The Trainer — May 2015
Performing Interim Recertifications
In this month’s feature, we discussed when you need to perform an interim recertification for a household. If you don’t perform an interim recertification when you’re supposed to, you could charge a household the wrong rent or lose points on your management and occupancy review.
QUIZ
QUESTION #1
You must perform an interim recertification when a household member has a baby. True or false?
a. True.
b. False.
QUESTION #2
You must perform an interim recertification whenever a household’s income increases by more than:
a. $200 a month.
b. $400 a month.
c. $500 a month.
d. $600 a month.
QUESTION #3
In the hopes of lowering its rent, a household asks you to perform an interim recertification because one of its members, who was an ineligible noncitizen, has just become a U.S. citizen. Are you required to perform the interim recertification?
a. Yes.
b. No.
QUESTION #4
Households may not request an interim recertification due to changes in the disability assistance; they must wait for their next annual recertification. True or false?
a. True.
b. False.
QUESTION #5
You may delay performing an interim recertification when the household’s income decreases if you get confirmation that the household’s income will be fully or partially restored in:
a. Two months.
b. Three months.
c. Four months.
d. Six months.
QUESTION #6
A household asks you to perform an interim recertification to lower their rent because a member just lost his job. When you ask the employer to verify that the household member was laid off, the employer tells you that the household member will be laid off for only two weeks. In this instance, can you refuse to perform an interim recertification?
a. Yes.
b. No.
QUESTION #7
A household member has lost his job, and you are delaying the interim recertification until the resident’s unemployment claim has been completed and the new income is known. During the delay, the household stops paying rent. Can you start the eviction process?
a. Yes.
b. No.
ANSWERS & EXPLANATIONS
QUESTION #1
Correct answer: a
True. You must perform an interim recertification when a household’s composition changes, either because a new member joins the household or a current member leaves. This includes when a household member has a child and when a household member dies.
QUESTION #2
Correct answer: a
HUD requires households to report to you if their income increases by more than $200 a month [HUD Handbook 4350.3, par. 7-10(A)(4)].
QUESTION #3
Correct answer: a
Yes. Owners must process an interim recertification if a tenant reports a change in citizenship or eligible immigration status of any family members [HUD Handbook 4350.3, par. 7-11(A)(5)]. If a household member becomes an eligible noncitizen or U.S. citizen, the member becomes eligible for assistance, which will often result in a reduction in the household’s rent.
QUESTION #4
Correct answer: b
False. Households may request an interim recertification due to changes in any of the five allowances [HUD Handbook 4350.3, par. 7-10 (B)(2)]: the medical expense allowance, the disability assistance allowance, the elderly household allowance, the child care assistance allowance, and the dependent allowance.
QUESTION #5
Correct answer: a
You may delay performing an interim recertification when the household’s income decreases if you get confirmation that the household’s income will be fully or partially restored in two months [Handbook 4350.3, par. 7-11(F)]. During the delay, you can continue charging the household the current rent.
QUESTION #6
Correct answer: a
Yes. If the household’s decrease in income will last for less than a month, you don’t have to perform an interim recertification. But you must get “confirmation” of the length of the decrease. Also, you must have a policy of refusing to perform an interim recertification whenever any household’s income decreases for less than a month [Handbook 4350.3, par. 7-11(D)(2)]. So, in this instance, you could refuse to perform an interim recertification if your site has a policy of refusing to perform one when any household’s income decreases for less than a month.
QUESTION #7
Correct answer: b
No. During the delay, you can neither:
- Evict the household for nonpayment of rent [Handbook 4350.3, par. 7-11(F)(1)(b)]; nor
- Charge it a fee for a late rent payment [Handbook 4350.3, par. 7-11(F)(1)(c)].
After you learn the household’s new income and verify it, you must recertify the household and retroactively apply any rent reduction to the first day of the month after the date the household’s income decreased [Handbook 4350.3, par. 7-11(F)(2)(b)].