SFHA-HCV-Q&A_040312

EDW IN M. LEE, MAYOR REV. AMOS C BROW N, CHAIRMAN

SAN FRANCISCO HOUSING AUTHORITY

Questions & Answers Housing Choice Voucher RAB 2012 Resident Advisory Board April 3, 2012 Meeting 1. What is the procedure when it comes to medical deductions?

Medical Expenses Deduction [24 CFR 5.611(a)(3)(i)] Unreimbursed medical expenses may be deducted to the extent that, in combination with any disability assistance expenses, they exceed three percent of annual income.

The medical expense deduction is permitted only for families in which the head, spouse, or cohead is at least 62 or is a person with disabilities. If a family is eligible for a medical expense deduction, the medical expenses of all family members are counted [VG, p. 28].

SFHA Admin Plan Section 7.2 - E 2. What is title V of Older Americans act of 1985 and what does is entail?

The Older Americans Act of 1965 (Pub.L. 89-73, 79 Stat. 218, July 14, 1965) was the first federal level initiative aimed at providing comprehensive services for older adults. It created the National Aging Network comprising the Administration on Aging on the federal level, State Units on Aging, and Area Agencies on Aging at the local level. The network provides funding - based primarily on the percentage of an area's population 60 and older - for nutrition and supportive home and community-based services, disease prevention/health promotion services, elder rights programs, the National Family Caregiver Support Program, and the Native American Caregiver Support Program.

In 2006 congress reauthorized the act in its entirety, effective through FY 2011.

3. When going in for recertification can the following years expenses be anticipated Anticipating Annual Income: The SFHA is required to count all income ―anticipated to be received from a source outside the family during the 12-month period following the admission or annual reexamination effective date‖ [24 CFR 5.609(a)(2)].

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Policies related to anticipating annual income are provided below: 1) Basis of Annual Income Projection The SFHA generally will use current circumstances to determine anticipated income for the coming 12-month period. HUD authorizes the SFHA to use other than current circumstances to anticipate income when: a) An imminent change in circumstances is expected [HCV GB, p. 5-17]; b) It is not feasible to anticipate a level of income over a 12-month period (e.g., seasonal or cyclic income) [24 CFR 5.609(d)]; or c) The SFHA believes that past income is the best available indicator of expected future income [24 CFR 5.609(d)].

When the SFHA cannot readily anticipate income based upon current circumstances (e.g., in the case of seasonal employment, unstable working hours, or suspected fraud), the SFHA will review and analyze historical data for patterns of employment, paid benefits, and receipt of other income and use the results of this analysis to establish annual income.

Anytime current circumstances are not used to project annual income, a clear rationale for the decision will be documented in the file. In all such cases the family may present information and documentation to the SFHA to show why the historic pattern does not represent the family‘s anticipated income.

SFHA Admin Plan Section 7.1 - C 4. What is the status of the Homeownership program?

The SFHA is working internally to produce an efficient homeownership program.

5. How do you get a tenant handbook?

The tenant should make a request to their eligibility worker.

6. What is the minimum rent?

The minimum rent for SFHA is $25.00.

7. Do hardship rules apply?

Overview: If the SFHA establishes a minimum rent greater than zero, the SFHA must grant an exemption from the minimum rent if a family is unable to pay the minimum rent because of financial hardship.

The financial hardship exemption applies only to families required to pay the minimum rent. If a family‘s TTP is higher than the minimum rent, the family is not eligible for a hardship exemption. If the SFHA determines that a hardship exists, the TTP is the highest of the remaining components of the family‘s calculated TTP. SFHA Admin Plan Section 7.3 – B

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8. Does the word family pertain to an individual?

A family is two or more persons sharing residency whose income and resources are available to meet the family's needs, and who are either related by blood, marriage or operation of law, or who have evidenced a stable family relationship over a period of time (not less than one year).

Family includes but is not limited to: a. A family with or without children (the temporary absence of a child from the home due to placement in foster care shall not be considered in determining family composition and family size); b. An elderly family; c. A near-elderly family; d. A disabled family; e. A displaced family; f. The remaining member of a tenant family; and g. A single person who is not an elderly or displaced person, or a person with disabilities, or the remaining member of a tenant family.

SFHA Admin Plan Section: Glossary 9. Who determines utility allowances?

The Housing Authority maintains a utility allowance schedule for all tenant-paid utilities (except telephone), for cost of tenant-supplied refrigerators and ranges, and for other tenant-paid housing services (e.g., trash collection (disposal of waste and refuse)).

The utility allowance schedule is determined based on the typical cost of utilities and services paid by energy-conservative households that occupy housing of similar size and type in the same locality. In developing the schedule, the Housing Authority uses normal patterns of consumption for the community as a whole and current utility rates.

SFHA Admin Plan Section: 11.6

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10. Regarding the payment standard what is the difference between #1 and #2?

EFFECTIVE EFFECTIVE UNIT SIZE 12/01/2011 12/01/2011 HUD Fair Market SFHA Payment Rent Standard SRO

$

893

$

888

STUDIO

$

1,191

$

1,185

ONE

$

1,465

$

1,457

TWO

$

1,833

$

1,823

THREE

$

2,447

$

2,434

FOUR

$

2,586

$

2,572

FIVE

$

2,972

$

2,957

SIX

$

3,362

$

3,344

SEVEN CCS Code

$

3,750 C11

$

3,730 P11

HUD Fair Market Rent = #1 SFHA Payment Standard = #2 11. Regarding earned income disallowance do they give you a certain amount of EID? Earned Income Disallowance [24 CFR 960.255] The earned income disallowance (EID) encourages people to enter the work force by not including the full value of increases in earned income for a period of time. The full text of 24 CFR 960.255 is included as Exhibit 7-4 at the end of this chapter.

1) Eligibility This disallowance applies only to individuals in families already participating in the public housing program (not at initial examination). To qualify, the family must experience an increase in annual income that is the result of one of the following events: a) Employment of a family member who was previously unemployed for one or more years prior to employment. Previously unemployed includes a person who annually has earned not more than the minimum wage applicable to the community multiplied by 500 hours. The applicable minimum wage is the federal minimum wage unless there is a higher state or local minimum wage. b) Increased earnings by a family member whose earnings increase during participation in an economic self-sufficiency or job-training program. A selfsufficiency program includes a program designed to encourage, assist, train, or facilitate the economic independence of HUD-assisted families or to provide work to such families [24 CFR 5.603(b)].

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c) New employment or increased earnings by a family member who has received benefits or services under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (―TANF‖) or any other state program funded under Part A of Title IV of the Social Security Act within the past six months. If the benefits are received in the form of monthly maintenance, there is no minimum amount. If the benefits or services are received in a form other than monthly maintenance, such as one-time payments, wage subsidies, or transportation assistance, the total amount received over the sixmonth period must be at least $500.

2) Calculation of the Disallowance Calculation of the earned income disallowance for an eligible member of a qualified family begins with a comparison of the member‘s current income with his or her ―prior income.‖ The SFHA defines prior income, or prequalifying income, as the family member‘s last certified income prior to qualifying for the EID. The family member‘s prior, or prequalifying, income remains constant throughout the period that he or she is receiving the EID. 3) Initial 12-Month Exclusion During the initial 12-month exclusion period, the full amount (100 percent) of any increase in income attributable to new employment or increased earnings is excluded.

The 12 months are cumulative and need not be consecutive.

The initial EID exclusion period will begin on the first of the month following the date an eligible member of a qualified family is first employed or first experiences an increase in earnings.

4) Second 12-Month Exclusion and SFHA se-In During the second 12-month exclusion period, the exclusion is reduced to half (50 percent) of any increase in income attributable to employment or increased earnings. The 12 months are cumulative and need not be consecutive.

5) Lifetime Limitation The EID has a four-year (48-month) lifetime maximum. The four-year eligibility period begins at the same time that the initial exclusion period begins and ends 48 months later.

The one-time eligibility for the EID applies even if the eligible individual begins to receive assistance from another housing agency, if the individual moves between public housing and Section 8 assistance, or if there are breaks in assistance.

During the 48-month eligibility period, the SFHA will conduct an interim reexamination each time there is a change in the family member‘s annual income that affects or is affected by the EID (e.g., when the family member‘s income falls to a level at or below his/her prequalifying income, when one of the exclusion periods ends, and at the end of the lifetime maximum eligibility period).

SFHA Admin Plan Section: 7.1 E

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12. Can a resident continue to receive paratransit assistance funding for medical reasons?

This program is separate from the Housing Choice Voucher Program. It is recommended you contact the administrator of the assistance for further information.

13. Are there vouchers for Public Housing and HCV and are John Stewart residents locked in if project based?

There may be Project Based Vouchers for Public Housing (Modernization Department working on application). There are HCV Vouchers. John Stewart residents may/may not be be locked in if project based; this is dependent on the building.

14. Regarding Annual Exclusions does this mean that it does not have to be reported?

All income/assets must be reported annually.

15. Are the PHA Requirements for Recertification documents change from 30 to 60 days?

No. Documentation must be 30 days current.

16. If a tenant pays someone to get his groceries for him should this be deducted from rent?

No. 17. Is financial aid counted as income? What is the age limit? How is it included and impacted?

Yes, financial aid is counted as income and may subsequently be excluded. There is no age limit. The full amount of student financial assistance is paid directly to the student or to the educational institution [24 CFR 5.609(c)(6)].

SFHA Admin Plan Section: 7.1 L 18. Can written verification be a letter?

HUD‘s Verification Hierarchy [VG, p. 11-14] HUD authorizes the SFHA to use five methods to verify family information and specifies the circumstances in which each method will be used. In general HUD requires the SFHA to use the most reliable form of verification that is available and to document the reasons when the SFHA uses a lesser form of verification.

In order of priority, the forms of verification that the SFHA will use are: -front Income Verification (―UIV‖) using HUD‘s Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) system * Up-income Verification (UIV) using a non-HUD system -Party Verification (may be provided by applicant or participant) * Written Third-party Verification Form * Oral Third –Party Verification -Certification SFHA Admin Plan Section: 8.1 B

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19. If the surrounding area of a property is messy do they fail inspection?

The Housing Quality Standards (HQS) manual labels the following as fail items for site and neighborhood conditions: 1.

Other buildings, on or near the property, that pose a serious health hazard or safety hazards (dilapidated shed or garage with potential to collapse).

2.

Evidence of flooding or major drainage problems

3.

Proximity to open sewage

4.

Fire hazards

5.

Abnormal air pollution or smoke which continues through the year

6.

Continuous or excessive vibration caused by vehicular traffic

It’s not necessarily a messy surrounding area that will fail but one that poses a serious observable hazard will.

20. Does an apartment have to include heat in kitchen or bathroom?

The HQS manual indicates, in the area designated for adequacy of heating equipment, that heat is not required in secondary rooms (rooms not used for living).

21. What is the notice requirement is for pesticide spraying?

These laws may be state or federal but are not part of the HQS.

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