AG: Seaside Landlord Must Pay Mom $28,000 For Illegal Eviction,

SEASIDE HEIGHTS – A borough landlord who unlawfully evicted a single mother of three after she tried to pay her rent with state-issued Superstorm Sandy aid must pay her $28,000, the state Attorney General's office said.

“Families who pay for their housing with the help of government assistance have a right to live where they choose – and to be treated with dignity and respect,” Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. "We will hold accountable anyone who denies them this basic right. This settlement resolves troubling allegations and, going forward, should serve as a message to landlords, real estate agents and others involved in the housing industry.”

Landlord Raymond McCann owns a single-family home in the borough which he uses as rental property. Former tenant Joy Fender signed a one-year lease with McCann in April 2014 and moved into the home with her family.

The state Department of Community Affairs told Fender in May 2015 – only weeks she renewed her lease – that she was eligible for Sandy Tenant-Based Rental Assistance. Fender said she told McCann about the letter, and he encouraged her to pursue the voucher.

Fender was subsequently awarded the aid and gave McCann the paperwork to fill out the same day. She told the state Department of Community Affairs that McCann refused to complete the paperwork. He began an eviction action against her for non-payment of rent in September of 2015, according to the release from the Attorney General's office .

McCann has denied all allegations of wrongdoing. He told the DCA investigator that Fender never mentioned a Sandy voucher until after he initiated the eviction proceeding. He evicted Fender and her three children from the home on Nov. 21, 2015, the release states.

The family stayed in a hotel until December 2015, when they moved into a single-family home where the landlord accepted Fender’s Sandy voucher, the state says.

The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) prohibits housing discrimination based on a “source of lawful income used for rental or mortgage payments.”

“New Jerseyans who were displaced by Superstorm Sandy have suffered enough without the added stress and uncertainty of being denied a home in which to raise their children, simply because they’re forced to temporarily rely on a Sandy voucher to help make ends meet," said Division Director Craig T. Sashihara.

Under the terms of a settlement reached between McCann and Fender,McCann also must adopt a specific non-discrimination policy that makes clear he will accept rental payment in the form of government-issued housing assistance vouchers from all current and future tenants, the state says.

McCann also must consent to efforts by Fender to clear court records of the eviction action taken against her, and must cooperate with any measures Fender takes to have credit reporting, tenancy and background agency record cleared of the eviction information, the state says.

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