Tenant won't pay utilities- housing choice voucher DC

[Alexa S.]

I've been renting to the same tenant with a housing choice voucher since 12/20. Before getting set up, I spoke to someone from this forum- I wish I retained their info- and they advised me to write into my lease terms that (even though the government was paying the tenant's utilities) the tenant was responsible for any costs above and beyond average usage, meaning anything above what the amount the government was paying me monthly. The government provides $197 per month for utilities and the tenant routinely runs far over this, averaging about $200 per month more than this. I bill her monthly and she eventually pays me back but right now she owes around $800 in back utilities. She is now saying the housing authority says I am not allowed to bill her per the terms of the DCHA lease which is separate from my lease but somewhat in conflict in that it says she does not pay. I understood the DCHA lease to mean that the government pays me for utilities but NOT that it precludes me from billing her for overages. She is also asking that I return the overages that she's paid me over the last four years.  DCHA is notoriously awful to deal with and when I've had to be in touch it can take dozens of calls and emails before I get a response. What measure should I take?
  

[Greg Scott]

You are probably lucky that DCHA is so difficult to work with.  They will also be hard for your resident to reach too. 

Given that its been over 4 years, and now this is coming to light, I have a feeling your resident had a discussion with someone who gave them this idea.  Whether it is a friend or a lawyer from free legal-aid, you don't know.

Based on your numbers, I calculate your potential liability here at about $10K, assuming there are no penalties from having potentially broken the law.  If there are penalties, they could easily double or triple your potential risk.  Isn't it worth a few hundred bucks to get the opinion of an attorney experienced with this program to make sure you are correct?  

If you find you are on solid legal ground, then just proceed with a lease violation notice for late payment.  If you find you are not on solid legal ground, you have the ability to correct this before things potentially get worse.