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National
Housing Law Project's
Public Housing Fact Sheet #3: Preferences for Admission 1. WHAT ARE PREFERENCES? Preferences are conditions. Some housing authorities use these conditions to decide which families get housing before others. This is an important issue, especially when there is a long waiting list for housing. When there is a long waiting list, families who don’t qualify for a preference may never get housing. Families that qualify for a preference do not have to wait as long. CASE EXAMPLE: Charlie Parker and Nora Jones both apply for housing on the same day. Charlie applies first, then Nora. The housing authority currently has a waiting list of 500 people. Without preferences, both would go to the bottom of the list. But because Charlie is currently homeless and living in an emergency shelter, he goes to the top of the list and will receive the first available apartment. Nora goes to the bottom of the list and becomes number 501. Not all housing authorities use the same preferences. In the example above, the housing authority uses homelessness and domestic violence as preferences for housing. But there are many factors that a housing authority can use. And some housing authorities don’t use any preferences at all. These housing authorities serve people on a first-come, first-served basis, and no one gets bumped up to the top of the list. 2. WHAT PREFERENCES DOES YOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY USE? HOW DOES YOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY CHOOSE THEM? If a housing authority decides to use preferences, it decides which preferences to use during the annual PHA Plan process. The preferences then must be explained in the Plan. Your housing authority must talk to the Resident Advisory Board (RAB) during the annual PHA Plan process. This would be a good time for residents to tell the housing authority what they think. If residents want certain preferences, the housing authority can choose to use them. At any time you may request that your housing authority change its preferences. For more information about the PHA Plan and the PHA Plan Process, see Public Housing Fact Sheet #1 from the National Housing Law Project. For more information about the Resident Advisory Board, see Public Housing Fact Sheet #2. For a copy of your PHA Plan or to get the names of your RAB members, contact your housing authority. 3. WHAT PREFERENCES COULD YOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY CHOOSE? Your housing authority may choose from 13 different preferences suggested by the federal government. It may select other preferences too. Common preferences include: · Involuntary displacement (for example, natural disasters, government action, etc.) · Victim of domestic violence · Substandard housing · Homelessness · High rent burden · Working families · Veterans and families of veterans · Living/Working in jurisdiction (also called “Residency”) · Current enrollment in an education or training program · Past enrollment in an education or training program · Victims of hate crimes · Meeting income goals by admitting families with a broad range of incomes · Meeting income goals that at least 40% of new admissions are extremely low-income families · Others For many years, preferences were set by the federal government. Your housing authority’s Plan may identify certain preferences as “Former Federal Preferences”. These preferences include involuntary displacement, domestic violence, substandard housing, homelessness and high rent burden. 3. WHICH PREFERENCES ARE BEST? Each housing authority will make different decisions based on the needs in the community and the characteristics of families on its waiting list. Preferences that assist the poorest people with the greatest need are best. The impact of any preference should be carefully considered. Some of the most common preferences are reviewed below: a. Preference for homeless families A preference for the families who are homeless helps those with the greatest need. Your housing authority gets to say what “homeless” means. A homeless family may be defined as one or more of the following: · a family with no fixed address · a family that sleeps in an emergency shelter · a family that lives in a transitional residence, and/or · a family that sleeps in a place not meant for living (i.e., an abandoned building, their car, etc.) Your housing authority could add to this definition. It could also create an additional preference for families who are “at risk of homelessness”. Families “at risk” of becoming homelessness may include families who are doubled-up or living in severely overcrowded conditions. b. Preference for victims of domestic violence The government urges housing authorities to consider giving a preference to victims of domestic violence. Providing a preference for public housing may be the only way that a victim can escape an abusive situation. Your housing authority gets to say what “domestic violence” means. The domestic violence preference should include victims of physical violence as well as victims of psychological violence. The preference should be in place whether the abuser is a family member or not. A family may be subject to domestic abuse if any member is abused by either a family or a non family member. Providing a preference for admission to public housing may be the only way that a victim can escape the violence. c. Preference for people who live in the area (“residency”) A residency preference is a preference for families who live in the jurisdiction of the housing authority. If your housing authority decides to include a residency preference, those who work in the jurisdiction must also be treated as residents. Those who are in a training program in the jurisdiction may also count. What is the problem with residency preferences? They may result in illegal discrimination. For example, let’s say the neighborhood inside of the jurisdiction is mostly white, while the surrounding neighborhood (outside of the jurisdiction) is mostly Latino and African-American. A residency preference may result in the exclusion of the Latino and African-American families who also need housing. If your housing authority has a residency preference, it must guarantee that it will not delay or deny housing to anyone based on race, color, ethnic origin, gender, religion, disability or age. A residency preference may not include a time requirement. In other words, a family does not have to live in a certain jurisdiction for a stated period of time before they count as residents. d. Preference for working families A preference for working families provides a preference to a family if the head of household or spouse is working. If your housing authority adopts this preference, it must also give the preference to families with a head of household or spouse who is elderly or disabled. Your housing authority gets to say what “work” means in this case. Its definition of “work” can include people who are: · receiving unemployment benefits · enrolled in job training · taking classes, such as literacy classes · enrolled in school, such as a GED program It can also define work by the number of hours worked; for example, “20 hours per week”. What is the problem with a preference for working families? It may also result in illegal discrimination. Your housing authority should look at the effect of a preference for working families on communities such as African-Americans, Latinos, and others. 4. HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHICH PREFERENCES ARE BEST? The best thing to do is read each preference carefully. Think about the impact each preference has on applicants and residents. Here are some good questions to ask: · How is each preference defined? Remember, if your housing authority says it has a preference for residents who “work,” it gets to say what “work” means. Who will qualify? Who will be left out? · What is the purpose of the preference? Does the preference achieve its purpose? · How will the preference affect people on the waiting list? · How will the preference affect applicants from different groups (racial or ethnic minorities, senior citizens, disabled people)? · Will the preference harm families with children by making them wait longer for housing? · Will the preference give housing assistance to families with higher incomes? Will it make people with greater need wait longer? · If your housing authority selects a residency preference, is it fair? To find out, review the information that the housing authority used to make the non-discrimination certification. (The “non-discrimination certification” is the housing authority’s promise that its residency preference won’t discriminate against minorities or any other group of people.) 5. WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO ABOUT PREFERENCES? ‡ Find out how effective your housing authority’s preferences are Ask your housing authority to report on the preferences they are using. ‡ Help improve awareness of your housing authority’s preferences Make sure that the preferences listed in your housing authority’s PHA Plan are also stated in the Admission and Occupancy Plan and in applicant admission forms Make sure that your housing authority tells applicants about the preferences ‡ Help improve preferences Find out if your housing authority staff is trained and knowledgeable about the preferences FOR MORE INFORMATION · 42 U.S.C.A. § 1437d(c)(4); 24 C.F.R. § 960.206 (2003) (General) · 24 C.F.R. §§ 960.206(b)(ii); 982.207(b)(ii) (2003) (Residency) · 24 C.F.R. §§ 5.655(c)(1)(i); 960.206(b)(1)(i); 982.207(b)(1)(i) (2003) (Working Families) · HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (National Housing Law Project, 2004) Chapter 2 § 2.3 on Preferences _______________ ABOUT THIS FACT SHEET Public Housing Fact Sheet #3 was developed by the National Housing Law Project. Public Housing residents, resident groups and nonprofit organizations may reprint this Fact Sheet freely, but must give credit to the National Housing Law Project. All others must request permission to reprint by contacting us at nhlp@nhlp.org. |