Montco Landlord Charged Section 8 Tenants Extra Rent: Feds

FORT WASHINGTON, PA — A Montgomery County landlord who charged extra rent from low income families, while lowering rent payments for another tenant in exchange for sex, federal officials said.

Allan R. Posner, of Fort Washington, and his property management company Iljor Properties, must pay $570,000 in fines, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said.

“Exploiting vulnerable individuals through sexual misconduct or overcharging HUD-assisted tenants is both reprehensible and abusive,” Inspector General Rae Oliver Davis, with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said in a statement.

The illicit behavior began in Jan. 2017 and continued through Dec. 2020, officials said.

During this time, Posner made an "unwelcome proposal" of sex to one of his non-Section 8 tenants sex, in exchange for a lower rent rate," according to authorities.

The tenant agreed because she was afraid of losing her housing.

By lowering that tenant's rent, he then charged his Section 8 tenants living in nearly identical units significantly more, which is a breach of federal law, authorities said.

Posner also charged Section 8 tenants extra fees which he didn't charge regular tenants, including excess fees for storage, garage access, and laundry.

Over the course of the four years of this activity, Posner made at least around $38,000 in extra fees alone from Section 8 tenants.

“We will continue to partner with the United States Attorney to hold these landlords accountable, protect low-income households from sexual and financial predation, and promote the integrity of HUD programs," Davis added.

Residents who have been sexually harassed by a landlord or who have been charged unfairly should contact the HUD OIG hotline at 1-800-347-3735.