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HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 2.3.2.3 Residency Preference

In adopting a residency preference for the public housing or Voucher programs, a PHA must state the preference in the PHA Plan.341 A PHA may define the geographical preference area, but it may be no smaller than the county or municipality.342 There is no special HUD approval required of a PHA’s local residency preference. HUD review and approval, if any, is conducted as part of HUD’s review of the PHA Plan.

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 2.3.3 Preference for Working Families

For public housing, Vouchers, and project-based Section 8, HUD regulations authorize PHAs and owners to adopt a preference for working families.354 If adopted, such a preference also must be extended to families whose head and spouse or sole member is an elderly or disabled person.355 If a PHA adopts such a preference for public housing or Vouchers, it must be included in the PHA Plan, the Admission and Continued Occupancy Plan and Administrative Plan.356

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 2.3.4 Preference for Single Persons and Persons with Disabilities

The regulations authorize a PHA or owner to prefer single individuals who are elderly, displaced, homeless or disabled over other singles.364 HUD has guidance on how property owners of project-based Section 8 housing could adopt admissions preferences for homeless individuals and families.365 The notice clarified HUD’s previously narrow interpretation of who qualified for the homelessness preference.

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 2.3.8 No Penalty for Public Housing Residents

Public housing residents applying for Vouchers may not be denied a preference nor otherwise excluded or penalized merely because they are public housing residents.384 In the past, residents of public housing faced difficulties obtaining Section 8 Vouchers because they were denied eligibility, not given preferences, or given the lowest preference available to applicants.385 The “otherwise excluded or penalized” language prohibits a PHA from denying its residents a preference that is available to

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 2.4.1 Introduction

Congress enacted income targeting provisions for public housing, the Voucher program and project-based Section 8 to ensure that poor people are provided access to a share of the low-income housing inventory and assistance.416 Income targeting does not apply to Section 202 PAC, Section 202 PRAC, Section 811 PRAC, RAP, Rent Supplement, Section 221(d)(3) BMIR, and Section 236 programs.417 In general, the statute and HUD rules governing income targeting require that a certain percentage of applicant

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 2.4.2 Public Housing

For public housing, PHAs are required to rent a minimum of 40 percent of new and turnover units to applicants who are extremely low-income (ELI) (at or below 30 percent of AMI).424 To comply with the targeting requirements, a PHA may admit ELI families ahead of other families on the waiting list.425 In many jurisdictions, a larger percentage of ELI families are admitted to public housing because waiting lists are composed mostly of ELI families, or PHAs choose not to use their discretion to rent

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 2.4.3 Voucher Program

A PHA must make 75 percent of its new and turnover Vouchers available to ELI families.431 In areas of unusually high or low incomes, a PHA may admit fewer ELI families with HUD approval.432 HUD approval must be in accordance with the PHA’s Annual Plan. This means that the PHA Plan should include a provision allowing targeting less than 75 percent of the Vouchers for families that are ELI. It is not clear whether the PHA Plan should be adjusted before or after the HUD approval.

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 2.5.1 Introduction

Beyond basic eligibility and targeting requirements, PHAs and owners often screen applicants for suitability.451 Such screening often includes factors such as criminal history, eviction history, rent-paying history and credit history. For public housing and HUD-assisted and subsidized developments, PHAs and owners typically conduct significant screening in an effort to determine tenant suitability.

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 2.5.2 Mitigating Circumstances, Reasonable Accommodation and Domestic Violence

Many applicants for housing will have histories that include information that may be considered adverse. Advocates should urge PHAs and owners to have a policy on how to respond to such adverse information. The policy should address how, when and under what circumstances mitigating factors will be considered. Mitigating factors should be discussed with respect to particular screening criteria, such as criminal history, rent-paying history, tenancy history, etc.

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 2.5.3.1 Overview

Federal law requires PHAs and owners to reject applicants with certain criminal backgrounds.506 For public housing, the Voucher program and Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation housing, applicants that have been convicted of methamphetamine production must be denied admission.507 For these programs and for HUD-assisted and subsidized housing, a PHA or owner must exclude registered lifetime sex offenders508 and current users of illegal drugs.

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 2.5.3.2 Previously Evicted for Drug-Related Activity

There is a mandatory three-year ban on admission for families if any member of the applicant household has been evicted from certain federally assisted housing for drug-related criminal activity.516 This ban is applicable to applicants for public housing, the Voucher program, project-based Section 8 and other federally subsidized housing.517 The ban covers evictions from this housing, as well as Section 202 and Section 811 housing, and housing financed by the Rural Housing Service under Sections

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 2.5.3.3 Methamphetamine Production

If any member of an applicant household has ever been convicted for manufacturing or producing methamphetamine on the premises of any public housing, Voucher housing or federally assisted and subsidized housing, a PHA must permanently deny the household admission to public housing, the Voucher program and the Section 8 moderate rehabilitation program.527 This ban does not apply to applicants for other federally assisted housing.

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 2.5.3.4 Current Users of Illegal Drugs

PHAs and owners must establish admission standards that prohibit the admission of applicants if any member of the household is “currently engaging in” the illegal use of a drug, or if there is cause to believe that a household member’s illegal use or pattern of illegal use may interfere with the health, safety or the right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other tenants.528 For discussion of the term “currently engaging in,” see infra

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 2.5.3.5 Registered Sex Offender

PHAs and owners of federally assisted and subsidized housing must deny admission to a family if any member of the household is subject to a lifetime registration requirement under a state sex offender registration program.549 An applicant must meet all the elements of the definition before he is permanently excluded. For example, because not all sex offenders required to register are subject to a lifetime registration requirement, they are not subject to permanent exclusion.

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 2.5.3.7 Access to Criminal Records and Information from Drug Treatment Programs

Criminal Records. PHAs may obtain criminal records from the National Crime Information Center, police departments, and other law enforcement agencies for the purpose of applicant screening, lease enforcement and eviction.592 Such records may be obtained for not only public housing but also Project- and Tenant-Based Section 8 housing.593 The statute limits the release of juvenile records to a PHA to the extent allowed by state law.

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 2.5.3.8 Use of Arrest and Other Criminal Records

In 2015, HUD PIH and Housing Offices issued identical notices and an accompanying set of FAQs providing guidance to PHAs and owners of federally assisted housing on the use of arrest records in making housing decisions.619 Specifically, the notices and FAQs state that arrests records alone cannot be the basis for denying admission, terminating assistance, or evicting tenants.620 HUD explains that arrest records are often inaccurate or incomplete such that relying on arrests not resulting in a co

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 2.5.4 Abuse of Alcohol

PHAs and owners must adopt standards that prohibit admission if a household member’s abuse or pattern of abuse of alcohol will interfere with the health, safety or right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other residents.631 To implement this provision, PHAs should consider what constitutes alcohol abuse.632 As with any applicant, an alcoholic may be rejected if they cannot meet the obligations of tenancy.633 An individual also may be denied