HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 11.2.4.1.4 Illegal Overpayments by Tenant
If a landlord has improperly collected payments from the tenant in the past, those illegal payments can be credited against any unpaid rent a tenant may owe in a nonpayment eviction proceeding.212 In one case, the court dismissed a subsidized landlord’s suit for nonpayment of $154 in rent when the tenant proved she had previously paid more than $155 in late fees that had not been approved by HUD.213 In another case, a tenant successfully resisted eviction for nonpayment of rent where the PHA