Tenant selection plan

BETHLEHEM VILLAGE
TENANT SELECTION PROCEDURE

It is the policy of this site to promote equal opportunity and nondiscrimination in compliance with all federal, state, and local laws and regulations pertaining to nondiscrimination, equal opportunity, and affirmative fair housing marketing. In carrying out this Tenant Selection Plan, there will be no discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, familial status, marital status, disability, or other basis prohibited by local, state or federal law in any aspect of tenant selection or matters related to continued occupancy.

1. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Bethlehem Village will verify that all prospective residents meet eligibility requirements governing Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 and Section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959.

Age requirement – the head of the household, co-head, or spouse is at least 62 years of age. Non-elderly handicapped applicants are eligible only for an accessible unit and if the applicant requires the accessibility features of the unit.
An applicant applying for a handicap apartment must include one of the following documentation with their application:

A copy of their disability Benefits letter from the Social Security Office

Written confirmation from a physician that they would benefit from the use of a handicap apartment.

Citizenship requirement – Assistance in subsidized housing is restricted to U.S. citizens or nationals and noncitizens who have eligible immigration status as determined by HUD.(HUD 4350.3 3-12I). All family members regardless of age, must declare their citizenship or immmigration status. US citizens must sign a declaration of itizenship. Noncitizens age 62 or older must sign a declaration of eligible immigration status and provide a proof of age document.

Social Security Requirements

Applicants and tenents must disclose and provide verification of the complete and accurate SSN assigned to each household member. If all household members have not dislosed and/or provided verification of ther SSNs at the time a unit beomes available, the next eligible applicant must be offered the available unit.

The Social Security Number Requirements do not apply to individuals who do not contend eligible immigration status. When applicants and residents are required to declare their citizenship status, the existing regulations pertaining to proration of assistance of screening for mixed families must continue to be followed.

Individuals age 62 or older as o January 31, 2010, whose initial determination of elgibigiliy was begun before January 31, 2010.

SSN Documentation -- adequate documentation means a Social Security Card issued by the Social SEcurity Administation or other acceptable evidence of SSN such as:
Original Social Security Card, Original document issued by a federal or state government agency which contains the name, SSN, and other identifying information of the individual, Driver’s license with SSN number, Identification card issued by a federal, state, or local agency, a medical insurance provider, or an employer or trade union, earning statements or payroll stubs, bank statement, Form 1099, benefit award letter, retirement benefit letter, life insurance policy, court records.

For eligibility purposes, applicants do not need to provide verification of a social security number for household members placed on the waiting list; however applicants must provide adequate documentation to verify each social security number for all-non-exempt household members before they can be housed.

The applicant who has not disclosed and provided verification of SSNs for all household members must disclose and provide verification of SSNs for all household members to the owner within 90 days from the date they are first offered an available unit.

If management determines that the applicant is otherwise eligible to participate in a program, the applicant may retain its place on the waiting list for the 90 day period from the date they were first offered an available unit but cannot become a tenant until it can provide the documentation.

After 90 days, if the applicant has been unable to supply the required SSN and verification documentation, the applicant should be determined ineligible and removed from the waiting list.

If a child under the age of 6 years is added to the “applicant” household within the 6-month period prior to the household’s date of admission, the applicant may become a tenant, so long as the SSN documentation required is provided to management within 90 calendar days from the effective date of the Move-In Certification. Management will grant an extension of one additional90 day period if they determine that, in its discretion, the applicant’s failure to comply was due to circumstances that could not reasonably have been foreseen and were outside the control of the assistance applicant. e.g. delayed processing of the application by the SSA Office, natural disaster, death in the family etc.

Student Eligibility for Section 8 Assistance - Section 8 assistance shall not be provided to any individual who is enrolled as either a part-time or full-time student at an institution of higher education for the purpose of obtaining a degree, certificate, or other program leading to a recognized educational credential unless one or more of the following exceptions exist:

Is 24 or older;

Is married;

Is a veteran of the United States Military;

Has a dependent child;

Is a person with disabilities, as such term is defined in 3(b)(3)(E) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(3)(E)) and was receiving section 8 assistance as of November 30, 2005;

Is living with his or her parents who are receiving Section 8 assistance;

Is individually eligible to receive Section 8 assistance and has parents (the parents individually or jointly) who are income eligible to receive Section 8 assistance.

For a student to be eligible independent of his or her parents, where the income of the parents is not relevant, the student must demonstrate the absence of, or his or her independence from parents. Management will use the following in determining a student’s independence from parents: The student must meet all (1-4 below) of the following criteria to be eligible for Section 8 assistance.

The student must:

Be of legal contract age under state law;

Have established a household separate from parents or legal guardians for at least one year prior to application for occupancy, OR, meet the U.S. Department of Education’s definition of an independent student. In the Federal Register (Vol. 81, No. 183) published September 21, 2016, HUD reclassified the definition of independent student to include vulnerable youth and to align with the U.S. Department of Education’s definition as follows:

The individual is 24 years of age or older by December 31 of the award year;

The individual is an orphan, in foster care, or a ward of the court or was an orphan, in foster care, or a ward of the court at any time when the individual was 13 years of age of older;

The individual is, or was immediately prior to attaining the age of majority, an emancipated minor or in legal guardianship as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction in the individual’s State of legal residence;

The individual is a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States (as defined in subsection (c)(1) of HEA) or is currently serving on active duty in the Armed Forces for other than training purposes;

The individual is a graduate or professional student;

The individual is a married individual;

The individual has legal dependents other than a spouse;

The individual has been verified during the school year in which the application is submitted as either an unaccompanied youth who is a homeless child or youth (as such terms are defined in section 725 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act) (42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.), or as unaccompanied, at risk of homelessness, and self-supporting by selected agencies or personal as noted in Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 183 / September 21, 2016.

The individual is a student for whom a financial aid administrator makes a documented determination of independence by reason of other unusual circumstances.

Not be claimed as a dependent by parents or legal guardians pursuant to IRS regulations; and

Obtain a certification of the amount of financial assistance that will be provided by parents, signed by the individual providing the support. This certification is required even if no assistance will be provided.

In addition to move-in, management will also determine a student’s eligibility for Section 8 assistance at annual recertification, initial certification and at the time of an interim recertification if one of the family composition changes reported is that a household member is enrolled as a student. Any financial assistance a student receives (1) under the Higher Education Act of 1965, (2) from private sources, or (3) from an institution of higher education that is in excess of amounts received for tuition is included in annual income, except if the student is over the age of 23 with dependent children or if the student is living with his or her parents who are receiving Section 8 assistance. If an ineligible student is a member of an existing household receiving Section 8 assistance, the assistance for the household will not be prorated but will be terminated in accordance with the guidance in paragraph 8-6 A.

INCOME LIMITS

Bethlehem Village may only accept applications from those meeting the very low and extremely low income limits determined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Any applicant exceeding the HUD Income-limits at the time of application will be rejected.

Bethlehem Village will make at least 40 percent of the assisted units that become available in each fiscal year available to families whose income is determined to be an extremely low-income at the time of admission.

Exact income limits are subject to change as mandated by HUD.

EIV – Enterprise Income Verification – Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) system will be done as part of any new applicant screening criteria. EIV is a web-based computer system that contains employment and income information of individuals who participate in HUD rental assistance programs.
The information obtained from EIV will be for the following:

Confirm your name, date of birth and Social Security Number with SSA.

Verify your reported income sources and amounts

Confirm your participation in only one HUD rental assistance program

Existing Tenant Search - prior to move-in, the EIV search will be used to see if each applicant and applicant household member is receiving assistance at another location.

ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

Application is received and if eligible the applicant is placed on the waiting list in the order it was received by date and time. Applications may be mailed to the Village or presented in person.

Applicants requesting an accessible unit will be placed on the accessible unit list.

Admission is denied to a household for the following reasons:

Any household containing a member(s) who has been evicted in the past three years from a federally assisted site for drug-related criminal activity There are two exceptions to this provision:

The evicted household member has successfully completed an approved, supervised drug rehabilitation program; or

The circumstances to the eviction no longer exist (e.g. the household member no longer resides with the applicant household).

A household in which any member is currently engaged in illegal use of drugs or which the owner has reasonable cause to believe that a member’s illegal use or pattern of illegal use of a drug may interfere with the health, safety, and right to peaceful enjoyment of the property by the residents. The use of marijuana, (medical and/or recreational) is considered to be the use of an illegal drug. The use of marijuana, (medical and/or recreational) is considered to be the use of an illegal drug.

Any household member who is subject to a state sex offender lifetime registration requirement.

Any household member if there is reasonable cause to believe that member’s behavior, from abuse or pattern of abuse of alcohol, may interfere with the health, safety, and right to peaceful enjoyment by other residents. The screening standards will be based on behavior, not the condition of alcoholism or alcohol abuse.

Any household member if there is reasonable cause to believe that the member’s behavior may threaten the health, safety, and right to peaceful enjoyment of the property by other residents or the health, and safety of the owner, employees, contractors, subcontractors or agents of the owner.

Any household member who has committed fraud in connection with any Federal Housing Assistance program.

If not eligible, the applicant will be notified by mail. The reason for rejection will be detailed and an opportunity for appeal will be given. A written appeal must be received in the management office within 14 days from the date of rejection. Appeals will heard by the Management Agent of St. Joseph Housing Corporation. If the applicant is in need of reasonable accommodations to attend this appeal meeting, these accommodations will be provided. If the applicant wishes to appeal the Management Agent’s decision, information on how they may contact the local HUD office will be provided.

Applicants that are rejected may re-apply only if twelve months have passed since the application was rejected, and the household circumstances have changed so as to remove the original reason(s) for which the application was rejected.

Applicants will be removed from the waiting list if mail sent to the applicants address is returned as undeliverable.

To remain current on the waiting list, the perspective tenant must contact the Bethlehem Village Office by letter or phone every six months. At that time change in address phone, income and health should be documented. If an applicant has not contacted the Bethlehem Village Office for a period of 1 year, the Village Management will send a written letter to applicant’s address requesting that the applicant contact the Village to affirm interest in remaining on the wait list. If the applicant does not respond to the 1 year notification letter, within 21 days from which the letter was mailed, the applicant will be removed from the waiting list. Applicants are responsible to notify Management any time that the information on their application changes.

As an applicant nears the top of the waiting list they will be notified of their position on the list and asked to make an appointment for an interview at which time information will be updated and the third party verification process begun.

All applicants and live-in aids will be subject to a criminal background screening. Sex Offender screening will be conducted each year at the time of the residents annual recertification.

Reference from present and previous landlords for a minimum of three (3) years prior to application will be considered. An applicant may be rejected if these reports document the following :

consistent failure to make rental payments

responsibility for disturbing the safety, security and right of peaceful enjoyment of other tenants

instances of criminal activity, such as illegal gambling, prostitution, or manufacture, sale, or use of illegal drugs

damage to property beyond normal wear and tear

poor housekeeping – exhibited by

habits which could be detrimental to the development of other residents such as poor care of appliances, plumbing fixtures, etc.

poor health habits
evidence of negligent care of the property
physical abuse of the facilities

any evidence of conduct, which can be detrimental to the property
NOTE: poor quality or shabby furnishings are not a basis for rejection

threats of violence to the landlord or neighbors

allowing persons not on the lease to reside on the premises or any other serious violations of the lease.

SELECTING FROM THE WAITING LIST

As vacancies arise every other Applicant who is determined Extremely Low Income is contacted. This is in compliance with HUD’s requirement that at least 40% of Extremely Low Income Applicants be admitted during a fiscal year.

If an applicant chooses not to accept the apartment they will keep their place on the wait list but will not be contacted again for the period of 1 year. If they refuse a second time, they will be moved to the bottom of the list.

If the applicant refuses an apartment a third time, he/she will be removed from the waiting list and must wait for a period of one year before applying again.

An applicant under the age of 62, who has provided with their application medical certification of their eligibility for an accessible unit, will be placed on the waiting list of an accessible unit. Upon reaching the eligible age of 62, if the applicant wishes to leave the accessible unit list and request a one-bedroom apartment they will be required to submit a new application and will be placed a the bottom of the waiting list for a non-handicap apartment.

OCCUPANCY STANDARDS

One Bedroom unit – no more than two people.

Efficiency unit – no more than one person
UNIT TRANSFERS
A resident requesting a unit change for medical reasons must provide the name and address of a healthcare provider from whom management can request verification of the medical condition and the need for a unit transfer.

A resident with a disability must provide the name and address of a healthcare provider from whom management can request verification that the resident is disabled and needs an accessible unit to accommodate the disability.

If management receives adequate verification (HUD form 90102) from the doctor or healthcare provider the resident will move to the next accessible or vacant unit.
In house residents will be offered priority to accessible units for disability and/or medical reasons.

A resident requiring a unit change due to a change in family size/composition is eligible to occupy the next vacant unit when it becomes available.

Except for the above reasons, all unit transfer requests will be denied.

COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION 504 OF THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973 AND THE FAIR HOUSING ACT, ETC.

Bethlehem Village will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, marital status, sexual orientation or national origin. Bethlehem Village will operate in full compliance with the requirements of HUD’s Equal Access Rule.

Bethlehem Village will make reasonable adjustments to rules, policies, and structures in order to enable an applicant with a disability to have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the unit and common areas.

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT and JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REAUTHORIZATION ACT of 2005 for SECTION 8 HOUSING ASSISTANCE PAYMENT PROGRAMS.

The VAWA provides legal protections to victims of domestic violence, dating violence or stalking. These protections prohibit the eviction or termination of assistance from individuals being assisted under a project-based Section 8 program if the asserted grounds for such action is an instance of domestic violence, dating violence or stalking. More information and procedures to apply for this protection are available from the Management Office.

OPENING AND CLOSING WAITING LIST

The waiting list may be closed if Bethlehem Village determines that the expected time from application to move in is greater than seven years. Management will advise potential applicants of the closure and will also publish a notice stating the reasons in the local newspapers.

When management agrees to accept applications again, the notice of this action will appear in the local papers. This notice will present the rules for applying and the order in which applications will be processed.

Move-in

After an applicant signs their HUD Lease, they are expected to occupy their apartment within 30 days of the lease signing. After 30 days, the resident must be in communication with the Manager to determine when they will move into the apartment. Not moving into the Village within the 90 day period after signing may jeopardize their residency at Bethlehem Village. Establishing residency will mean that Bethlehem Village is their only mailing address and they neither own nor rent another property where they live.

SMOKING

Bethlehem Village is a totally smoke free property. Smoking and the use of tobacco products is prohibited in all buildings and apartments as well as anywhere on Village property. Tobacco Products are defines as cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco and any form of electronic cigarettes. Residents are responsible for all guests and visitors regarding the Village Smoking Policy.

  December 2017