| (4) Ineligible for Placement on the Waiting List. If
the Department can determine from the information provided that a
household is ineligible, the household will not be placed on the waiting
list or be able to participate in the lottery process described in
this section for placement on the waiting list. Where a household
is determined to be ineligible, the Department will send written notification
of the ineligibility determination within 14 calendar days of receiving
the complete application from the Department at the Department headquarters
(24 CFR §982.201(f)).The notice will specify the reasons for
ineligibility, and will inform the household of its right to request
an informal review and explain the process for doing so.
(5) Applicants with Special Purpose Characteristics.
The application for the jurisdictional waiting list will ask if the
household qualifies for any of the open special purpose waiting lists
that the Department maintains, except for a project-based waiting
list or a waiting list in which a household may not directly apply.
The applicant household, if qualified, may be added to one or more
special purpose waiting lists at the end of the application acceptance
period, but this will not impact their lottery number for the jurisdictional
waiting list.
(6) If the Department permanently absorbs vouchers
from another housing authority and is reassigned the contract by HUD,
the waiting list from the other housing authority will be maintained,
in its existing order, but will not be further expanded. That waiting
list will be treated as separate from the rest of the Department's
waiting list until it has been depleted. If after absorption of that
area, the Department opens its jurisdictional waiting list, applicants
located in the absorbed area will be eligible to also apply to this
waiting list.
(g) Selection of Households from the Waiting List.
(1) The actual order in which households are selected
from the waiting list can be affected if a household has certain characteristics
designated by HUD or the Department to receive preferential treatment,
such as being impacted by a particular declared disaster. Funding
earmarked exclusively for households with particular characteristics
may also alter the order in which households are served. HUD requires
that extremely low-income (ELI) households make up at least 75% of
the households admitted to the HCV program during the Department's
fiscal year. ELI households are those with annual incomes at or below
30% of the area median income. To ensure this requirement is met,
the Department may skip non-ELI household on the waiting list in order
to select an ELI household. (24 CFR §982.201(b)(2)). The skipped
non-ELI household will retain its position on the waiting list. Low-income
households admitted to the program that are "continuously assisted"
under the 1937 Housing Act (24 CFR 982.4(b)), as well as low-income
or moderate-income households admitted to the program that are displaced
as a result of the prepayment of the mortgage or voluntary termination
of an insurance contract on eligible low-income housing, are not counted
for income targeting purposes (24 CFR §982.201(b)(2)(v)).
(2) When a voucher becomes available, the Department
will select the household at the top of the waiting list. The order
of admission from the waiting list IS NOT based on household size,
or on the household unit size for which the household qualifies under
the occupancy guidelines. If the Department does not have sufficient
funds to subsidize the household unit size of the household at the
top of the waiting list, the Department WILL NOT skip the top household
to admit an applicant with a smaller household unit size. Instead,
the household at the top of the waiting list will be admitted when
sufficient funds are available. (24 CFR §982.204(d) and (e)).
(3) When a household comes to the top of the waiting
list and the Department is ready to issue a voucher, the household
will be notified and required to complete the full application. The
household will also be required to complete a Personal Declaration
Form. A household that does not respond to the request for full application
more than three times will be sent a notice consistent with program
policies removing them from the waiting list.
(4) A household's decision to apply for, receive, or
refuse non-PHA federal, state, or local housing assistance will not
affect the household's placement on the jurisdictional waiting list,
or any preferences for which the household may qualify, except as
specified in §5.801 of this chapter.
(h) Reporting Changes in Household Circumstances While
On the Waiting List. While a household is on the waiting list, the
household must immediately inform the Department of changes in contact
information, including current residence, mailing address, and phone
number. The changes must be submitted in writing. Failure to provide
this information may prevent the Department from being able to reach
a household if a voucher becomes available and may result in removal
from the waiting list.
(i) Updating of the Waiting List and Removal from the
Waiting List.
(1) To insure that the Department's waiting list reflects
the most current applicant information the waiting list may be updated
no less than every twelve months.
(2) Process.
(A) To update the waiting list, the Department will
send an update request to each household on the waiting list to determine
whether the household continues to be interested in, and qualifies
for, the program. This update request will be sent to the last address
on record for the household and to any email address provided by the
household.
(B) The update request will provide a deadline by which
the household must respond, which will be approximately 10 days from
the date the letter is sent, and will state that failure to respond
will result in the applicant's name being removed from the waiting
list.
(C) The household's response to the Department must
be in writing and may be delivered, by mail, or by email. Responses
should be postmarked or received by the Department no later than the
deadline specified in the Department's letter.
(D) If the household fails to respond by the specified
deadline, the household will be removed from the waiting list without
further notice. If the notice is returned to the Department by the
post office with no forwarding address, the applicant will be removed
from the waiting list without further notice. If the notice is returned
to the Department by the post office with a forwarding address, the
notice will be re-sent to the address indicated. The household will
have a new deadline specified by which to respond.
(3) Removal from the Waiting List.
(A) If a household is removed from the waiting list
for failure to respond, the Department may reinstate the household
to their former position on the waiting list if it determines that
the lack of response was due to Department error, or to circumstances
beyond the household's control. Greater flexibility in this criteria
may be provided as a reasonable accommodation.
(B) If a household is removed from the waiting list
because they have failed to respond to the Department's request for
more information/updates or the Department has determined that they
are no longer eligible for assistance, a notice will be sent to the
household's address of record as well as to any alternate address
or email address provided on the initial application. The notice will
state the reasons the household was removed from the waiting list
and will inform the household that they have 10 calendar days from
the date of the written correspondence to request an informal review
of the Department's decision (24 CFR §982.201(f)).
(C) If a household accepts a tenant-based public housing
voucher from the Department, the household will be removed from all
tenant-based public housing Department waiting lists.
|
