SECTION 5.802. Waiting List

(a) Purpose. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires that the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (the Department), in its role as a public housing authority (PHA) administering a Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, adopt a clear approach to accepting applications, placing households on the waiting list, and selecting households from the waiting list. This rule provides the Department's policies for taking applications, managing the waiting list and selecting households for HCV assistance specifically for its 34-county jurisdictional area.

(b) Applicability.

(1) This rule is applicable only to the specific geographically limited jurisdiction of the Department. This jurisdictional area is comprised of discrete areas within counties (currently 34), but may be expanded or reduced upon action of the Board. The jurisdictional area reflected on the Department's website will serve as the jurisdictional area for the purpose of this rule.

(2) This rule does not apply to the waiting list for statewide Project Access vouchers which is addressed in §5.801 of this chapter (relating to Project Access Initiative). The rule does not address the specific waiting list process for project-based vouchers administered by the Department or for VASH vouchers administered by the Department. Should any special purpose vouchers be received by the Department that serve specific populations or geographic areas other than the geographically limited jurisdiction of the Department referenced in paragraph (1) of this subsection, these waiting lists policies are not required to be utilized. Additionally, certain households might be accepted into the HCV program if required by 24 CFR §982.203, or at the direction of HUD, as directed by a court of law, or as part of a TDHCA conciliation agreement.

(c) Definitions and HUD Regulations.

(1) While the HUD regulations in 24 CFR Parts 5, §§903 and 982 use the word "family," in order to be consistent with other rules in this Part, this rule will use the word "household." Both words are intended to have the same meaning.

(2) Nothing in this rule is intended to conflict with federal statutes or regulations that govern the HCV assistance. If HUD mandates a process or procedure to be used for application or waiting list management that is not identified in this rule, the Department will follow HUD's direction and will amend this rule as soon as practicable.

(d) Outreach and Affirmative Marketing.

(1) HUD regulations require that all households have an equal opportunity to apply for and receive housing assistance, and that the PHA affirmatively further fair housing goals in the administration of the program (24 CFR §982.53).

(2) The Department will conduct sufficient outreach to ensure that a sufficient number of applications will be received. HUD requires that at least 75% of the households served by the Department are extremely low-income households, and therefore the Department may need to conduct special outreach to ensure that an adequate number of extremely low-income households apply for assistance. All outreach will specify the number of households that will be accepted onto the waiting list.

(3) All outreach efforts relating to the opening of the waiting list will take place at least 7 calendar days prior to the first day of the application acceptance period, but no longer than 45 calendar days prior to the first day of the application acceptance period.

(4) Prior to performing outreach efforts for the opening of the waiting list, the Department will analyze the characteristics of the population being served by the program and the characteristics of the population as a whole in the PHA's jurisdiction to identify underserved populations. Targeted outreach efforts will be undertaken if a comparison suggests that certain populations are underrepresented in the program. Outreach materials will be provided in English, Spanish, and any other language as determined by a 4-factor analysis within each county service area.

(5) Outreach efforts will include:

(A) marketing through press releases to local newspapers, including minority newspapers;

(B) communicating with councils of governments, regional planning councils, and community action agencies, whose jurisdictions include any one of the counties in the jurisdiction of the Department, to:

(i) request that they distribute informational materials and flyers to their clients;

(ii) offer training so that they can assist households with submitting an online application; and

(iii) request that they make available a computer or web interface for clients to apply;

(C) developing partnerships with other organizations that serve the low-income population and agencies that provide services to elderly persons, people with disabilities, and people with Limited English proficiency (LEP); and

(D) clear guidance on how a person with a disability can request a reasonable accommodation for the application process.

(6) The Department will maintain a designated telephone number where interested persons can receive specific directions on how and when to apply.

(e) Application.

(1) The Department will utilize an electronic application process available in multiple languages.

(2) Any household that wishes to receive HCV assistance must apply for admission to the program.

(3) All applications must be received through the Department's online application tool. Applications received in the mail or by hand delivery will not be considered.

(4) To be placed on the waiting list only an initial pre-application is required to be submitted. However, the Department may elect to skip the pre-application and use only the full application. Only when an applicant is being pulled from the waiting list to be offered a voucher will a full application submission be required. Form HUD-92006, Supplement to Application for Federally Assisted Housing, must be submitted as an attachment to the Department's full application. A household must submit the completed pre-application or application to ensure that the Department receives the information needed to determine the household's eligibility.

(5) Application Acceptance Period. Applications will be accepted for a 14 calendar day period.

(6) Individuals who have a disability which would prevent them from making an application online may call the Department to make special arrangements so that Department staff can complete their application in time to be included in the lottery process. A Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) is available for the deaf.

(f) Placement on Waiting List.

(1) No applicant has a right or entitlement to be listed on the waiting list, or to any particular position on the waiting list (24 CFR §982.202(c)).

(2) Placement on the waiting list does not indicate that the household is, in fact, eligible for assistance. A final determination of eligibility will be made when the household is selected from the waiting list.

(3) Creation of Waiting List. The Department will establish a single waiting list for its jurisdictional area. The Department will announce in its outreach documents the total number of households it will place on its waiting list. Except for households on a project-based waiting list, all households that are on a special purpose waiting list at the beginning of the application acceptance period and that wish to live in the Department's jurisdictional area will be placed first on the jurisdictional waiting list based on the time they have been on the special purpose waiting list (i.e. oldest time on any special purpose waiting list gets assigned the first number). All other applications received during the application acceptance period will be assigned a number using a random number generator, called a lottery process. These applications will then be placed in numerical order according to that assigned number. The Department will then place applicants on the waiting list up to the number of households the Department announced it would accept on its waiting list in rising numerical order (inclusive of the households automatically placed on the jurisdictional waiting list because they were on a special purpose waiting list at the beginning of the application acceptance period). All other applications not within the number being accepted on the wait list will not be placed on the waiting list. All applications submitted will be notified in writing of having been added to the waiting list and their number ranking, or that they were not placed on the waiting list.

(4) Ineligible for Placement on the Waiting List. If the Department can determine from the information provided that a household is ineligible, the household will not be placed on the waiting list or be able to participate in the lottery process described in this section for placement on the waiting list. Where a household is determined to be ineligible, the Department will send written notification of the ineligibility determination within 14 calendar days of receiving the complete application from the Department at the Department headquarters (24 CFR §982.201(f)).The notice will specify the reasons for ineligibility, and will inform the household of its right to request an informal review and explain the process for doing so.

(5) Applicants with Special Purpose Characteristics. The application for the jurisdictional waiting list will ask if the household qualifies for any of the open special purpose waiting lists that the Department maintains, except for a project-based waiting list or a waiting list in which a household may not directly apply. The applicant household, if qualified, may be added to one or more special purpose waiting lists at the end of the application acceptance period, but this will not impact their lottery number for the jurisdictional waiting list.

(6) If the Department permanently absorbs vouchers from another housing authority and is reassigned the contract by HUD, the waiting list from the other housing authority will be maintained, in its existing order, but will not be further expanded. That waiting list will be treated as separate from the rest of the Department's waiting list until it has been depleted. If after absorption of that area, the Department opens its jurisdictional waiting list, applicants located in the absorbed area will be eligible to also apply to this waiting list.

(g) Selection of Households from the Waiting List.

(1) The actual order in which households are selected from the waiting list can be affected if a household has certain characteristics designated by HUD or the Department to receive preferential treatment, such as being impacted by a particular declared disaster. Funding earmarked exclusively for households with particular characteristics may also alter the order in which households are served. HUD requires that extremely low-income (ELI) households make up at least 75% of the households admitted to the HCV program during the Department's fiscal year. ELI households are those with annual incomes at or below 30% of the area median income. To ensure this requirement is met, the Department may skip non-ELI household on the waiting list in order to select an ELI household. (24 CFR §982.201(b)(2)). The skipped non-ELI household will retain its position on the waiting list. Low-income households admitted to the program that are "continuously assisted" under the 1937 Housing Act (24 CFR 982.4(b)), as well as low-income or moderate-income households admitted to the program that are displaced as a result of the prepayment of the mortgage or voluntary termination of an insurance contract on eligible low-income housing, are not counted for income targeting purposes (24 CFR §982.201(b)(2)(v)).

(2) When a voucher becomes available, the Department will select the household at the top of the waiting list. The order of admission from the waiting list IS NOT based on household size, or on the household unit size for which the household qualifies under the occupancy guidelines. If the Department does not have sufficient funds to subsidize the household unit size of the household at the top of the waiting list, the Department WILL NOT skip the top household to admit an applicant with a smaller household unit size. Instead, the household at the top of the waiting list will be admitted when sufficient funds are available. (24 CFR §982.204(d) and (e)).

(3) When a household comes to the top of the waiting list and the Department is ready to issue a voucher, the household will be notified and required to complete the full application. The household will also be required to complete a Personal Declaration Form. A household that does not respond to the request for full application more than three times will be sent a notice consistent with program policies removing them from the waiting list.

(4) A household's decision to apply for, receive, or refuse non-PHA federal, state, or local housing assistance will not affect the household's placement on the jurisdictional waiting list, or any preferences for which the household may qualify, except as specified in §5.801 of this chapter.

(h) Reporting Changes in Household Circumstances While On the Waiting List. While a household is on the waiting list, the household must immediately inform the Department of changes in contact information, including current residence, mailing address, and phone number. The changes must be submitted in writing. Failure to provide this information may prevent the Department from being able to reach a household if a voucher becomes available and may result in removal from the waiting list.

(i) Updating of the Waiting List and Removal from the Waiting List.

(1) To insure that the Department's waiting list reflects the most current applicant information the waiting list may be updated no less than every twelve months.

(2) Process.

(A) To update the waiting list, the Department will send an update request to each household on the waiting list to determine whether the household continues to be interested in, and qualifies for, the program. This update request will be sent to the last address on record for the household and to any email address provided by the household.

(B) The update request will provide a deadline by which the household must respond, which will be approximately 10 days from the date the letter is sent, and will state that failure to respond will result in the applicant's name being removed from the waiting list.

(C) The household's response to the Department must be in writing and may be delivered, by mail, or by email. Responses should be postmarked or received by the Department no later than the deadline specified in the Department's letter.

(D) If the household fails to respond by the specified deadline, the household will be removed from the waiting list without further notice. If the notice is returned to the Department by the post office with no forwarding address, the applicant will be removed from the waiting list without further notice. If the notice is returned to the Department by the post office with a forwarding address, the notice will be re-sent to the address indicated. The household will have a new deadline specified by which to respond.

(3) Removal from the Waiting List.

(A) If a household is removed from the waiting list for failure to respond, the Department may reinstate the household to their former position on the waiting list if it determines that the lack of response was due to Department error, or to circumstances beyond the household's control. Greater flexibility in this criteria may be provided as a reasonable accommodation.

(B) If a household is removed from the waiting list because they have failed to respond to the Department's request for more information/updates or the Department has determined that they are no longer eligible for assistance, a notice will be sent to the household's address of record as well as to any alternate address or email address provided on the initial application. The notice will state the reasons the household was removed from the waiting list and will inform the household that they have 10 calendar days from the date of the written correspondence to request an informal review of the Department's decision (24 CFR §982.201(f)).

(C) If a household accepts a tenant-based public housing voucher from the Department, the household will be removed from all tenant-based public housing Department waiting lists.

Source Note: The provisions of this §5.802 adopted to be effective August 1, 2021, 46 TexReg 4450