Final Rule: Refinement of Income and Rent Determination Requirements in Public and Assisted Housing

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1 Final Rule: Refinement of Income and Rent Determination Requirements in Public and Assisted Housing The Final Rule is Effective January 31, 2010 and has four areas of change. Note: The Effective Date was delayed twice (on 3/27 and 8/28) from 3/30 and 9/3009 You can download the Federal Register pages containing the Final Rule from: Citizenship Verification For programs required to have applicants complete a Citizenship Declaration: When an applicant checks the U.S. citizen/national box on the Citizenship Declaration you must verify it with U.S. passport, or U.S. birth certificate, or Certification or Report of Birth Abroad Employment Authorization card, Temporary Resident card, or Other documents in the CFR, such as: U.S. Naturalization Certificate issued by U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) Certificate of Citizenship or U.S. Citizen ID card issued by USCIS American Indian card issued by USCIS for the Kickapoo tribe or Northern Mariana ID card issued by USCIS to a naturalized citizen born before 11/4/1986 Final Adoption Decree Evidence of Civil Service employment by U.S. Government before 6/1/1976 Official Military Record of Service showing U.S. place of birth (i.e. a DD-214) This has not been required in the past, but it was an option which could be included in the Tenant Selection Plan. Citizenship verification is required for all citizens/nationals, even those ages 62+ Clarifies that any legal immigrant who meets program qualifications is eligible for HUD rental assistance Page 1 of 5

2 Temporary deferrals of termination of assistance now only apply to refugees and people seeking asylum. No other Ineligible Non-citizen household members receive assistance. Since getting documentation can be time-consuming and expensive, you have the option to extend the time period for Eligible Non-Citizens to provide it to you. EIV: Enterprise Income Verification EIV is one of HUD's Secure Systems (in WASS) on the internet. Based on the transmission of 50059s, EIV provides income information for current tenants See the EIV website for more information and instructions on registering and using EIV: Beginning January 31, 2010, all sites must use EIV to verify income for recertifications This will give Users time to become familiar with it and to prepare for EIV's full implementation Be sure to have HUD-required written EIV policies and procedures in place Be sure to revise your Tenant Selection Plan to include EIV use if you choose to use the Existing Tenant Search The following EIV Report will be required: Income Report: Shows quarterly wages for past and current employment, unemployment and SS/SI But we also recommend: Failed EIV Pre-Screening Report: Lists tenants with incomplete or incorrect information, which prevented EIV from submitting them to the SSA for identity matching. Transmit Correction Certs to get the Income Reports the next month. Failed Verification Report: Lists residents who couldn't be found by the Social Security Administration's identity match, due to incorrect SSN, last name, date of birth or being deceased. Transmit Correction Certs to get the Income Reports the next month. No Income Report: Lists tenants who have no income in EIV. Use EIV as third-party verification of income sources such as employment, unemployment and Social Security benefits for recertifications. When tenants don't dispute the fact that they receive income from that source, the EIV printout satisfies HUD's requirement for third-party verification Page 2 of 5

3 However, while calculations can be done using EIV data for SSA-supplied income and expenses, wage/unemployment calculations cannot be done from EIV data. Use tenant or employer-supplied documents (i.e. pay stubs). You can give a tenant his/her own EIV data This documentation is personal, and cannot be given to other household members Penalties for not using EIV can include sanctions and assessment of disallowed costs from incorrect tenant rent and subsidy calculations. Income Calculation New definition of annual income All amounts, monetary or not, which: Go to the family head or spouse (even if temporarily absent, or to any other family member, and Are based on either: (a) actual income projected forward 12 months, or (b) past 12-month income ONLY WHEN: The family reports little or no income, AND You can t determine the annual income because it is seasonal or irregular You can ask the tenant for documentation of current income. If s/he provides it within the time period of 60 days before the cert date to 60 days after the effective date of the cert, it can be used to calculate annual income. If you use past income Average the last 12 months of income, or Use EIV, as long as the tenant doesn t dispute it AND third-party or tenant documentation doesn t suggest that income will be higher in the next 12 months Annual income includes income from assets, as always The EIV Income Report along with tenant-provided documents OR employer verification for income calculation, taken together, meet HUD s third-party requirement HUD encourages policies that minimize unwarranted zero or minimum rents Use a zero-income questionnaire Take immediate steps to complete retroactive or Correction certifications when needed Page 3 of 5

4 If you feel that tenant-provided income documentation is fraudulent; you have the right to require standard 3 rd -party documentation in order to calculate income The Final Rule does not require specific Interims in order to implement its provisions SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER REQUIREMENT Applicants without SSNs To prevent fraud and abuse, HUD will terminate assistance to households with individuals who do not have valid, documented Social Security Numbers. This is for the purpose of stretching limited federal resources to serve as many eligible people as possible. Can keep their places on the waiting list, but must provide copies of Social Security cards for all household members before moving in. Exceptions: Homeless people moving into SRO (Single Room Occupancy) sites have 90 days after move-in to provide the Social Security card, and you can extend that deadline for an additional 90 days. Existing applicants who were already determined to be eligible for assistance before January 31, 2010 can move in, but must submit copies of Social Security cards for all members by the time of their next IR or AR in order to continue receiving assistance. Mixed households can be admitted with prorated assistance, although the Ineligible NonCitizens will not have Social Security cards A household can apply for a unit and be added to the waiting list as long as the Head s SSN is provided. Applicants are required to provide copies of all members' Social Security cards in order for you to determine their eligibility for assistance at move-in. The Final Rule clarifies that non-citizen refugees, asylum seekers and legal aliens have Social Security cards. In-place tenants with household members who have no Social Security cards on file: Copies of Social Security cards for all household members, regardless of age, must be provided by the household's next IR or AR. If a resident has gotten a new SSN since the last cert, a copy of the new card must be provided by the IR or AR. Page 4 of 5

5 If a household adds a new member, a copy of that person's Social Security card must be provided, either at the time of the request, or no later than the processing of the cert that adds the new person to the household. If a household has a family member with no Social Security card on file at the time of its next certification, assistance must be terminated. Terminate assistance effective the day before the date the recertification was to be effective PRAC sites must begin eviction proceedings Exception: Mixed households getting prorated assistance will continue to receive it, although the Ineligible NonCitizens will not have Social Security cards. Sites must notify these households "upon the effective date of the Final Rule" Let them know that copies of Social Security cards for all family members are now required for the household to receive HUD assistance Give tenants a specific timeframe to provide missing documentation This timeframe cannot exceed one year from the effective date of the Final Rule. In the past, if someone had no SSN, HUD allowed the individual to receive assistance by certifying that they had never been assigned a Social Security Number. This is no longer acceptable. Every family member must have an SSN in order for the household to receive assistance. Property owners, officers, directors and stockholders: Individual owner applicants must provide copies of their own Social Security cards Individual owner applicants must also supply copies for any household members obligated to pay the debt of the mortgage or loan. Without this documentation, HUD must deny eligibility. Each officer, director, principal stockholder or other official of an applicant entity must supply a copy of his/her own Social Security card. Without this documentation, HUD must deny eligibility. EINs (Employer ID Numbers) are required of owner applicants. Documentation is the official, written communication from the IRS assigning the EIN to the entity. WE EXPECT MORE CLARIFICATIONS FROM HUD BEFORE 1/31/10 Page 5 of 5