Thomas Breen photo
Dean Howard in his Frederick Street apartment.
After breaking both of his feet and fracturing his kneecap in a scooter crash on Whalley Avenue, Dean Howard fell behind on rent — and got hit with an eviction lawsuit.
His Stamford-based landlord has now withdrawn the case, after Howard caught up on what he owed with the help of his employer, his dad, and a state assistance program.
That whirlwind of hardship, frustration, persistence, and resourcefulness has defined the past nearly five months in the life of Dean Howard.
Howard, 59, lives in a second-floor apartment in the Woodbridge Commons condo complex on Frederick Street on the far west side of town.
A native New Havener, Howard first moved into his Frederick Street apartment in early 2020, ending a yearlong stretch of homelessness.
He currently works a full-time job in the flooring department at Home Depot.
Despite the tenant’s full-time employment, and his professed ability and willingness to pay his $1,300 monthly rent, Howard’s landlord — Rent New Haven LLC, a holding company controlled by Daniel and Joseph Scherban — filed an eviction lawsuit against him on March 6.
That lawsuit sought to kick Howard and his two daughters out of their Frederick Street apartment on two legal grounds: lapse of time and nonpayment of rent.
The eviction complaint’s first count claimed that the tenants’ month-to-month lease had expired, and that, per a notice to quit served on Jan. 19, they had to move out by Feb. 24.
The second count claimed that the tenants had failed to pay their monthly rent in January.
Howard's apartment building on Frederick Street.
According to state court records, on March 16, Howard filed an answer to the complaint in which he detailed how tough the past few months have been — and how, with help from a variety of sources, he believed he had caught up completely on all back rent owed. (See more below.)
As recently as Tuesday, his landlord remained unswayed, and moved ahead with the eviction.
Rent New Haven’s attorney, Ori Spiegel, filed a legal reply in which the landlord denied “each and every allegation” set forth in Howard’s March 16 filing.
One day later — and a few hours after the Independent reached out to Spiegel and Daniel Scherban for comment on this matter — the landlord formally withdrew the eviction action, thereby ending Rent New Haven’s case against Howard.
“At the time this eviction was started, Mr. Howard was behind in his rent,” Spiegel told the Independent by email on Wednesday afternoon after the case had been withdrawn. “Because he was able to bring his account current, in this case my client was able to stop the eviction. My client always attempts to reach a fair resolution of these cases with his tenants.”
Even as Howard’s case has now ended, eviction filings in Connecticut are on track to reach their highest monthly number since 2017, according to this article in the CT Mirror. That article also states that the UniteCT rent relief program stopped taking new applications as of mid-February, and that all of the $400 million-plus in federal pandemic-relief money that the state had dedicated to rental assistance has either been distributed or is in the process of being given out.
February also saw the launch of the state’s new right to counsel program, which provides legal representation for tenants facing eviction in 16 zip codes across Connecticut. In New Haven, those zip codes include 06511, 06513, and 06519.
"What Is The Problem?"
Thomas Breen photo
On Wednesday morning, Howard took the time before a doctor’s appointment to meet up with this reporter in his second-floor apartment to talk about his then-ongoing eviction case — and about the previous few months of challenges, and support.
The most recent set of troubles came on Nov. 10 of last year, he said, when he was involved in a car accident while on his scooter on Whalley Avenue.
He said a car cut right in front of him, causing him to go flying from his vehicle. “I broke both my feet, cracked my right kneecap, and broke my nose,” he said.
That host of injuries left him home and out of work from mid-November to mid-January, he said. And during that time, he fell behind on rent, missing both January’s and February’s monthly payments.
“I’m back at work [now], but don’t get me wrong, because my feet hurt like hell,” he said. “But I’m still back at work.”
This isn’t the first time in the past year that Howard had fallen behind on rent. He said he missed several months’ rent payments last year, too, as he struggled to find a job and before he landed the part-time, and then full-time, work at Home Deport. He said the state’s rental assistance program, UniteCT, paid off $8,600 in back rent and utility bills. After he added his own $200 in cash to that total, he said, he was all caught up on everything he owed through the end of December.
But thanks to his new injury-induced bout of unemployment from November through mid-January, Howard said, he suddenly was behind on rent yet again, and needed help.
This time around, that help came from two different sources: his employer, and his dad.
Howard said that Home Depot provided him with a $3,000 check through its Homer Fund program. According to the program’s website, The Homer Fund “provides financial assistance to associates facing unexpected hardships.” Howard said he set aside most of that money for paying January’s and February’s rent.
The next source of help was his father, who brought him $1,100. Howard said he set aside that money to help cover March rent.
Howard said he and his father met up with the property manager on Feb. 22 — two days before the notice to quit had ordered him to vacate the apartment — and paid him in full for January, February, and March rent.
And that, Howard thought, was that.
Except it wasn’t.
Even after he said he had paid off his back rent bills, Howard said, his landlord continued to pursue evicting him. He said he couldn’t get in touch with the property manager, and was no longer able to access the online tenant portal.
On top of all that, he was worried that, if he did get evicted from his Frederick Street apartment, he would lose the $2,600 security deposit he paid when he first moved in two years ago.
“I’m in a place where I can take care of what I need to take care of,” Howard said. He has a full-time job. He can pay rent going forward. He’s caught up on rent that he owed.
“What is the problem?” Why follow through with the eviction?
Ultimately, Howard’s landlord appears to have agreed with the tenant that the eviction case shouldn’t go forward. A few hours after the Independent interviewed Howard, the landlord withdrew the eviction action from state court and ended the case.
Other recent stories about New Haven eviction cases working their way through housing court so far in 2022.
• Hill Landlord Prevails In“Lapse” Eviction
• Landlord Thwarted 2nd Time On Eviction
• Church Evicting Parishioner
• Hard-Luck Tenant Hustles To Stay Put
• Eviction Of Hospitalized Tenant, 74, Upheld
• Judge Pauses Eviction Amid Rent-Relief Qs
• Amid Rise In“Lapse-of-Time” Evictions, Tenant Wins 3‑Month Stay
• Leaky Ceiling, Rent Dispute Spark Eviction Case
Man this is great to hear, I believe this is the gentleman my boy drove past, who got hit on Whalley Avenue. Good to hear things were rectified for him. Can't imagine getting into that type of a horrific accident where I could have died.
All continued blessings to him and those that helped him.