cases down to zero, when they’re out of work.

But it’s not always that easy.

Gladden brought paperwork proving she was legally entitled to lower rent to a housing authority office on the last day of school on June 19, 2018. But the property manager said she needed more documents. So she came back a week later.

A different property manager adjusted her rent without a hitch. She walked out with a lease showing her new rent was $0.

Problem solved. Or so she thought.

On Aug. 3, a court notice appeared on her mailbox.

It said she had to go to court for skipping out on rent. She owed the housing authority $604.

Gladden went to court six days later. The judge asked her if she agreed with what the document said she owed.

“I actually disagree.”

Gladden explained to the judge what happened. But the property manager had a different story.

“When you have changes in income under the public housing program, you're supposed to let us know within 30 days,” she said. “Ms. Gladden did not.”

But Gladden did. She gave notice within 9 days of losing her job.

The judge asked for a copy of the housing authority’s rules laying out the timeline for a rent change, which the property manager didn’t have. So the judge set a new hearing. Gladden would have to take time to go to court *AGAIN*

Next time she showed up, the Housing Authority had dropped the “timeline” thing.

But it had a new accusation: fraud.

When adjusting rent, housing authorities can use databases of income information to check to make sure a resident is telling the truth. When the property manager checked, she found info that didn’t match up with Gladden’s story.

The housing authority sued her again. Gladden asked the judge if she could see the proof.

“This right here is money that was owed to me from my company,” Gladden said. “I did not work. They owed me this money from unpaid wages.”

But Gladden, like many low-income people, didn’t have the paperwork or legal help to prove she’d told the truth. She told the judge that a union representative could corroborate her story.

She lost the case and was furious, but a bailiff pulled her aside to help.

He took Gladden to the clerk’s office to get a list of resources she could use to pay off the judgement. He also told her to get a lawyer. She did get one, and would eventually win her case.

But most people in her position don’t win.

The same year Gladden was sued, the housing authority filed more than 1,200 cases against about 320 of her neighbors, more than 40% of families who live in public housing in Annapolis.

Filing a court complaint for rent is legal & people *did* owe the housing authority money. So, what’s the problem?

While the housing authority filed these cases, it didn't fix issues with the way it adjusts rent.

That means Gladden wasn’t the only person going to court for money she didn’t owe.

Gladden’s case is not the only one. Turns out, Maryland makes it very easy for landlords, including public housing authorities to file & win lawsuits for rent.

The property manager and housing authority declined to comment.

Congress has been investing less and less in traditional public housing, diverting program dollars elsewhere.

But that leads housing authorities like Annapolis’ to reply primarily on rent collection, which transfers the financial burden to residents.

There is a lot more to this story. To report this article, we reviewed thousands of documents and interviewed more than 100 people. Read the full piece here https://www.capitalgazette.com/news/ac-cn-annapolis-housing-authority-rent-longform-20200825-32vp7wne4ra4beqbbi2kmfjb3i-htmlstory.html