As dwelling units become available for occupancy, responsible PHA employees will offer units to applicants on the waiting list. In accordance with the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (QHWRA), the PHA encourages occupancy of its developments by families with a broad range of incomes. At a minimum, forty percent (40%) of all new admissions on an annual basis will be families with incomes at or below thirty percent (30%) (extremely low-income) of the local area median income (See Appendix D for Income Limits). The offer of assistance will be made without discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or familial status.
No family other than a low-income family, as defined in regulations, is eligible for admission to Low-Rent Public Housing units.
In any given year, at least forty percent (40%) of a PHA’s admissions to public housing units will be extremely low-income families.
The percentage of admissions of extremely low-income families to the Public Housing Program may be decreased by up to ten percent (10%) when more than seventy-five percent (75%) of extremely low-income families are admitted to the HCV program in the PHA’s fiscal year. The percentage of extremely low-income families admitted to the Public Housing Program can never be less than thirty percent (30%) in a fiscal year.
The credit for Voucher program admissions that exceed the minimum Voucher program targeting requirement shall not exceed the lower of:
• 10% of public housing waiting list admissions during the PHA’s fiscal year; or
• 10% of waiting list admission to the PHA’s Section 8 tenant-based assistance program during the PHA’s fiscal year; or
• The number of qualifying low-income families who commence occupancy during the fiscal year of the PHA’s public housing units located in census tracts with a poverty rate of 30% or more. For this purpose, qualifying income family means a low-income family other than an extremely low-low-income family.
The offers will be made in the following manner.
To the maximum extent feasible, the deconcentration and income-mixing requirements of the QHWRA will be followed. Families with incomes ranging from 0% to 80% of median income will be selected in accordance with their preferences and priorities.
Families with the highest incomes will be offered units in developments where average family incomes are lowest. Conversely, families with the lowest incomes will be offered units in developments with the highest average family incomes. The PHA may offer incentives to families to accomplish the deconcentration and income-mixing objectives.
The PHA may employ a system of income ranges in order to maintain a resident body composed of families with a range of incomes and rent paying abilities representative of the range of incomes among low-income families in the PHA’s area of operation, and may take into account the average rent the PHA should receive to maintain financial solvency. The PHA’s selection procedures are designed so that selection of new public housing residents will bring the PHA’s actual distribution of rents closer to the projected distribution of rents.
The PHA will select, based on date and time of application and preferences, two (2) families in the extremely low-income category and two (2) families from the lower income category (31 to 80 percent of area median income) alternately until the forty percent (40%) admission requirement of extremely low-income families is achieved (2 plus 2 policy).
After the minimum level is reached, all selections will be made based solely on date, time and preferences. Any applicants passed over as a result of implementing this 2 plus 2 policy will retain their place on the waiting list and will be offered a unit in order of their original placement on the waiting list.
The plan for selection of applicants and assignment of dwelling units to assure equal opportunity and non-discrimination on grounds of race, color, sex, religion, familial status, national origin or disability is “PLAN B” known as the Two Offer Plan. Under this plan, each qualified applicant first in sequence on the waiting list is made one offer of a unit of appropriate size and amenities (if an accessible unit is required) in the complex that has the most vacancies (and where their race does not predominate). If the offer is rejected, the applicant must be offered a unit of appropriate size in the complex that has the second highest number of vacancies (and where their race does not predominate). To the maximum extent possible, the offers will also be made to affect the PHA’s policy of economic deconcentration. If that offer is rejected, the applicant will be dropped to the bottom of the waiting list, unless the applicant has good cause (as defined below) to reject the offer.
The applicant must accept the vacancy offered within seven (7) days of the date the offer is communicated (by phone, mail or other method of communication designated by the applicant) or be dropped to the bottom of the waiting list and assigned a new date and time of application. Offers made over the phone will be confirmed by letter to the applicant. If unable to contact the applicant by phone, the PHA will send a registered letter, return receipt requested.
A. When leasing a vacant dwelling unit, the PHA will offer the unit to applicants on the waiting list in sequence, until someone accepts it, in accordance with the PHA’s local preferences.
B. The "bottom of the waiting list" means denying the applicant the benefit of all of the PHA’s preferences, including any preference based on the broad range of incomes, for a period of six (6) months, and establishing a new date and time of application, based on when the offer of a suitable unit was rejected.
C. If more than one unit of the appropriate size and type is available, the first unit to be offered will be the unit that will serve to achieve the PHA’s goal of economic deconcentration.
D. The applicant will not be considered to have been offered a suitable unit if:
1. The unit is not of the proper size and type, and the applicant would be able to reside there only temporarily (e. g., a specially designed unit that is awaiting a disabled applicant needing such a unit).
2. The unit contains lead-based paint, and accepting the offer could result in subjecting the applicant's children who is under seven (7) years of age to lead-based paint poisoning.
3. The applicant is unable to move at the time of the offer and presents clear evidence that substantiates this to the satisfaction of the PHA. Examples:
a. a physician verifies that the applicant has just undergone major surgery and needs a period of time to recuperate; or
b. a court verifies that the applicant is serving on a jury which has been sequestered.
4. Accepting the offer would result in undue hardship to the applicant, and such acceptance is not related to consideration of race, color, creed, sex, age, religion, disability, national origin, or familial status, and the applicant presents clear evidence which substantiates this to the satisfaction of the PHA.
Examples of this circumstance are inaccessibility to employment, education or job training, children’s day care or educational programs for children with disabilities if the move would require a household member to quit a job, education or training program or take the child out of the special program.
5. A low-income family refuses the offer of a unit in a development with very low-income families or visa versa.