PROGRAM UPDATES Amendments to the Los Angeles County Administrative Plan
The Administrative Plan is the document that contains all of the policies that the Housing Authority uses to govern the Section 8 Program. On October 27, 2009, we went before our Board of Commissioners and obtained approval for the following policies:
Beginning January 1, 2010…
More Time Allowed to Return Documents and Schedule Appointments
Applicants and participants will have 15 days to comply with program requirements, such as to return documents, to attend appointments and to request a review/hearing.
Rent Appeals
The Housing Authority uses the Rentellect system, an independent source, to determine if rent is reasonable compared to similar units in the area. Because Rentellect utilizes continually refreshed market data and because of the administrative burden placed on limited program resources, the Housing Authority will no longer allow landlords to appeal Rentellect’s rent reasonableness determinations.
Restrictions on Move Requests
The Housing Authority will now restrict move requests by not permitting participants to move more than once within a one-year period.
The Housing Authority will make exceptions to this policy in cases when the owner terminates the contract; the tenant lives in an abated unit; there is a life-threatening situation; the unit is in foreclosure or if the tenant must move due to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking.
Credit Reports
The Housing Authority conducts 1,500 random credit reports annually to identify program fraud. Now, because computer-matching systems through HUD and the Los Angeles County Department of Public and Social Services (DPSS) are available, as well as third-party verifications, it is often unnecessary to run credit reports to identify program fraud. The Housing Authority will now obtain credit reports only as needed.
Housing Quality Standards (HQS) Inspection Appointments
During an annual HQS inspection, the Housing Authority requires the family or their representative to be present. Families were allowed to miss two inspection appointments before their assistance was terminated. When the Housing Authority does not gain access to the unit, inspections are at times not conducted in a timely manner. This increases the potential risk to families living in a unit with HQS violations. It also increases staff costs when inspectors must go to the unit again.
The Housing Authority will now terminate a family’s assistance for failure to keep one inspection appointment without good cause (such as a medical emergency). As a courtesy, the Housing Authority will allow families to reschedule an inspection, by e-mail, fax, or telephone at any time prior to the scheduled inspection, as long as the rescheduled appointment date allows the Housing Authority to remain in compliance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HQS requirements (instructions for rescheduling an inspection appointment provided on front page).
The Housing Authority will also allow a one-time counseling session to participants who miss an annual HQS inspection. If the participant has been previously counseled for one missed HQS inspection appointment, the Housing Authority will proceed to propose to terminate the participant’s assistance.
Rent Increase
The Housing Authority often receives multiple rent increase requests for the same units during the year. To reduce the administrative burden caused by this practice, the Housing Authority will only process rent increases with the family’s annual reexamination.
Lease Extensions
The Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) contract, between the Housing Authority and the landlord, is valid only during the term of the lease and any extensions. Therefore, to assure all contracts with the Housing Authority remain valid, the Housing Authority will now require all participants and owners to sign a 12-month lease extension at the time of the family’s annual reexamination.