HUD Accelerates It's Attack On The Poor

HUD Accelerates It's Attack On The Poor

Details on HUD's "2 pronged attack" on housing
programs

By Lynda Carson

Having failed to convince congress to end the federal rules
that require housing authorities to provide public housing
or vouchers to those earning 30% or less of the local AMI,
HUD has come up with a new plan to make it nearly impossible
for public housing agencies and non-profit affordable housing
organizations to operate properly.

This latest attack, is also an attack on the public in general and
their efforts to keep an eye on what is happening in the nations
housing assistance programs.

Below are the latest details on how HUD is trying to
phase in new rules that are intended to change the
focus on serving the poorest of the poor to higher
income tenants, and how HUD is changing the rules
while at the same time trying to make it impossible
for people to figure out what the rules actually are.

These attempts to sabotage the housing programs are
sure to guarentee mass confusion, and will affect over
8 million people in public housing & Section 8
programs.

These most sweeping changes will also apply to those
in Multi Family Housing units (non-profit affordable
housing units) and Home programs being funded by CDBG
programs in cities across the nation if HUD has it's
way...

Phase one is to change the rules for people applying
for or continuing to participate in the public
housing, voucher, private multifamily housing and HOME
programs. HUD's goal is to end the appeal process or
grace period for anyone that fails to have proper
documentation on demand at any given time.

Phase two is to make sure nobody knows what the rules
are, or to confuse as many PHAs & their clients as
possible, so that people get dumped out of the housing
programs for not being able to comply with the rules.

Phase two also details how HUD wants PHAs to change
their focus away from serving the poorest of the poor.


See "Phase One", and Phase Two", below...

>>>>>>>>>>
From: National Low-Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC)

(Phase One)
HUD Proposes Changes to Housing Beneficiaries’ Social
Security and Citizenship Documentation (Full Report)

HUD
Memo to Members: Vol 12, No. 25, June 22, 2007

http://nlihc.org/detail/article.cfm?article_id=4294

On June 19, HUD proposed several changes relating to
the processes for people applying for or continuing to
participate in the public housing, voucher, private
multifamily housing and HOME programs.

Currently, HUD requires applicants and participants in
these HUD programs to provide Employer Identification
Numbers, citizenship or eligible immigration status,
and Social Security Numbers (SSNs) for all those over
6 years of age. HUD proposes eliminating the SSN age
threshold and requiring a SSN as well as an actual
Social Security card or other form of documentation
for all ages, including those under 6.

HUD also proposes to eliminate the current 60-day
period for people to obtain a Social Security card or
other documentation when they have a SSN but can't
prove it. In addition, HUD proposes to prorate
assistance to a household, reducing assistance in
proportion to the number of household members unable
to provide a SSN and documentation.

Existing regulations require citizens to simply sign
a declaration that they are citizens. HUD proposes
that all applicants provide documentation such as
passport, birth certificate, Social Security card,
Alien Registration card, Employment Authorization card
or Temporary Resident card.

HUD proposes to eliminate the "temporary deferral of
termination of assistance" for families that have
members who are not citizens. However, families that
were covered on June 19, 1995, and have a member
formally recognized by the government as a refugee or
asylum seeker may continue to be eligible.

HUD proposes to change the definition of annual income
from anticipated future income to actual income
received during the 12-month period prior to admission
to housing or prior to the effective date of an annual
income re-examination.

HUD proposes that public housing agencies (PHAs) be
required to use the new upfront income verification
(UIV) process. HUD explains that UIV is the use of
independent sources to verify a family's income before
application for housing assistance and during annual
re-examination. Currently PHAs have to contact
individual employers and review handwritten documents.
UIV will use HUD's existing Enterprise Income
Verification (EIV) system or computer matching
agreements with a federal, state or local government
agency or with private entities. The obligations of
private multifamily owners is cloudy due to the
limited availability of EIV to them and due to the
difficulty they might have in securing computer
matching arrangements with other government entities.

Comments are due August 20.

The proposed changes to the regulations are in the
Federal Register (72 FR 33843) at
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-11531.pdf.

************
(Phase 2, is from link in latest NLIHC Memo to
Members)
Summary of Latest Proposal to Drastically Streamline
the PHA Plan Template

Click below for full report...

http://nlihc.org/detail/article.cfm?article_id=4504&id=42

On August 15, the Office of Public and Indian Housing
(PIH) published a “Notice of Proposed Information
Collection for Public Comment” in the Federal
Register.  It proposed extreme revisions to the PHA
Plan template.  One year ago HUD also proposed drastic
streamlining of the electronic PHA Plan template on
August 22, 2006 (see RegWatch entries, 8/22/06,
9/15/06, 9/29/06, 10/17/06).  Then on May 7, 2007 (see
entries for 5/07/07 and 5/14/07) HUD announced an
“emergency” seven-day notice seeking severe cuts in
the template.  To date, no changes have ever been
finalized and the version of the template that has
long been in use remains.

The proposed streamlined PHA Plan template would
apply to all PHAs, “standard,” “small,” “high
performing,” “Section 8 Only,” and “troubled.” 
However, small PHAs and high performing PHAs only need
to complete the sections regarding housing needs and
the strategy for meeting housing needs every five
years.

[[[HUD proposes to eliminate a list of more than 70 public
housing and voucher policies such as: eligibility, waiting list
organization, unit assignment, admissions preferences, occupancy,
deconcentration and income mixing, rent determination, grievance
procedures, and search time and payment standards (for voucher users).  
Although these policies must be a part of the paper PHA Plan, the
70-plus policies and their multiple check-boxes provide instruction and
guidance for residents and the general public.]]]

http://nlihc.org/detail/article.cfm?article_id=4504&id=42