Housing Choice Voucher Program Administrative Plan

1 Housing Choice Voucher Program Administrative plan REVISED FEBRUARY 29, 2016 Approved by the board of Commissioners on September 28, 2015 Revised February 29, 2016 Administrative plan i Table of Contents 1 Program Authority and Objectives .. 1 GHA Vision and Mission .. 1 GHA s Commitment to Ethics and Service .. 1 Approval of plan and Use of Administrative Fee Reserves .. 2 2 Purpose of the Administrative plan .. 2 3 General Administrative Provisions and Polices .. 3 Confidentiality and Privacy .. 3 Records Retention .. 3 The Family Self-Sufficiency Program .. 3 4 General Fair Housing Policies .. 4 Fair Housing , Non-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity .. 4 Owner Nondiscrimination Requirements.

2 4 Information about Discrimination for Families .. 4 Outreach to Eligible Families and Affirmative Marketing .. 5 Owner Outreach .. 5 Language Assistance plan and Limited-English Proficiency Policy .. 6 LEP Options .. 7 Reasonable Accommodation Policy .. 7 Reasonable Accommodation Procedure Overview .. 8 Examples of Reasonable 8 Live-In Aide Policy .. 9 Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act Policy .. 11 Confidentiality .. 11 Notification of Rights .. 11 Mitigation of Disqualifying Information .. 12 Termination of Assistance .. 12 5 Applying to the Program and the Waiting 14 Local Preferences .. 14 Public Housing Displacement Preference .. 14 Residency Preference.

3 14 Disability Preference .. 14 Elderly Preference .. 14 Working Preference .. 15 Job Training or School Preference .. 15 Veteran s Preference .. 15 Disaster Voucher Ike Participants .. 15 Administrative plan ii Waiting List and 15 Order of Selection from the Waiting List .. 16 Income Targeting Selections: .. 16 Special Admissions .. 17 Assistance Targeted by HUD .. 17 Continuously Assisted Families .. 17 Relocation of Witnesses and Victims of Crime .. 17 Opening and Closing the Waiting List .. 17 Notice of Waiting List Opening and Closing .. 18 Update and Removal from Waiting List .. 18 Application Procedures .. 19 Applicant Briefings and Voucher Issuance.

4 20 Voucher Term .. 20 Voucher Extensions .. 20 Voucher Suspension .. 21 Denial of Assistance .. 21 6 Subsidy Standards .. 21 Determining Voucher Size .. 21 Subsidy Standards Chart .. 21 Exceptions to Subsidy Standards .. 22 Unit Size Selected by Family .. 23 Under-Housed and Over-Housed Families .. 23 7 Initial and Continuing Eligibility .. 23 Definition of Family and Household .. 24 Family Break-Ups .. 25 Remaining Family Members .. 26 Return of Permanently Absent Family Members .. 26 Household Members Who are not Family Members .. 26 Guests .. 27 Absent Family Members .. 27 Income Eligibility .. 27 Determination of Annual Income .. 27 Wages and Related Compensation .. 28 Temporary, Nonrecurring, or Sporadic Income.

5 28 Training programs (HUD-Funded, State, and Local) .. 28 Earned Income Disallowance for Qualified Participants with Disabilities .. 29 Business 29 Administrative plan iii Asset Income .. 30 Assets Disposed of for Less than Fair Market Value .. 30 Checking and Savings Accounts .. 31 Investment Accounts .. 31 Equity in Real Property .. 31 Personal Property .. 31 Lump-Sum Payments for the Delayed Start of a Periodic Payment .. 32 Foster Care Payments .. 32 Child Spport and Alimony .. 32 Regular Contributions or Gifts .. 32 Adjusted Income .. 32 Anticipating Expenses .. 33 Medical Expenses .. 33 Families who Qualify for Both Medical and Disability Expenses.

6 33 Disability Expenses .. 33 Child Care Expenses .. 34 Computing Income-Based Subsidy .. 35 Minimum Rent and Hardship Exemptions .. 36 Disclosure of Social Security Numbers .. 36 Citizenship and Eligible Immigration Status .. 37 Criminal Background Screening .. 38 8 Request for Tenancy Approval, Inspections, and Leasing .. 38 Information to Owners .. 38 Permitted Types of Housing .. 39 Tenancy Approval .. 39 Approval of RFTA .. 39 Disapproval of RFTA .. 40 Security Deposit Requirements .. 40 Separate Agreements .. 41 Owner Approval .. 41 Owner Disapproval .. 41 Housing Quality Standards and Inspections .. 42 Types of Inspections .. 43 Initial or Move-In Inspections .. 43 Annual Inspections.

7 43 Special or Complaint Inspections .. 44 Quality Control Inspections .. 44 Administrative plan iv Missed and Rescheduled Inspections .. 44 Owner Responsibilities .. 45 Family Responsibilities .. 455 Lead-based Paint .. 45 Violation of HQS Space Standards .. 45 Additional Inspection 45 Time Standards for Repair .. 47 Emergency Repairs .. 47 Non-Emergency 47 Extensions .. 47 Compliance and Enforcement .. 47 Enforcing Owner Compliance .. 47 Enforcing Family Compliance with HQS .. 48 Rent Reasonableness .. 48 HAP Contract .. 49 Execution .. 49 HAP Payments .. 50 Changes to HAP Terms .. 51 Overlapping HAP Payments .. 52 Contract Terminations.

8 52 Payment Standards .. 53 Establishment of Payment Standards .. 53 Implementation of Changes to the Payment Standards .. 54 Updating Payment Standards .. 54 Tenant Rent .. 55 Utility Allowances and Utility Reimbursements .. 55 9 Verifications .. 55 Methods of Verification .. 56 Verification of Legal Identity .. 57 Verification of Family Relationships .. 57 Verification of Marriage .. 58 Verification of Separation or Divorce .. 58 Verification of an Adult Household Member s Absence .. 58 Verification of Foster Children and 58 Verification of Student Status .. 58 Verification of Disabled Status .. 58 Verification of Income .. 59 Administrative plan v Verification of Tips.

9 59 Verification of Business Income .. 59 Verification of Student Financial Assistance .. 60 Verification of Parental Income of Students Subject to Eligibility Restrictions .. 60 Verification of Child Support and Alimony .. 60 Verification of Zero Encome .. 61 Verification of Assets .. 61 Verification of Aassets Disposed of for Less than Fair Market Value .. 61 Verification of Net Income from Rental Property .. 61 Verification of Retirement Accounts .. 62 Verification of Expenses .. 62 Verification of Medical and Disability Expenses .. 62 Verification of Eligibility for Child Care Expenses .. 63 Excluded Income .. 63 10 Ongoing Program Operations .. 64 Annual Recertifications .. 64 Interim Changes in Income and Family Composition.

10 65 Reporting Interim Changes .. 65 Processing Changes .. 65 Changes in Income .. 65 Zero HAP .. 66 Changes in Family Composition .. 66 Family Absences from the Unit .. 67 Family Moves .. 67 Allowable Moves .. 67 Move Process .. 68 HUD Relocation Program .. 69 Portability .. 69 Outgoing Vouchers .. 69 Incoming Vouchers .. 69 Denial of Assistance to Applicants and Termination of Assistance to Participants .. 69 Denial of Assistance .. 70 Grounds for Termination .. 74 Termination 78 Removal of a Family Member from the Application .. 79 Reasonable Accommodation Related to Denials or Terminations .. 79 11 Program Integrity, Fraud and Repayment .. 79 Administrative plan vi Preventing and Detecting Fraud and Abuse.