Housing Authority of St. Louis County v. Boone, s. 52969

• Decision Date: 15 March 1988
• Docket Number: 52987,Nos. 52969,s. 52969
• Citation: 747 S.W.2d 311
• Parties: HOUSING AUTHORITY OF ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Maurice BOONE and Laure Boone, Defendants-Respondents. STATE of Missouri, ex rel. Laure BOONE, Relator-Respondent, v. John CALLEN, Executive Director of the Housing Authority of St. Louis County, Respondent-Appellant.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

Page 311

747 S.W.2d 311

HOUSING AUTHORITY OF ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Maurice BOONE and Laure Boone, Defendants-Respondents.

STATE of Missouri, ex rel. Laure BOONE, Relator-Respondent, v. John CALLEN, Executive Director of the Housing Authority of

St. Louis County, Respondent-Appellant.

Nos. 52969, 52987.

Missouri Court of Appeals,

Eastern District,

Division Two.

March 15, 1988.

David V. Collignon, Clayton, for respondent-appellant.

Susan M. Alverson, Legal Services of Eastern Mo., St. Louis, for relator-respondent.

DOWD, Judge.

Housing Authority appeals in mandamus and rent and possession action following judgment in favor of tenant Laure Boone. We affirm.

The Housing Authority of St. Louis County (hereinafter Housing Authority) is a municipal corporation which administers public housing in St. Louis County pursuant to the United States Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1437 et seq. Under Housing Department Regulations, rent for public housing is determined by family income and composition. Rental amounts are subject to change over the term of a lease where warranted by a change in a tenant's family circumstances.

On September 1, 1985, Laure Boone and her husband Maurice Boone entered into a lease agreement with the Housing Authority for the purposes of occupying an apartment managed by the Housing Authority. Rent was set at $218.00 per month and was based on Maurice Boone's income alone as Laure Boone was not employed and had no independent income.

Laure and Maurice Boone moved into the apartment with their two children and made their rental payments for September, October, and November 1985. On November 20, 1985, Laure Boone contacted the Housing Authority by telephone requesting that Maurice Boone's name be removed from the lease. Laure Boone informed the Housing Authority that her husband had shot a gun off in the apartment and that she had demanded that he leave the premises. On November 25, 1985, Laure Boone requested in writing that her husband's name be removed from the lease.

Laure Boone applied for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) on November 25, 1985 and was approved for AFDC payments of $274.00 per month on December 23, 1985. On December 24, 1985, Laure Boone delivered two letters to the Housing Authority notifying them that she was separated from her husband and that she would be receiving AFDC payments. In these letters she requested a hearing and in accordance with the terms of her lease, asked for a rent adjustment based on the change in her family composition and income.

No rental payments were made in December 1985 or at anytime thereafter. On December 23, 1985, the Housing Authority mailed a letter to Laure Boone concerning eviction and collection of rent proceedings. Shortly thereafter on December 30, 1985, the Housing Authority commenced a rent and possession action against Maurice and Laure Boone in the Associate Circuit Court of St. Louis County.

Only after filing suit did the Housing Authority schedule a hearing pursuant to Laure Boone's request. A hearing was held on January 15, 1986. Laure Boone was not represented by counsel. She was advised at the hearing that Maurice Boone was entitled to a key to the apartment.

On January 15, 1986, the same day as the hearing, Laure Boone received an Ex Parte Order of Protection against Maurice Boone. She brought a copy of the protection order to the Housing Authority on January 15, 1986. Nonetheless, on or about January 15, 1986 the Housing Authority gave Maurice Boone a key to the apartment. Maurice Boone attempted to use the key but it did not fit the lock. He broke a window to gain access to the apartment and removed all of the locks leaving the apartment unsecured.

In January 1986, after receiving her first AFDC check, Laure Boone inquired as to how she could begin paying rent but was told by the Housing Authority that she would have to wait until the rent and possession action was resolved. On April 19, 1986, Laure Boone filed a petition for mandamus against John Callen, the Executive Director of the Housing Authority of St. Louis County, alleging the Housing Authority failed to comply with federal regulations in neglecting to adjust her rent and in failing to provide her a hearing prior to commencing a suit for rent and possession. Laure Boone requested that the rent and possession action be stayed pending the outcome of the writ of mandamus.

Maurice Boone has not lived with or given financial support to Laure Boone since November 20, 1985. On January 28, 1986, Laure Boone received a second Ex Parte Order of Protection against Maurice Boone. She filed for dissolution of marriage in March of 1986 and the marriage was dissolved in July 1986.

Maurice Boone did not appear during the proceedings. The parties submitted the mandamus action and rent and possession action to the court on a Stipulation of Facts and Evidence. On February 10, 1987, the court ruled on the rent and possession action together with the mandamus action. As to the mandamus action the court entered judgment in favor of Laure Boone and ordered the Housing Authority to reduce her rent to reflect the change in her family income and composition. The court further ordered that the tenancy of Maurice Boone be terminated as of August 31, 1986, and that the lease be renewed as to Laure Boone for one year as of September 1, 1986.

As to the rent and possession action, the court entered judgment against Maurice Boone for the rent due between December 1, 1985 and August 31, 1986, together with relinquishment of the premises. To avoid an order for surrender of the premises, Laure Boone was to pay the total adjusted rental due from December 1, 1985 through the current period within a certain time limitation after given notification by the Housing Authority of the adjusted rental amounts due. The amounts paid by Laure Boone were to be credited against the judgment entered against Maurice Boone.

The Housing Authority and John Callen appeal from the judgment of the trial court in the mandamus action and rent and possession action. The cases have been consolidated for purposes of appeal.

In a case such as here where the action has been submitted to the trial court on a stipulation of facts and numerous exhibits, the only question before this court is whether the trial court drew the proper legal conclusions from the facts stipulated and the submitted exhibits. Schroeder v. Horack, 592 S.W.2d 742, 744 (Mo.banc 1979); Miskimen v. Kansas City Star Co., 684 S.W.2d 394, 398 (Mo.App.1984).

In its appeal from the rent and possession action the Housing Authority contends the court erred in entering judgment in favor of Laure Boone in that the judgment is against the weight of the evidence, is logically inconsistent and erroneously applies the law. Specifically, it is the Housing Authority's contention that the trial court erroneously concluded that the common-law doctrine of joint and several liability was abrogated by federal statutes and regulations. The Housing Authority further contends there was no legal or factual foundation for the trial court's determination that there was a change in Laure Boone's family income and composition to warrant an adjustment in rent.

We find no error in the court's determination that the doctrine of joint and several liability must be interpreted in light of federal regulations in the context of public housing tenants and that the common-law doctrine cannot supersede federal regulations promulgated pursuant to the United States Housing Act.

Under the doctrine of joint and several liability, Laure Boone, the remaining tenant, would be liable for the full amount of the original calculation of rent due under the lease. The lease at issue, however, is a public housing lease subject to the United States Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1437 et seq. and federal regulations promulgated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under authority of the Housing Act. Unlike a private lease, rent under a public housing lease is not necessarily permanent for the term of the lease. Federal regulations promulgated by HUD pursuant to the Housing Act and the lease itself, provide for an adjustment in rent upon a change in family composition or income.

The lease provides for a re-examination of the tenant's income and family composition upon notice in writing by the tenant of a change in family composition or income. Further, federal regulations provide for an adjustment in rent upon a change in family circumstances: "If the PHA [Public Housing Agency] receives information concerning a change in the Family's income or other circumstances between regularly scheduled reexaminations, the PHA must consult with the Family and make any adjustments determined to be appropriate." 24 C.F.R. § 960.209(b) (1987) [49 Fed.Reg. 21,492 (1984) ] (emphasis added). HUD's publication, The Public Housing Occupancy Handbook, 7465.1 (Rev.1978), provides for adjustments in rent to accommodate changes unanticipated at the time of the rent determination, including the "loss or gain of a family member, lessee, or source of income." Id. at 4-4 (emphasis added).

HUD has broad rule-making authority and rules established by HUD, such as 24 C.F.R. § 960.209(b), are binding on participating housing authorities. See, Thorpe v. Housing Authority of the City of Durham, 393 U.S. 268, 89 S.Ct. 518, 21 L.Ed.2d 474 (1969); Brown v. Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee, 471 F.2d 63, 67 (7th Cir.1972); Hess v. Ward, 497 F.Supp. 786, 798 (E.D.Pa.1980). Further, the Public Housing Occupancy Handbook, supra, was published by HUD to assist local housing authorities in complying with HUD regulations and the local authorities are required to follow the policies therein. Hess, supra, at 798; Greenville Housing Authority v. Salters, 281 S.C. 604, 316 S.E.2d 718, 720 (Ct.App.1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1225, 105 S.Ct. 1218, 84 L.Ed.2d 359 (1985).

When common law...