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EIV, which stands for Enterprise Income Verification, is HUD’s web-based tool to help reduce erroneous and improper payments in the agency’s assisted housing programs. The ultimate goal, HUD says, is to ensure that the “right benefits go to the right person.” Using EIV and the data it provides is part of HUD’s initiatives under the Rental Housing Integrity Improvement Project (RHIIP).

Correctly determining the size of each household at your site is essential because the income limits you must use to check household eligibility are organized by household size. Although determining a household’s size sounds straightforward, it’s not as simple as counting the number of people who occupy a unit.

By Carolyn Zezima

In late 2016, HUD issued a final rule requiring public housing agencies (PHAs) to implement a smoke-free policy. The rule requires each public housing agency to implement a smoke-free policy banning the use of prohibited tobacco products in all restricted areas by Aug. 3, 2018. According to the rule, restricted areas include all public housing living units; indoor common areas in public housing; public housing agency administrative office buildings; and all outdoor areas up to 25 feet from the public housing and administrative office buildings.

Last year, the United States tallied a record high bill of $306 billion in weather-related disasters, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The total amount includes damage from three of the five most expensive hurricanes in U.S. history: Hurricane Harvey cost $125 billion, second only to 2005’s Katrina; while Maria cost $90 billion, ranking third, according to the NOAA. Irma was $50 billion, for the fifth most expensive hurricane.

Sometimes a household will disappear for weeks at a time. Signs may indicate the household may not come back. No one answers the household’s phone, their mail piles up, and their assigned parking space remains empty. When a unit is left unattended, health and safety hazards such as rotting food or frozen pipes can result. Plus, HUD frowns on wasted assistance if an assisted unit isn’t occupied. But often, when you think households are gone for good, they come back.

HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing recently issued Notice PIH 2017-23, clarifying HUD’s interpretation of the statutory amendment related to flat rents.

When a household member leaves, you need to take into consideration possible changes to the household's subsidy and the possibility of having to move the household to another appropriately sized apartment. For example, after a member moves out, the household could still be getting allowances that reduce its rent, but those allowances are attributable to the member who departed. Or after a household member moves out, the unit the family occupies may now be too big for the number of individuals who make up the “new” household.

HUD requires that you verify all information given to you by applicants and residents that affects your assessment of their eligibility for housing and level of assistance. The owner is responsible for determining if a verification documentation is adequate and credible.

At some point in time, you’re likely to need a rent comparability study (RCS) that looks at rents charged at comparable market-rate sites in your area. For example, as a requirement for renewal, most owners with expiring Section 8 project-based contracts must submit a RCS at initial renewal to demonstrate that current rents are at or below comparable “market” rents. Beginning with the date of the initial renewal of the expiring Section 8 project-based contract, the RCS starts a maximum five-year “life cycle,” after which a new RCS is required.