§ 950.301 - Admission policies.

(a) Admission policies. (1) The IHA shall establish and adopt written policies for admission of participants. The policies shall cover all programs operated by the housing authority and, as applicable, will address the programs individually to meet their specific requirements (i.e., Rental, MH, or Turnkey III). A copy of the policies shall be posted prominently in the IHA's office for examination by prospective participants. (See § 950.416 with respect to Mutual Help admission policies.)

(2) These policies shall be designed:

(i) To attain, to the maximum extent feasible, residency that includes families with a broad range of incomes and that avoids concentrations of the most economically deprived families with serious social problems;

(ii) To preclude admission of applicants whose habits and practices reasonably may be expected to have a detrimental effect on the residents or the project environment;

(iii) To give a preference in selection of tenants and homebuyers to applicants who qualify for a Federal preference, ranking preference, or local preference, in accordance with §§ 950.303 through 950.307; and

(iv) To establish objective and reasonable policies for selection by the IHA among otherwise eligible applicants.

(3) The IHA admission policies shall include the following:

(i) Requirements for applications and waiting lists;

(ii) Description of the policies for selection of applicants from the waiting list that includes the following:

(A) How the Federal preferences (described in § 950.303) will be used;

(B) How any ranking preferences (described in § 950.303) will be used;

(C) How any local preferences (described in § 950.303) will be used; and

(D) How any residency preference will be used;

(iii) Policies for verification and documentation of information relevant to acceptance or rejection of an applicant;

(iv) Policies for resident transfer between units, projects, and programs. For example, an IHA could adopt a criterion for voluntary transfer that the resident had met all obligations under the current program, including payment of charges to the IHA and completion of maintenance requirements;

(v) Policies for compliance with part 5, subpart B, of this title, which requires applicants and participants to disclose and verify social security numbers at the time eligibility is determined and at later income reexaminations; and

(vi) Policies for compliance with part 5, subpart B, of this title, which requires applicants and participants to sign and submit consent forms for the obtaining of wage and claims information from State wage and information collections agencies.

(4) These selection policies shall:

(i) Be duly adopted; and

(ii) Be publicized by posting copies thereof in each office where applications are received and by furnishing copies to applicants or residents upon request, free or at their expense, at the discretion of the IHA.

(5) Such policies shall be submitted to the HUD Area ONAP upon request from that office.

(6) “Residency preference” means a preference for admission of families living in the jurisdiction of the IHA. Residency provisions are subject to the following:

(i) Residency requirements are not permitted;

(ii) A residency preference may not be based on how long the applicant has resided in the jurisdiction; and

(b) Income limits. (1) A family shall be a low-income family, as defined in § 950.102, to be eligible for admission. (With respect to eligibility for the Mutual Help program, see special provisions of § 950.416.)

(2) In extremely unusual circumstances, the IHA may request that HUD increase or decrease income limits for low-income families or for very low-income families in the Indian area because of unusually high or low family incomes. Such a request can be granted only by joint approval of HUD's Assistant Secretary for Housing and Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing, after consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture (if the income limits are being established for a “rural area” as defined in section 520 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490)).

(c) Standards for IHA tenant/homebuyer selection criteria. (1) The criteria to be established and information to be considered shall be reasonably related to individual attributes and behavior of an applicant, and shall not be related to those that may be imputed to a particular group or category of persons of which an applicant may be a member. The IHA's tenant/homebuyer selection criteria shall be in accordance with HUD guidelines and submitted to the HUD Area ONAP. (With respect to the Mutual Help program, see special provisions of § 950.416.)

(2) In the event of any unfavorable information regarding an applicant, the IHA shall take into consideration the time, nature, and extent of the past occurrence and reasonable probability of future favorable performance.

(d) Preference over single persons. An applicant that is a one or two person elderly, disabled or displaced family, must be given a preference over an applicant that is a single person who is not an elderly or displaced person, or a person with disabilities, regardless of the applicant's Federal or local preferences.

(e) Selection preference with respect to projects for elderly families. (1) In determining priority for admission to projects for elderly families, an IHA shall give a preference to elderly families. When selecting applicants for admission from among elderly families, an IHA shall follow its policies and procedures for applying the Federal preferences, ranking preferences, and local preferences in accordance with §§ 950.303 through 950.307.

(2) An IHA may give a preference to near elderly families in determining priority for admission to projects for elderly families when the IHA determines that there are not enough eligible elderly families to fill all the units that are currently vacant or expected to become vacant in the next 12 months. In no event may an IHA admit a near elderly family if there are eligible elderly families on the IHA's waiting list that would be willing to accept an offer for a suitable vacant unit in that project.

(3) Before electing the discretionary preference in paragraph (e)(2) of this section, an IHA shall conduct outreach to attract eligible elderly families, including, where appropriate, elderly families residing in projects not designated as being for elderly families.

(4) If an IHA elects the discretionary preference in paragraph (e)(2) of this section, the IHA shall follow its policies and procedures for applying the Federal preferences, ranking preferences, and local preferences in accordance with §§ 950.303 through 950.307 when selecting applicants for admission from among near elderly families. Near elderly families that do not qualify for a Federal preference and that are given preference for admission under this section over other nonelderly families that qualify for such a Federal preference are not subject to the 30 percent limitation on local preference admissions. If a near elderly applicant is a single person, the near elderly single person may be given a preference for admission over other single persons to projects for the elderly.

(f) Verification of information and notification to applicants.

(1) Verification. Adequate procedures shall be developed to obtain and verify information with respect to each applicant. Information relative to the acceptance or rejection of an applicant shall be documented and placed in the applicant's file.

(2) Notification to applicants. (i) If an IHA determines that an applicant is ineligible for admission to a project, the IHA shall promptly notify the applicant of the basis for such determination and shall provide the applicant, upon request and within a reasonable time after the determination is made, with an opportunity for an informal hearing on such determination; and

(ii) When a determination has been made that an applicant is eligible and satisfies all requirements for admission including the tenant selection criteria, the applicant shall be notified of the approximate date of occupancy insofar as that date can be reasonably determined.

(g) Housing assistance limitation for single persons. A single person who is not an elderly or displaced person, or a person with disabilities, or the remaining member of a tenant family may not be provided a housing unit with two or more bedrooms.