COFAR blog

A couple that complained that second-hand cigarette smoke from another unit in their Kingston housing complex was harming the health of their disabled son are facing the possibility of eviction from their apartment.

Nicole and Cang Duong have accused the Alexan Kingston housing complex management and its attorneys of delaying their application for a state program that would help them keep up with their monthly rent.

As a result, Nicole Duong said, their RAFT rental assistance application expired on July 13, increasing their chance of eviction. They reapplied for the assistance on Monday (July 17).

The Duongs maintain that even though they took the proper steps to obtain rental assistance, they may still face eviction because of the application processing delay.

We reported on July 5 that the Duongs had complained to the management in May of a cigarette smoke odor that was coming from the air ducts in their apartment. Their 3-year-old son Caleb has Down Syndrome and severe obstructive sleep apnea. Cigarette smoke is particularly dangerous to his health, Nicole said.

Nicole said that while the housing complex management did subsequently inspect the ventilation system in their apartment and placed filters in the air ducts in response to their concerns, the management never sent anyone to their unit to investigate the origin of the alleged cigarette smoke. Yet, the complex has a strict no-smoking policy that applies to all areas, inside and outside.

In fact, the management suggested that the Duongs themselves should move out of the complex. The Duongs believe this is a violation of federal and state fair housing laws, which forbid discrimination against persons with disabilities.

Management’s lawyers allegedly “dragged their feet” in approving a rental payment plan

Nicole said she and her husband had been struggling to pay the rent on their apartment, and first applied for the RAFT assistance on June 7. She said that in compliance with the RAFT rules, they did not pay their June or July rent while the original RAFT application was being processed.

The Duongs’ monthly rent for their two-bedroom apartment, which is classified as an affordable rental unit, is $2,256.

Nicole said the approval of the RAFT assistance by the state Department of Housing depended on the family reaching agreement with the Alexan Kingston management by July 13 on a payment plan for two months’ worth of back rent.

Emails show that the Housing Department repeatedly asked Nicole earlier this month to provide a signed rental payment agreement under which the Duongs would pay $903 toward the overdue rent, and the RAFT program would pay the remainder of the $4,512 in back rent.

The first request from the Housing Department for the agreement was on July 6. An email from the Department to Nicole stated that the agreement must be submitted by July 13 “or your application process will be discontinued, and you will need to begin the application process again.”

Nicole said that while she provided the suggested RAFT agreement amount to the apartment management, the management turned the matter over to its law firm, and the law firm didn’t immediately respond. Emails show Nicole asked the apartment management and their attorneys for a copy of such an agreement on July 10 and July 11.

On July 10, the Alexan Kingston resident manager responded to Nicole, saying that he had contacted the management attorneys “to follow up on this item for us. I’ll touch base with them tomorrow as I know it’s very time sensitive.”

On July 11 at 4:53 p.m., still not having received a proposed agreement, Nicole emailed a member of the law firm, saying the RAFT application was scheduled to “time out” or expire two days later, and that a response from the management “needs to be done ASAP.”

The law firm finally sent an email with the proposed agreement to the Duongs at 7:10 p.m. on July 12, the day before the expiration of the original RAFT application. Nicole maintained that the law firm’s proposed agreement was unacceptable to them, but that it was too late in the day to contact either the management or the law firm about it.

Management’s proposed agreement included extra charges

Although the Duongs owed $4,512 in back rent, the law firm’s proposed agreement would require them to use their RAFT assistance to pay a total of $5,183, including $293 in “court costs” and $378 in “utilities/fees” as of next February 28.

Nicole contends there is no reason for her and her husband to pay court costs because the payment agreement should not require Housing Court involvement. In addition, she said, the utilities/fees cost was not explained in the proposed agreement.

The proposed agreement specified a periodic monthly payment schedule for the Duongs of $115 in addition to their monthly rent payments. The agreement stated that any late payments would constitute a material breach, which would allow eviction proceedings to begin in seven days. The Duongs would also waive their rights to an appeal or trial in the Housing Court.

Nicole said the proposed agreement would shorten the usual eviction notice period from 30 days to those seven days. She also said she and her husband would not want to sign away their right to take their case to the Housing Court.

Waiting for Section 8 placement since 2020

Even though their apartment is classified as affordable, the Duongs said they have been on a waiting list in Massachusetts for a Section 8 housing voucher since 2020.

Nicole said their rent constitutes 65% of their total income from her husband Cang’s job. She said her husband works overnight from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., and that she needs to stay home to care for her son.

“I’m at the point of a nervous breakdown because I don’t want to lose our home,” she said.

We previously wrote to the housing complex management to urge them to fully investigate complaints from the Duongs and other residents of cigarette smoke odors in their apartments. We have now written them again to urge them to commit to reaching a timely payment agreement with the family that will cover their rental costs only.

We hope the apartment management will work to ensure that this family is not forced into homelessness.