Plaza Roberto Maestas Beloved Community Tenant Selection and Occupancy Policy

Transcription

1 Tenant Screening Policy Plaza Roberto Maestas Beloved Community Tenant Selection and Occupancy Policy No person shall be denied the right to submit a written application for admission. Management shall review all applications according to the eligibility standards of HUD, by the Fair Housing laws, and the policies of Quantum Management Services, Inc. All applicants determined to be eligible according to the building standards shall be screened according to the following tenant selection policy. Policies are subject to change as city laws and ordinances change. Size of Apartment The number of occupants determines the size of Tenant s apartment. The maximum allowable persons per apartment for the Plaza Roberto Maestas Apartments, per will be: Special Needs Set-Aside Maximum occupancy of 2 persons +1 per bedroom (For example, no more than 5 persons in a two-bedroom apartment) Tenants that qualify for the special needs set aside, must also meet the eligibility requirements regarding income restriction. Ownership of Plaza Roberto Maestas has committed to serve the following special needs groups by electing the following set-asides for the property: 1. Large Family with occupants of four or more persons 2. Disabled households As a result of the special needs set-aside, ownership and management are required to target specific populations. Management does not discriminate nor shall an applicant be declined tenancy on the basis of age, ancestry, breastfeeding in public, color, creed, disability, gender identity, marital status, national origin, parental status, political ideology, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, use of a Section 8 certificate, use of a service animal, military status or veteran, ethnicity, marital status, familial status. Large Family Set Aside Ownership of the Plaza Roberto Maestas Apartments have elected under the tax credit program to set aside twenty-two (22) units within the property for households of four or more persons. The units under this set-aside contain three or more bedrooms. To qualify for this set aside, occupants of a unit do not need to be related.

2 Handicap and/or Disabled Households Twenty-two (22) units have been set-aside for at least one person in a household that has a physical or mental impairment, which limits one or more of the major life activities, such as, but not limited to: 1. being able to care for oneself 2. performing manual tasks 3. walking 4. talking 5. seeing 6. hearing 7. speaking 8. breathing 9. learning Non-handicapped person in a Handicap Designated Unit In the event a non-handicapped household occupies a handicap-designated unit, the occupant understands that priority for such units is given to those needing special physical design features. Tenant understands that Tenant is permitted to reside in a handicap-designated unit until Landlord issues Tenant a notice that Tenant must move to another suitably sized vacant unit within the property. Upon receiving this notice, Tenant agrees to move at Tenant s expense within 30 calendar days. Tenant understands that Tenant will need to re-certify all income before the move and that the Tenant s rent and lease will be modified accordingly. Standards for Admission In determining applicant eligibility, it is necessary that the following points be considered: 1. A rejection must be supported by information of specific facts or events. For example, if an applicant is to be rejected for a reasonable likelihood of non-payment of rent, specific facts in his or her past credit record must support such a conclusion. 2. Only information relating to an applicant s individual qualities may be considered and not the applicant s membership in a specific class (i.e., public assistance recipient, unmarried mother, race, religion, etc.) 3. The possible biases, attitudes, and motives of the sources of such information must be considered. 4. The fact that a person has no credit or rental history shall not be grounds for automatic rejection. 5. The effects of changed circumstances shall be considered. Some examples are the effects of a change of neighborhood, social or rehabilitative services, the departure of a former household member, and the change in a household member s behavior due to him or her growing up.

3 6. In judging the applicant s rental payment record or bad credit report, consideration should be given to the applicant s present shelter cost-income relationship and whether or not the rent level for the unit for which the applicant applies is lower. 7. In evaluating information concerning the misbehavior of household members, consideration shall be given to the fact that some misbehavior or property damage by household members is expected and is one of the normal costs in the business of renting family housing. Repeated misbehavior by household members or repeated damage, nuisance or waste committed by household members will be considered grounds for rejection. 8. An applicant s participation in a tenant organization shall not be grounds for rejection. Standards for Rejection Applicants who are eligible for housing may be rejected for the following reasons only: 1. Reasonable likelihood that the applicant will be unwilling or unable to pay rent. 2. Reasonable likelihood that the applicant or those acting under his or her control will interfere with the health, safety, security or the right of peaceful enjoyment of the resident community. 3. Reasonable likelihood that the applicant or those acting under his or her control will cause intentional damage or destruction to the apartment or surrounding premises. The Credit/Criminal/Landlord History Check The Credit/Criminal History Check is a component of the Tenant Selection Policy at Quantum Management Services. The Intent of the Policy is to: 1. Provide for the use of credit checks as a standard component of the Tenant Selection Policy for admitting applicants to properties managed by Quantum Management Services, Inc. 2. Ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and equally. 3. Ensure that only responsible applicants, who will pay rent on time and maintain the rental property, are admitted to properties managed by Quantum. Eligibility Federal law requires that all applicants for federally funded properties meet the specific federal eligibility requirements for the property (must meet income limits). If the applicant does not meet the federal eligibility requirements for the property, the manager must send the applicant a Letter of Rejection. If the applicant does meet the federal eligibility requirements for the property, the manager proceeds to the remaining portion of the application process. Processing

4 All people over the age of 12 years wishing to become tenants or co-tenants must first become applicants by completing the appropriate application form and paying the screening fee. The manager will submit the information to the credit check service and the credit/criminal record check service will issue a report to the manager. If the applicant s report does not meet our policy requirements, the applicant is to be rejected. The credit check service will send a denial letter to the applicant, to the manager and to Quantum Management Services, Inc. Scoring Each applicant s tenant screening report will be reviewed for two types of adverse information Negatives and Terminals. If three or more Negative items are found in a report, with no extenuating circumstances, the applicant shall be denied. If any one Terminal item is found, without extenuating circumstances, the applicant shall be denied. Negatives The following shall be considered Negative items: 1. Any credit account which is rated as having gone to collection. 2. Any collection(s), judgment, bankruptcies or lien(s) with combined totals of $5,000 or more. Exceptions to the policy include medical bills, school loans, foreclosures, and/or other extenuating circumstances. 3. Any landlord reference that includes more than two late rent payments in a year and/or is currently owing rent. 4. Any instance of a damage deposit which was not returned due to material damage to the rental unit (beyond normal cleaning). 5. Any instance of a proper Notice of Intent to Vacate not being given, resulting in abandonment of unit. 6. Any instance of unauthorized people occupying a unit rented to the applicant. 7. Any bank reference which shows more than three (3) NSF check in the last twelve-(12) months. Terminals The following items shall be considered Terminal, and shall be sufficient to deny the application: 1. Any open bankruptcy (a bankruptcy to which new claims can still be added). 2. Any unresolved outstanding balances owed to a property management company. 3. No current 3-day notices from current landlord. 4. Any current eviction or Unlawful Detainer action. 5. No evictions within the past 5-years. 6. Any conviction for the selling of meth, or possession of meth with intent to sell within the past 7-years. 7. No eviction from housing due to illegal drug activity within the past 7-years. 8. Open or active criminal charges will be reviewed on a case by case basis. 9. Criminal history shall be treated as follows: A. Release date within the past two years for the following: 1. any misdemeanor conviction including, but not limited to possession, misdemeanor assault, burglary, fraud and forgery. B. Release date within the past five years for the following:

5 1. any felony, including, but not limited to, the sale, manufacture or distribution of illegal drugs, assault, robbery, domestic violence abuse or prostitution. C. Release date within the last 7-years for the following: 1. Multiple assaults of any kind, arson, armed robbery, kidnapping or methamphetamine use in housing or elsewhere. 10. Any conviction for criminal activity, such as, but not limited to: homicide, sex offenders (both adult and juvenile), conviction of meth production. 11. Any gross distortion of the truth by the applicant on the written application. Extenuating Circumstances In some cases, an applicant who does not qualify under this policy might still be an acceptable risk due to extenuating circumstances relating to their poor credit history. Such circumstances might include, but not limited to, severe medical problems, recent death of a spouse, recent divorce, a temporary period of unemployment in the past, negative information confined to a single landlord reference, etc. In these situations the manager may request a review by their immediate supervisor who may, at their discretion, approve or deny the application. Rejected applicants may also appeal the decision of the manager to the manager s immediate supervisor. Anti-Discrimination No applicant shall be declined tenancy on the basis of age, ancestry, breastfeeding in public, color, creed, disability, gender identity, marital status, national origin, parental status, political ideology, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, use of a Section 8 certificate, use of a service animal, military status or veteran, ethnicity, marital status, or familial status. Income Limits In addition to not exceeding the maximum allowable income for the household size, each applicant must meet the minimum income requirement set for the property. The minimum income requirement is 2 times the rent in monthly income. Student Housing Under the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, the Internal Revenue Code strictly prohibits housing individuals if all occupants are considered students. Unlike income, there is no grand fathering if all occupants become students during the course of their tenancy. The Code strictly requires student households to vacate the premises. Additionally, students are not a protected class under Fair Housing, and as such, this required code compliance is not discriminatory. Currently, the code does allow for exceptions to the rules, as follows: At least one individual is receiving assistance under Title IV of the Social Security Act (ie. TANF); At least one individual is enrolled in a job training program receiving assistance under the Workforce Investment Act;

6 Household consisting of a single parent and his/her dependents, where neither the single parent nor their children are dependents of another individual (other than a parent of such children); Household consisting of person who are married and eligible to file a joint tax return; At least one individual was previously under the care of a state foster care program. Tenant Fraud All sources of income, including income from assets, must be reported to management to qualify for housing under the LIHTC program. Failure to provide management with full documentation of the household s income, to be determined for all person 18 years of age or older, shall be considered fraud. In cases where fraud has been committed, management will find this act grounds for not admitting a household for occupancy and/or grounds for terminating a household during the course of occupancy. Tenant Re-Certification In order to comply with the terms of the LIHTC program and Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code, all occupants are required to re-certify their annual income including income from assets. Failure to do so before the resident s anniversary date will cause the property to be out of compliance and requires management to terminate the household.