Public housing authorities (PHAs) are required by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to maintain an ACOP. The ACOP is the principal statement of the local policies to be used in the administration of the public housing program. A public hearing must be held to consider significant changes to the ACOP. The proposed changes to the ACOP presented here include changes to the admissions and termination policies. These are considered significant changes and thus a public hearing is required. The Board of Commissioners must conduct this public hearing in a location that is accessible to the residents served by the Housing Authority of the County of Contra Costa (HACCC). As required by HUD, HACCC staff provided public notice of this hearing in the Contra Costa Times on December 30-31, 2011 and on January 1, 2012. HACCC staff met with the Agency’s Resident Advisory Board (RAB) on September 27, 2011 and November 28, 2011 to discuss the proposed changes to the ACOP. The RAB had no objections to the proposed language. Staff also discussed the changes with Bay Area Legal Aid (Legal Aid) via email and phone in November and December 2011 and in person on February 1, 2012. Legal Aid was not in full support of all the proposed changes (for example, Legal Aid would prefer that the screening period not be increased to 5 years) but does not plan to oppose any of the items presented here.
Staff proposes to make the following policy changes in the ACOP:
Screening for drug-related and violent criminal activity
PHAs are required to screen applicants’ history for crimes that would be considered lease violations under the public housing program. The proposed policy is being changed to match the screening period for the Housing Choice Voucher Program.
Existing Policy
HACCC currently screens applicants to the program for drug-related and violent criminal activity over the past 1 year.
Proposed Policy
Applicants to the program will be screened for drug-related and violent criminal activity over the past 5 years.
Guest Policy
The composition of the household being assisted under the public housing program is central to determining who is and is not eligible for the program, the unit size (i.e. the number of bedrooms) a household qualifies for, and the amount of rent that must be paid. The guest policy is one tool PHAs use to ensure that unauthorized household members are not present.
Existing Policy
Guests are allowed to stay up to “14 days in any month or 45 days in any calendar year”.
Proposed Policy
A guest can stay less than “14 consecutive calendar days at one time” and “no more than a total of 30 cumulative days during any 12-month period.”
Late Rent Fee
HACCC has not raised the late rent fees it charges tenants since 2002. Since that time the administrative costs to manage the collection of late rents and, in some cases, the eviction process have risen significantly. In order to defray a portion of the administrative costs incurred by late rent payments, staff propose raising the late payment penalty by $15.
Existing Policy
HACCC currently charges a $10 late fee, if a tenant fails to pay their rent by the 5th day of the month.
Proposed Policy
The late fee would be increased to $25 if a tenant fails to pay their rent by the 5th day of the month.
Pet Deposit
As with the late rent fee, HACCC has not increased the pet deposit since 2002. The number of families with pets has increased since that time and the costs to clean homes after a tenant with a pet moves out have also increased. A $100 increase is being requested for tenants with large pets. This will help defray a portion of the increased cost to clean units that had been occupied by pets. The fee will remain the same for tenants with small pets. As a note, assistance animals that are needed as a reasonable accommodation are not subject to HACCC’s pet policy because by law these animals are not considered pets. These families do not pay a pet deposit.
Existing Policy
HACCC currently charges a $150 pet security deposit, to cover repair or replacement cost directly related to the pet on the premises. The current policy does not distinguish between small or large pets.
Proposed Policy
The pet security deposit would increase to $250 for dogs and cats, small animals allowed to roam outside of a cage (such as a ferret) and large aquariums (more than 10 gallons). The pet deposit would remain at $150 for small caged animals (such as hamsters), small amphibians and small aquariums (10 gallons and under)
Criminal Activity
A criminal act that is committed by a PHA tenant that threatens the health or safety of other residents, PHA employees, or persons residing in the immediate vicinity of the premises is grounds for termination of tenancy. The proposed policy has been revised to include a definition of “immediate vicinity”.
Existing Policy
The ACOP and the lease both provide for termination of assistance for any household where a member commits a criminal act that that threatens the health or safety of other residents, PHA employees, or persons residing in the immediate vicinity of the premises is grounds for termination of tenancy.
Proposed Policy
The ACOP and lease will be revised to include a definition of “Immediate vicinity” as six blocks within the public housing property.
Rent Adjustments
In general, tenants on the public housing program pay 30% of their adjusted income for rent. Adjustments are made for factors such as medical expenses and dependent care allowances. As a tenant’s income goes up, their rent portion will rise as well, when income drops, their rent portion decreases. Tenants must notify the PHA when they have an increase or decrease in income. A PHA must process decreases in tenant income (which will lead to a decrease in rent) immediately. However, PHAs have flexibility in deciding when a rent increase will go into effect. It can be increased as quickly as 30 days after the rent increase has been calculated by staff, or the increase does not have to take effect until the tenant’s next annual income certification which could be nearly a year away. PHAs must balance the need to maximize operating income needed to maintain the property with the expense of the income verification process, which can cost far more in staff time than is gained by a small increase in rent.
Existing Policy
Rent adjustments resulting from any increase in income do not become effective until the next regularly scheduled income recertification.
Proposed Policy
Rent adjustments resulting from any increase in income will become effective on the first of the month following HACCC’s 30-day written notice of the increase to the tenant.
Right to Examine PHA Documents Before Hearing or Trial
Lease termination notices must inform the tenant of their right to examine and copy (at their own expense), any documents or regulations that are directly relevant to the lease termination or eviction. The policy will be changed to increase the amount of notice required to review a file and to reflect the amount that HACCC will start charging for copying costs or staff time.
Existing Policy
All documents must be requested to be reviewed 24 hours prior to the hearing/trial. HACCC has not charged for copying costs or staff time.
Proposed Policy
All documents must be requested to be reviewed no later than 48 hours prior to the hearing/trial and a charge of $0.25 per page copied will be imposed.
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