NMA Blog

QUESTION     Does HUD require a picture ID for adult family members? Our administrative plan and ACOP policies require a state-issued picture ID but we are finding that some applicants have difficulty in obtaining one. What if there is a birth certificate on file? Is that acceptable as proof of identity under the HUD regulations?

ANSWER     There is no regulatory requirement for proof of identity, but PHAs may establish such a requirement in policy. Proof of identity is not limited to state-issued ID documents.

Here is a clarification from HUD’s Rental Integrity Summit FAQs (please see Q & A #50):

Question: Is a picture ID required, if there is a birth certificate in the adult tenant's file for establishing legal identity?

Answer: A birth certificate does not establish an adult's legal identity in determining citizenship for eligibility. Therefore, a PHA may request a picture ID from an adult for this purpose. HUD regulations give PHAs the discretion to determine what appropriate documentation an applicant or participant is required to furnish to the PHA. Although not inclusive, the following are acceptable documents to establish identity:

• U.S. passport
• Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (INS Form N-560 or N-561)
• Certificate of Naturalization (INS Form N-550 or N-570)
• Valid foreign passport, with I-551 stamp or attached INS Form I-94 indicating unexpired employment authorization
• Permanent resident card or alien registration receipt card with photograph (INS Form I-151 or I-551)
• Valid employment authorization card (INS Form I-688)
• Valid reentry permit (INS Form I-571)
• Valid employment authorization document issued by INS, which contains a photograph (INS Form I-688B)
• Driver's license or ID card issued by a state or outlying possession of the United States

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QUESTION     Our PHA isn’t sure how to handle the following situation. One of our residents, a single mother with minor children, became ill and asked to add the children’s father to her public housing lease. Just as we began to process her request, the resident died. Although we have policies concerning a “remaining family member,” our understanding is that the father doesn’t qualify since he wasn’t added to the lease prior to the resident’s death. The father of the children is concerned that the children would have more trauma if they had to change households and schools now that their mother has passed. What should we do?

ANSWER     In your scenario, the remaining family members are the minor children. Their father can be added to the lease as the new head of household. The following excerpt is from Chapter 2 of HUD’s Public Housing Occupancy Guidebook:

The remaining member of a tenant family is a member who was listed on the lease of a public housing unit and is the only family member still remaining in the unit. A child may remain in the unit as a remaining family member if the PHA permits an adult to join the household as a new head of household.

Keep in mind that the new head of household (in this case, the father) must pass your PHA’s criminal background screening and meet other eligibility requirements. Process his application in the same way you would when adding an adult member to any resident family.

Are you a PIH Alert subscriber? Every Friday, the PIH Alert includes one frequently asked question (FAQ) submitted by our readers. Sign up today for a free 30-day trial subscription! Email sales@nanmckay.com to get started. To submit your question, email Annie Stevenson at annie@nanmckay.com with the subject line "FAQ Friday."

QUESTION     What are the requirements for training on the EIV system for newly-hired staff members? Is it true that they must receive EIV training within one week of their start date? I can’t find a reference for this.

ANSWER     It is not true that new hires must complete training on HUD’s Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) system within one week of employment. However, PHA staff must complete the training prior to accessing the EIV system itself or EIV printed reports.

The current reference is in Notice PIH 2017-12, Administrative Guidance for Effective and Mandated Use of the Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) System:

EIV System Training Information. As a condition of initial and continued access to the EIV System, HUD and PHA staff are required to complete Annual Security Awareness training and EIV system training (initial system training) and update (interim system changes) training when offered by HUD Headquarters (HHQ). This training requirement also applies to those individuals who will not access EIV, but will view or handle printed and/or electronic EIV data. Individuals who will view and/or handle printed EIV information are required to complete only annual Security Awareness training (EIV system training is optional for these individuals). EIV training provided by third parties (other than HUD Headquarters) does not fulfill the mandatory EIV training requirement.

EIV system users who need to complete EIV training may view EIV training webcasts at: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/multimedia

Note: Employees must complete the training prior to accessing the EIV system and/or printed EIV reports.

It should be noted that this guidance differs from that in the previous notice, PIH 2010-19. The older notice required EIV training to be completed by set dates depending on date of hire. It’s also important that two types of EIV training are required: initial system training and annual security training.

Are you a PIH Alert subscriber? Every Friday, the PIH Alert includes one frequently asked question (FAQ) submitted by our readers. Sign up today for a free 30-day trial subscription! Email sales@nanmckay.com to get started. To submit your question, email Annie Stevenson at annie@nanmckay.com with the subject line "FAQ Friday."

QUESTION     We are confused about the rule that HUD published last month implementing the FAST Act. I thought that the law authorized triennial reexams but the rule doesn’t reflect that. Even in the years between “full” reexams it sounds like the PHA still has to apply a COLA to fixed income, adjust payment standards/utility allowances, etc. How does this compare to the streamlining final rule that was published a couple of years ago?

ANSWER     You’re correct that the FAST Act “interim final rule,” published in the Federal Register on December 12, does not authorize PHAs to completely bypass annual reexaminations for three years. Rather, it permits PHAs to conduct “full income recertifications” every three years for qualifying families. Other annual activities must still be conducted every year.

You’re also correct that the FAST Act partially duplicates an option available under the streamlining final rule, published in March 2016. HUD chose to implement the two rules separately, as explained in the streamlining rule:

HUD recognizes that prior to the issuance of this final rule, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, or FAST Act, was signed into law. Section 78001 of that Act modified the 1937 Act to allow PHAs and owners to undergo full income recertification for families with 90 percent or more of their income from fixed-income sources every three years instead of annually. HUD believes that while the FAST Act provisions and the provisions contained in this rule are very similar, they offer different benefits; therefore, HUD is retaining the flexibilities in this final rule and will issue implementation regulations for the FAST Act separately.

Let’s take a look at the options for streamlining annual reexams in both rules. Under the streamlining final rule:

• PHAs may choose to verify income from fixed income sources at admission and once every three years thereafter
• A published cost of living adjustment (COLA) must be applied to the family’s fixed income in years two and three
• All non-fixed income must be verified annually

Under the FAST Act:

• PHAs may choose to verify income from fixed income sources at admission and once every three years thereafter.
• A published cost of living adjustment (COLA) must be applied to the family’s fixed income in years two and three.
• If the family receives at least 90 percent of its income from fixed income sources, the PHA may, but is not required to, verify non-fixed income in years two and three.
• If less than 90 percent of income is from fixed income sources, non-fixed income must be verified annually.

Are you a PIH Alert subscriber? Every Friday, the PIH Alert includes one frequently asked question (FAQ) submitted by our readers. Sign up today for a free 30-day trial subscription! Email sales@nanmckay.com to get started. To submit your question, email Annie Stevenson at annie@nanmckay.com with the subject line "FAQ Friday."

QUESTION     An applicant for assisted housing receives a pension from the VA. In addition to his pension he receives VA “aid and attendance” benefits. The veteran’s representative states that these payments are excluded federally but we cannot find an applicable reference in the HUD regulations. Are we supposed to include this income in the family’s annual income?

ANSWER     HUD has issued written guidance on the treatment of aid and attendance funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs. There is also a pending regulatory change which has not yet been implemented.

The current guidance is found in the FAQs for the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program:

4. Should VA Aid and Attendance and VA Housebound allowances be counted as income?

VA Aid and Attendance and VA Housebound allowances may be excluded under 24 CFR § 5.609(c)(4), which excludes amounts received by a family “specifically for, or in reimbursement of, the cost of medical expenses for any family member.” Live-in or periodic medical assistance and services of doctors and health care professionals are among the services that can be counted as medical expenses. The PHA should verify with the VA the amount received by the Veteran for Aid and Attendance or Housebound benefits. The portion of the total benefit amount that the Veteran uses for medical expenses must be excluded from income. Any portion of the allowance not going towards such expenses would continue to be counted as income by the PHA when computing the family’s share of the rent.

A new exclusion is awaiting implementation under the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA). Aid and attendance benefits will be excluded in their entirety when HOTMA is implemented, and this may be the basis of the applicant’s belief that the benefits are “federally excluded.” However, this and other HOTMA changes to income and rent determinations cannot be implemented until HUD has completed the formal rulemaking process. HUD has declined to estimate an effective date for the HOTMA changes. Here is an excerpt from a letter to executive directors dated September 26, 2016:

All of the other sections in HOTMA that impact the HCV and public housing programs require that HUD first issue a notice or regulation for the provision to become effective. Until HUD issues the applicable notices or regulations, your PHA may not implement those additional sections. This information will also be transmitted in the near future via a Federal Register notice.

We realize that many PHAs are eager to implement the flexibilities and other statutory changes provided under HOTMA, so please be assured that HUD is working diligently to develop and provide the necessary implementation guidance in a timely manner. If you have any questions, please send them to HOTMAquestions@hud.gov.

Are you a PIH Alert subscriber? Every Friday, the PIH Alert includes one frequently asked question (FAQ) submitted by our readers. Sign up today for a free 30-day trial subscription! Email sales@nanmckay.com to get started. To submit your question, email Annie Stevenson at annie@nanmckay.com with the subject line "FAQ Friday."