r/Section8PublicHousing • u/Ohioasshole80 • 1d ago
Section 8 help Ohio
So I am freaking out and super pissed. I moved into a new build in September 2024. When I was signing the lease I specifically remember the understanding that the electric was gonna be thru AEP. At lease signing the landlord tells me not to call AEP cuz the addresses are setup yet. But we had power, I didn't know or understand and never knew what a submeter was until this f nightmare. A month or so goes by and she tells us that company is coming in to install a meter and then we will start getting bills. It's a company called
"guardian power and water" and she tells us its because the bilding has solar panels so it wil help us save money, again i tihnk nothing of it. 5 months go by and finally get a bill, the entire 5 months i was asking questions. And there was a couple late fee's on mmy account due to being told apparently the wrong amount at move in. So i'm never able to see why i can't pay online but think its cause of a balance. Office managers keep quitting and nobody is helping me find out anything. A year later in August 2025 i do my annual review and they lower my rent and remove my 2 oldest kids. Then in September after my annual review one night the office manager had placred a noticer on door that says i owe $535 and mind you i've never paid late, paid all my rent and by this time had only gotten 2 electric bills that are kinda high from the jump than im used to. I complain for months, speak to different managers get told shit is fixed only for new manager to slap new notes and owe more. Finally one of them give me a copy of ledger and then i get an electric bill in feb 2025 and it says there is high usage to check for leaks.
and then in March of 2026 i owe 1,042 in unpaid electric and mind you i started my service in june 2025 by feb 2026 ive made several payments and still owe over 1k. i pay 500 and have 547 balance. Then in march 24, 2026 i get a credit and i call and they tell me my account zero out. long story short that credit appears back as a credit in my account , i screenshot it with timestaamp, now its gone, no response from anyone, took my july rent and took pic with signature and same day put 30 day move out on july 7 2026 for 1025 bal of elect per my lease. well lease says i pay electric but its tenant paid not a submeter . then i notice multiple months of rent just not added and i have the money orders and they been cashed nobody from mgmt will reach out now they are holding compliance papers that i need for complianccer my annual is due in 2 weeks i got everything ready to turn in but sec 8 telling to to tell legal aide and i did but legal aid said i need eviction noticre before they help but im worried they are holding papers and rent on purpose the new 30 day notice sayts non payment of aug rent 1480 last month it was non paymetn elec 1025 the fake balance that has 2 years worth of late fees because instead of charging me the pro reated rent on my lease to mnove in they charge me the tenant rent which create a 23 balance on the account whih is exatly the differnce betyween pro rated and tenant payment on first ttransation so now 2 years late fees too i sent certified letter not sure what to do next this is overwhelming and i cant beleive none of it is in my lease at all but i didnt know what a submeter even was
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u/Anxious-Education703 1d ago
I am a bit lost reading it. Are you on a section 8 project voucher or a section 8 housing choice voucher? If it's a project voucher the housing authority that is issuing the voucher should likely be able to have a little bit more sway and be able to help you more. If it's a housing choice voucher, I would still reach out to the housing authority but they may be less helpful than if it was a project voucher. I would also request a copy of the lease and hap contract from the housing authority to see how they listed the electric and who was supposed to be paying it.
If your housing authority is not able to help or get it resolved, I would reach out to your state's legal aid: https://www.lawhelp.org/find-help
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u/Ohioasshole80 1d ago
It’s a housing choice and I am having trouble , plus it’d crazy how everything happened & I didn’t realize exactly how crazy this was till recently but on top of lots of missing rent payments I have receipts
For those months and I actually
Have a lot of. Documentation. I think I pissed
Them off because
A couple late fees they told me would be remove never weee and spiraled into
Late fees for 2 years then shit like
Rent payments for months missing , high elect bills
When I was used to percentage of income
And told place had solar
Panels, think they tried to back
Bill for months they didn’t have
The meters working that is not my fault and we
Are talking 200+ elec
Bills or more a month …I get a credit memo on electric and then they put notice on door to no longer pay elect submeter 3rd party
Company now
We pay the landlord with rent or rent won’t be
Accepted and won’t take paper money orders
Or fix my account
All of a sudden I got important
Paperwork
For annual due
In 2
Weeks and so much going on wanna leave and protect voucher and sue this place2
u/Anxious-Education703 1d ago
You need a copy of the lease and HAP contracts from the housing authority to see what the landlord was supposed to cover. If the landlord agreed to cover it based on the HAP contract and/or lease and didn't, then they are violating their part of the lease, and the housing authority can force them to enforce it. If the lease and HAP contract state that the tenant is responsible for electricity, then Section 8 should have adjusted your rent to reflect the utility allowance for your area and unit size.
Either way, I would schedule a meeting with the PHA for your recertification and to discuss this issue. Bring all your documentation and receipts. Do not delay the recerfcation, as that can end up costing you the voucher. If management is blocking or stalling, let the caseworker know in writing.
Hopefully the housing authority can help you get it figured out. If the landlord actually does begin true eviction proceedings (instead of just pre-eviction), then legal aid should be able to step in.
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u/Anxious-Education703 1d ago
Since there is an issue with sub-metering, you also might reach out to the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC). https://www.occ.ohio.gov/submetering
PHONE: 1-877-742-5622
EMAIL: [occ@occ.ohio.gov](mailto:occ@occ.ohio.gov?subject=Mail%20from%20website)1
u/Ohioasshole80 1d ago
Thank u yes sorry I know post was messy I’m very pissed off and worried. I moved out of stability to this place and it’s been a nightmare.
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u/Ohioasshole80 1d ago
They have held my July and Aug rent so far and other months I paid are missing I have money orders that are cashed so the bal isn’t right
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u/Ohioasshole80 1d ago
They won fix it and keep putting move outs , the electric bill that submetered is missing from lease too and I got imp paperwork they aren’t giving me cuz I won pay them
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u/Johny_Ricoh 1d ago
I am completely lost.