9th Circuit rejects case over Fort Belknap Tribes rent subsidies

Friday, August 9, 2013  

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said the Fort Belknap Indian Community of Montana can't stop the Department of Housing and Urban Development from recovering rent subsidies that were overpaid to the tribal housing authority.

The Fort Belknap Housing Authority operated a program in which tribal members paid rent with the goal of owning a housing unit. The tribe received a rent subsidy from HUD for the units.

The subsidy is supposed to when once the unit is conveyed to the new owner. That didn't always happen and HUD determined that it overpaid the tribe $2.86 million between 2000 and 2010.

The agency sought to recover the funds, prompting a lawsuit in federal court from the housing authority.

The 9th Circuit, however, said it lacked jurisdiction. The tribe was never found to be in violation of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act so there was nothing that authorized the courts to hear the case, the decision stated.

HUD can recover the funds independent of NAHASDA, the court noted. So the tribe will have to repay the money.

Turtle Talk has posted documents from the case, Fort Belknap Housing Authority v. Office of Public and Indian Housing.

Get the Story:
Court rejects tribal housing subsidy complaint (AP 8/9)

9th Circuit Decision:
Fort Belknap Housing Authority v. Office of Public and Indian Housing (August 8, 2013)