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Does Your Tenant Selection Plan Go Far Enough

When a tenant requires services that you don’t offer, does the tenant then need to consider assisted living rather than independent living?  Does your Tenant Selection Plan (TSP) address whether your community is an independent living facility versus an assisted living community?

Recently a Section 8 property manager called me about a situation she had regarding a section 8 applicant who came in with her case worker to plead the case that her client who she was representing desperately need housing but had some health issues.  The case worker then went on to promise that the applicant would have members of their agency help out.  Those issues made her client sound like she needed more than the services that were available at this affordable housing independent living facility.  The property manager felt like she was in a jam because she didn’t want to violate Fair Housing laws and come across as discriminating against the applicant even though the applicant appeared to her to need more than what the property could offer.  The property manager really wanted to help but was concerned the could offer the correct services this applicant seem to need.  This property manager happened to be one of the most community oriented people and felt really tortured by the situation and at the same time knew that this could be a slippery slope.

In this case, the property manager followed her Tenant Selection Plan and through the screening process found the applicant had been evicted from the last 3 places she lived in.  Thus the property manager was spared having to admit the Section 8 applicant.  But it does bring to question if the applicant qualified for housing, what is a property manager to do if they are faced with the same predicament.

One thing I suggested was to find out what qualifies a person for an assisted property and then contra-apply those to your Tenant Selection Plan.  There are some services you won’t be able to provide your applicant/tenants and they may be better served in a different living environment.  One of the concerns is that admitting a tenant as in the example given above is that if an applicant/tenant makes a Reasonable Accommodation request and it could prove to be an administrative burden.  Imagine the liability and the potential unneeded problems.  Here are some reasons an applicant can be rejected:

Reasons for Applicant Rejection

1. The household income exceeds the program income limits

2. The applicant is ineligible for the project’s specific requirements such as project designated for specific family types

3. The household size has exceeded the property’s occupancy standards

4. The applicant is unwilling to disclose and provide proof of Social Security numbers for all family

5. The applicant is unwilling to provide proof of U.S. citizenship or eligible non-citizens status as required for the assistance program

6. The applicant refuses to sign and submit verification consent forms or the Authorization for Release of Information (forms HUD-9887 and HUD-9887-A)

7. The applicant provided false information with the intent to deceive

8. The applicant household maintains one or more residence

9. The applicant failed to meet the criminal background screening criteria

10. The applicant failed to meet the credit history screening criteria (lack of credit history is not a basis for rejection)

11. The applicant failed to meet the rental history screening criteria (lack of rental history is not a basis for rejection)

12. The applicant failed to meet one or more criteria stated in the property’s resident selection plan

13. The applicant was unwilling/unable to pay the security deposit

14. The applicant was unwilling/unable to pay rent and comply with the lease requirements

15. The applicant was unwilling to give up housing choice vouchers in accordance with the property’s subsidy type requirements

Find out if your Tenant Selection Plan goes far enough by taking our Tenant Selection Class.  Find out when the next one is offered:  http://www.ahtcsonline.com/class_schedule.html

 

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