EASY RENT
King County Housing Authority’s
Rent Reform Initiative
for Seniors and Residents with Disabilities
on Fixed Incomes
King County Housing Authority has developed an Easy Rent
program that simplifies the rent calculation and income verification process
for seniors and residents with disabilities on a fixed income. The revised rent policies are easier for
residents to understand and easier for KCHA staff to administer. The Easy Rent program applies to KCHA’s
Public Housing and Section 8 programs.
Residents of properties with Low Income Housing Tax Credits will remain
subject to requirements governing those programs.
The following households qualify for KCHA’s income verification and rent calculation changes under the Easy Rent program.
Residents of KCHA Low Income Housing Tax Credit properties
will remain subject to existing income verification requirements governing
those programs.
New Recertification Schedule
Currently, recertifications of income and rent recalculation are conducted annually in the Public Housing and Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher programs. Recertifications will now be conducted every three (3) years for all households who meet the above criteria. Verifications of income sources and recalculation of rent payments will be conducted by KCHA every three years, unless the resident requests an interim review. In the intervening years, a cost of living adjustment (COLA) will be automatically applied annually to Social Security and SSI income and rent will be adjusted accordingly.
These changes do not affect the current cycle for HQS inspections.
KCHA will develop a reasonable transition process to implement the new three-year review cycle.
Qualifying households in the Easy Rent program will retain the option to have an interim review between the new three-year recertification cycle for any of the following reasons:
Interim recertifications are only processed if the effect of the loss of income is expected to be longer than ninety (90) days. Permanent loss of income (i.e., death of an income earner) results in a permanent, rather than interim, rent reduction.
Interim rents remain in place until the next scheduled recertification or the household experiences an increase in income, whichever comes first. Households receiving an interim rent reduction must report any subsequent income increase to KCHA within thirty (30) days of occurrence. Failure to report within thirty days results in retroactive rent changes or other measures, depending on the severity of the circumstances.
Residents are still required to report any changes in household composition to their Public Housing Property Manager or their Section 8 Housing Specialist and Section 8 Landlord. A family’s rent is recalculated if the addition or subtraction of a household member results in an annual income change greater than $2000.
In the event that a dependent minor in an eligible household turns 18 after recertification, the household will remain eligible for the Easy Rent program until the next scheduled three-year recertification.
Qualifying households in the Easy Rent program will now have their rent calculated at 28.3% of their income. All sources of income currently included in rent calculations will remain unchanged. Standard deductions and the Earned Income Disregard will no longer be applied to the rent calculation. However, residents with unreimbursed medical expenses above $3,000 may receive a deduction amount as described below.
Qualifying households in the Easy Rent program who have more than $3,000 in unreimbursed medical expenses will receive a deduction for the total amount of unreimbursed medical expenses. This deduction will be applied to total annual income before rent calculation.
Flat Rent
The current flat rent schedule and accompanying policy will remain in place for Public Housing. Households that choose a flat rent will continue to have income verification and rent calculation reviews every three years. KCHA will consider modifying its flat rent structure for all Public Housing residents in fiscal year 2009.
Minimum Tenant Rent and Utility Reimbursements
KCHA will replace its current minimum total tenant payment (TTP) of $25 with a minimum tenant rent of $0. However, in the event that a household’s utility allowance is greater than the total tenant payment (TTP), a utility reimbursement (also known as a credit rent) will be issued to the household for a period of no more than six months. For example, if a household TTP is calculated to be $40, but the utility allowance for that unit is $50, the household will receive a reimbursement of $10 from the Housing Authority for a period of up to six months.
Beyond the initial six month limit for utility reimbursements, a resident may be eligible to apply for additional relief under KHCA’s Hardship Policy.
Households reporting zero income will be subject to requirements under the new Minimum Rent policy described above. Households reporting zero income will be referred to services for benefits assistance.
As a result of these changes, no household’s monthly rent will increase more than $100 for the first year.
The current utility allowance schedules for Public Housing and Section 8 will remain in place. KCHA will continue to monitor utility costs and will make changes to utility allowances when costs increase by 10% or more. KCHA will consider simplifying its utility allowances in fiscal year 2009.
Phase I - Easy Rent Hardship Policy
Prior to imposition of any change in rent, the household will be provided with advance notice as required by their lease and /or governing documents. Households that are notified of a rent increase will also be informed, in writing, of their ability to seek a waiver based on financial hardship provided that the hardship is related to medical expenses or extraordinary cost of living. (i.e. shelter burden greater than 50% of monthly household income).
In both Public Housing and Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher programs, a household may apply for a hardship review if the total shelter costs exceed 50% of household’s monthly income, except for Section 8 households who have chosen to rent a unit above the payment standard. Shelter costs are defined as the cost of rent and utilities.
2.
Utility Allowance Exceeds Total Tenant Payment Beyond Six Month Cap
In both Public Housing and Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher programs, a household may apply for an extension of its utility reimbursement beyond the six month cap. The household would need to demonstrate that the loss of the additional utility reimbursement would put the household at risk of losing their housing . Residents with exempt household income (i.e. live-in attendant income) are not eligible for a hardship solely based on this criterion.
The Hardship Committee will be comprised of KCHA staff, including Resident Services staff. The Committee will examine each family’s circumstances on a case-by-case basis. The Committee has a choice of remedies it can recommend (including permanent, family-specific rent caps) as it deems appropriate, to reduce a qualifying household’s rent burden:
1) Set rent at minimum rent of $0 for a specific period of time
2) Extend utility reimbursement for a specific period of time
3) Phase in reasonable rent increase for a specific period of time
4) Extend $100 per month rent cap for up to one year (resulting in a two year maximum)
5) Phase out $100 per month rent increase cap out over specified period of time, not to exceed three years
6) Appropriate combination of above listed options.
The Hardship Committee will send its recommendation to the Director of Housing Management or the Director of Resident Services for approval. Applicants who disagree with the recommendation may appeal through KCHA’s existing Grievance Procedure.
Grievance Procedure
Should a resident be dissatisfied with the decision of the hardship committee, the household may choose to take their request to an outside hearing officer. This option will be based on KCHA’s existing grievance policy.