TENANT SELECTION PLAN

PROCESSING APPLICATIONS

Applications are accepted in person or by mail at Ohav Sholom Housing, 115 New Krumkill Road Albany, New York 12208. Requests for applications may be made by calling (518) 489-5531 or by stopping by our business office. Applications may also be obtained on-line at www.ohavsholomapts.org. Interviews and apartment viewings are conducted by appointment only. If you require assistance in reading, understanding or completion of the application, please call the telephone number above to request a reasonable accommodation. All applications will be date and time stamped when received by management and placed on the waiting list in chronological order if an appropriate unit is not available at the time. Form HUD-92006, Supplement to Application for Federally Assisted Housing, must be included as part of all applications. Returned applications that do not include HUD-92006 will be considered incomplete and will not be processed until management receives this form.

OCCUPANCY REQUIREMENTS

·         Occupancy is limited to households whose head or spouse is at least 62 years of age or nonelderly disabled persons with permanent mobility impairments.

·         Applicants must be U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen as determined by HUD guidelines.

·         Applicant’s family composition must be appropriate for the unit size as defined by our occupancy standards.

·         Applicants must be screened and meet the requirements of the tenant selection criteria

·         Applicants must demonstrate the ability to pay rent on time and to meet the requirements of tenancy 

OCCUPANCY STANDARDS 

        Number of Habitable Sleeping Rooms          Occupancy Density Range

                               0 Bedroom                                                 1

                               1 Bedroom                                                 1-2
 

INCOME LIMITS

 Income limits are determined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and are updated on an annual basis. The gross annual household income must fall below the income limits determined by HUD that are in effect at the time of application.

·         Extremely Low Income   30% of the area median income

·         Very Low Income            50% of the area median income

·         Low Income                     80% of the area median income

Applicants are encouraged to contact our office to inquire about current income limits.

INCOME TARGETING

Income Targeting requirements stipulate that 40% of the Section 8 units that become available each fiscal year must be rented to Extremely Low Income (ELI) households earning 30% or less of the area median income. Accordingly, applicants of Very Low Income (VLI) and applicants of Low Income (LI) may be “skipped over” chronologically in favor of admission of applicants of Extremely Low Income. If after having marketed to extremely low income families, we are unable to fill all of the units with families meeting the ELI requirement, we are permitted to rent to other eligible families after a reasonable marketing period has expired. If we are unable to meet the ELI target we must maintain records that demonstrate, to the satisfaction of HUD, that all reasonable steps were taken to fill these units with “extremely low-income” tenants.

WAITING LIST MANAGEMENT

Our Waiting List remains open at all times and is never closed to new applicants. All applications will be placed on the Waiting List in chronological order based on the date and time the application is received by management. With the exception of the required income targeting applicants will be admitted in the order that they are received. The Waiting List will record the applicant’s name, along with, the date and time the application was received, a notation of the applicant’s income level and the need for an accessible unit if necessary. When a vacancy occurs the office manager will contact the next person(s) at the “top” of the waiting list, requesting that they come in to the office for an eligibility appointment. Applicants may choose not to be considered for an apartment at the time they are contacted and may remain on the Waiting List. In that case, their name will then go to the “bottom” of the Waiting List. Applicants who repeatedly (two times) turn down the opportunity for an apartment will be removed from the Waiting List. Those applicants who have been removed from the Waiting List must reapply in order to be considered for an apartment once again. Upon reapplication, the applicant will be placed at the bottom of the Waiting List.

UNIT TRANSFERS

Transfers may be may be approved under any of the following provisions:

·         The tenant must establish a medical diagnosis, documented by the tenant’s  physician, which would warrant the transfer.

·         The tenant’s medical diagnosis is jeopardized by a condition of the building which adversely impacts upon the tenant’s health.

·         The tenant requires the special features of an accessible unit.

Current tenants awaiting a transfer for any of the above reasons will be given a preference over applicants on the Waiting List when the appropriate unit becomes available.

VERIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

·         Proof of age and identity

·         Citizenship or eligible immigration status as verified through the Department of Homeland Security and the SAVE system

·         Social Security numbers or certification that no SSN has been assigned. Applicants who have not disclosed and/or provided verification of SSNs for all non-exempt household members have 90 days from the date they are first offered an available unit to disclose and/or verify the SSNs. During this 90-day period, the applicant may, at its discretion, retain its place on the waiting list. After 90 days, if the applicant is unable to disclose and/or verify the SSNs of all non-exempt household members, the applicant should be determined ineligible and removed from the waiting list.

·         Social Security income verified by the Social Security Administration

·         All other income, assets, expenses, deductions to be third party verified

SCREENING PROCEDURES

Applicant screening is conducted to determine the likelihood that an applicant will be able to meet the essential requirements of tenancy as expressed in the lease, house rules and our operating policies. We also conduct applicant screening to protect the security and well being of our current tenants. Live-in aids are subject to the same screening requirements as applicants. The lack of a credit or rental history does not constitute grounds for the rejection of an applicant. The background check will include:

·         Credit history report including delinquencies, collections, judgments or bankruptcy

·         Rental history including landlord references and tenant court records

·         HUD’s Enterprise Income Verification System will be utilized to perform an Existing Tenant Search to determine if any applicant household member may be currently residing and/or receiving assistance through another Multifamily Housing or Public and Indian Housing (PIH) location

·         Criminal background check

·         Review of lifetime registration on any state’s sex offender registration program

·         Personal interview 

REQUIREMENTS OF TENANCY

·         Demonstrate the ability to pay rent on time.

·         Understand and comply with the terms and provisions of the lease.

·         Understand and abide by the owner’s rules, policies and procedures.

·         Maintain the apartment in a safe, clean and sanitary manner.

·         Permit Landlord access to the apartment to inspect and make repairs.

·         Refrain from causing damage to the apartment or common areas.

·         Refrain from disturbing other tenants.

·         Avoid illegal activity of any kind.

·         Allow only those persons named on the lease to occupy the apartment.

·         Support by actions and behaviors the right to quiet enjoyment by other tenants.

·         Avoid abusive attitudes, behavior or language toward tenants, staff or management. 

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY
 

A student enrolled in an Institute of Higher Education will be deemed eligible for assistance if the student meets all other eligibility requirements, passes screening criteria and is:

·         Over 23 years of age or

·         A veteran of the US Military or

·         Married or

·         Has a dependent child or

·         Has parents who, individually or jointly are income eligible for assistance or

·         Disabled and was receiving assistance as of November 30, 2005

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT (VAWA) PROTECTIONS

The Act provides legal protections to victims of domestic violence, dating violence or stalking under the project-based Section 8 Program. An applicant who certifies that they were the victim domestic violence may be admitted for housing even with poor landlord references if they can prove the negative references were due to domestic violence. The applicant must self certify their status as a victim of domestic violence by completing Form HUD-91066. The applicant must provide certification beyond self-certification of domestic violence. This may include verification from police records, court records, social service agencies and advocacy groups for victims of domestic violence.

·         The landlord may not consider incidents of domestic violence, dating violence or stalking as serious or repeated violations of the lease or other “good cause” for termination of assistance, tenancy or occupancy rights of the victim of abuse.

·         The landlord may not consider criminal activity directly relating to abuse, engaged in by a member of the tenant’s household or any guest or other person under the tenant’s control, cause for termination of assistance, tenancy or occupancy rights if the tenant is the victim or threatened victim of the abuse.

REJECTING APPLICANTS

 Any of the following conditions are grounds for the rejection of an applicant.

·         Failure to meet eligibility requirements.

·         Failure to meet occupancy standards.

·         Applicant or household member is currently engaged in the use of an illegal substance.

·         Applicant or household member has been evicted form federally assisted housing for drug related criminal activity.

·         Applicant or household member is subject to a lifetime registration requirement under a state sex offender registration program.

·         There is reason to believe the applicant or household member’s abuse or pattern of abuse of alcohol interferes with the health, safety or right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other residents.

·         Prior criminal conviction for any crime of violence, fraud or drug related criminal activity.

·         Poor credit history (a credit score of 299 or less) is a basis for rejection.

·         Negative landlord references are unacceptable and are a basis for rejection.

·         Previous evictions for lease violations.

·         Applicant households whose members include a student enrolled in an institute of higher education are not eligible for Section 8 assistance.

·         Failure to fully and accurately disclose required information or misrepresentation of information.

REJECTION PROCEDURE

 ·         A letter is sent to the applicant, informing him/her of the rejection of their application for housing and the reason(s) for the rejection.

·         The applicant is advised that he/she has fourteen days to request an appeal of the rejection by meeting with a representative of Ohav Sholom Management. The applicant is advised that he/she has the right to request a reasonable accommodation to assist in the facilitating of their appeal.

·         An Ohav Sholom Housing Management staff member, not the staff member who made the initial decision on the application, will meet with the applicant to review the application and the decision to reject the applicant.

·         To the extent practicable, this review will be completed within five (5) business days of the applicant’s request for review. However, an in-person meeting review may not be able to be completed within five (5) business days. Such a meeting will be scheduled as soon as possible.

·         The applicant will be sent a written final determination within five (5) business days of the completion of this review.

FAIR HOUSING AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY REQUIREMENTS 

·         It is the policy of Ohav Sholom Housing to comply fully with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VIII and Section 3 of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (as amended by the Community Development Act of 1974), Executive Order 11063, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, The Fair Housing Act Amendments of 1988 and any legislation protecting the individual rights of applicants or residents.

·         Ohav Sholom Housing will seek to identify and eliminate situations or procedures that create a barrier to equal housing opportunity for all.  In accordance with Section 504, Ohav Sholom Housing will make reasonable accommodations and/or reasonable modifications to afford equal housing opportunity for individuals with disabilities.

·         Ohav Sholom Housing shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, familial status or disability.  This applies to accepting and processing applications, selecting tenants from among eligible applicants on a waiting list, assigning units and the certifying and recertifying eligibility for assistance.

 Revised 12/22/2010