Dos & Don'ts

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If households at your site have foster children, you need to know how to certify these households for eligibility, rent, and unit size. To do this right, you’ll need to know when to count foster children as household members and when not to, and how to deal with income and allowances.

We’ll give you five dos and don’ts to keep in mind when certifying households with foster children to make sure you correctly determine household size and income.

HUD rules require you to give every applicant you reject an opportunity to appeal the rejection. A written rejection notice must include the specifically stated reason(s) for the rejection, notice of the applicant’s right to respond to the owner in writing or request a meeting within 14 days to dispute the rejection, and notice that persons with disabilities have the right to request reasonable accommodations to participate in the informal hearing process [HUD Handbook 4350.3, par. 4-9(C)(2)].

When determining and verifying household income, be sure to gather information from households about how much each member is expected to earn in tips over the next 12 months. HUD Handbook rules say you must count tips as part of household income [HUD Handbook, Exhibit 5-1].

Many assisted sites would like to hire a social service coordinator but don’t know where to get the money to pay the coordinator’s salary. With government grants very limited, it’s important to know what other sources you can tap to get the funding you need. And to get this funding, you need to know what documents and information to include when requesting HUD approval.

You can—and should—evict residents who engage in illegal drug activity in their units. But make sure you have adequate proof that the illegal activity took place.

Before seeking to evict a resident for failing to comply with Section 8 rules, make sure you comply with any local notice requirements that would give the resident an opportunity to cure his Section 8 lease violation. As stated in the previous item, don't assume that termination of Section 8 benefits automatically terminates the lease.

Beware of telling ethnic prospects or residents not to cook certain foods with exotic or unpleasant odors. Experts say that there's a common misconception among even well-meaning site managers that people from certain countries cook foods that give off objectionable odors. Sometimes, it's true that certain ethnic dishes give off odors that some might consider unpleasant. But stereotyping is not only ignorant, it can lead to a fair housing disaster if you warn such people about cooking certain types of foods.

You not only have the right to keep trespassers off your property, you have a responsibility to do so as well. Unfortunately, many site managers are reluctant to speak to a trespasser because they don't have the skills for effective communication or don't know how to interact with potentially difficult people, says security consultant Chris McGoey. There are many training and skill development courses that can help, he advises.

Don't be tempted to require residents who use electric wheelchairs to get liability insurance to pay for any accidents or injuries their wheelchairs may cause. Even if you think that residents using electric wheelchairs are more likely than other residents to hurt themselves or others at your site, you may have a hard time proving that if a resident ever challenges your policy in court.

If a resident is found using or possessing marijuana at your site and claims that she smokes it to treat a medical condition, check with your lawyer. Unless your state has a law permitting “medical marijuana” and the resident can prove her marijuana use is for medical purposes, you will probably be able to evict her. As medical marijuana use gains publicity, more residents facing eviction for illegal drug use are likely to claim it as a defense.