Eighth Circuit Upholds Prepayment Restrictions on Section 515 Housing In Conflict with Other Court Rulings

摘要

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has upheld prepayment restrictions on Section 515 rural rental housing mortgages imposed by the Emergency Low-Income Housing Preservation Act of 1987 (ELIHPA), a ruling that conflicts with other federal court decisions on the, owners' right to prepay. (Charleston Housing Authority, v. U. S. Department of Agriculture, No. 04-1884,, No. 04-2620, 2005 WL 1981310 (8th.Cir. Mo.), August 18, 2005) The appeals court also upheld the decision of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri that the Charleston, Mo., Housing Authority (CHA) violated the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against African-Americans with its plan to demolish the 50 low-income housing units in the Charleston Apartments project. The circuit court remanded the fair housing decision to the lower court to update the injunctive relief that it had granted the plaintiffs, due to the time elapsed since the district court ruling. The circuit court suggested considering alternative proposals for redeveloping the complex in ways that could affirmatively further fair housing.