In the News

HUD Issues 2013 Income Limits

December 12, 2012    
On Dec. 4, HUD released new income limits for fiscal year 2013 that determine eligibility for its assisted housing programs. The income limits took effect immediately. The income limits are set as a percentage of area median income adjusted for household size. The newly issued income limits and...
HUD Audits

Authority's Housing Quality Standards Inspections Were Inadequate

December 12, 2012    
HUD audited the Allegheny County Housing Authority's Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program because the authority received more than $27.3 million in HCV funding in fiscal year 2011 and an article published in the local newspaper in October 2011 described Housing Quality Standards problems with a...
HUD Audits

Owner Fraudulently Claimed Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments

December 12, 2012    
HUD reviewed the records of the Housing Authority of the City of Orlando. Specifically, HUD looked at the Section 8 assistance payments made to an owner for a resident with whom he lived. The housing authority discovered potential fraud when the owner brought the death certificate of the resident...
Recent Court Rulings

Owner Wasn’t Denied Due Process

December 12, 2012    
Facts: An owner has participated in the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program since 2005. He entered into a housing assistance payment (HAP) contract with the local housing authority for each of his units. Pursuant to the contracts, the housing authority has paid a portion of the monthly rent on...
Recent Court Rulings

Resident's Late Payments Didn't Constitute Serious Lease Violations

December 12, 2012    
Facts: A Section 8 resident signed a one-year lease with the owner that began on July 1, 2009, and required the resident to pay a $700 security deposit. The rent was $538 per month; the amount to be paid by federal public housing assistance was $446 per month, and the resident’s monthly...
Recent Court Rulings

State Court to Decide Resident Selection Criteria Case

December 12, 2012    
Facts: A prospective resident with disabilities who relies on Social Security and has no convictions for any violent or drug-related criminal activity applied for a unit. She met the financial eligibility requirements, but was denied admission. The rejection letters stated, “Criminal History...
Feature

How to Incorporate Home Visits into Applicant Screening Process

November 14, 2012    
Screening applicants is becoming increasingly important for assisted sites. And visiting an applicant's home is an effective way to identify bad applicants. It can also help you get a head start in working with those applicants you ultimately decide to accept. At the Residences at Ninth Square...
Related Tools: Home Visit Report
Income Calculations

How to Annualize Five Types of Employment Income

November 14, 2012    
To determine whether a household is eligible to live at your assisted site and how much assistance it should get, you must count income that the household “expects to receive” during its 12-month certification year [HUD Handbook 4350.3, par. 5-5(A)]. This includes amounts household...
Recent Court Rulings

Owner Denied Section 8 Payments Due to Unit Defects

November 14, 2012    
Facts: A resident sued the owner and the local housing authority for alleged wrongful termination of her Section 8 subsidy. In August 2008, the resident was notified that her unit failed a Housing Quality Standards (HQS) inspection. When she received this notification, she understood it to mean...
Recent Court Rulings

Inspection Regulations Rationally Related to HUD’s Housing Goals

November 14, 2012    
Facts: Owners of a project-based Section 8 site sued HUD to challenge regulations that provide standards for “decent, safe, and sanitary” low-income housing. Under Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937, HUD provides housing assistance through both “project-based assistance,”...