A nonprofit law firm that represents poor people says the Homestead Housing Authority isn’t following federal rules.
By Christina Veiga
cveiga@MiamiHerald.com
The Homestead Housing Authority didn’t follow federal regulations when making changes to the way the agency administers rental assistance, according to a letter from a group of lawyers who represent low-income residents.
The letter stems from a September vote by the authority’s board of commissioners to change its annual and administrative plans, which govern how Homestead gives out vouchers under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 voucher program. The federal government funds the program and the Homestead Housing Authority administers it.
Legal Services of Greater Miami is now asking Homestead to follow the federal guidelines that lay out how changes can be made to the authority’s plans.
An Oct. 4 letter from Legal Services claims that the housing authority:
• Did not advertise all of the proposed changes for 45 days before the changes were voted on, which is required by federal regulations. Housing Authority Executive Director Oscar Hentschel said that Homestead’s new administrative plan didn’t need to be noticed. Federal rules only mention the annual plan, which Hentschel and Legal Services both said was noticed.
• Does not have a resident advisory board, which is required by federal regulations. Hentschel admitted the housing authority doesn’t have a resident advisory board and said there are no plans to create one. The board tried to recruit a tenant to become a member of the commission, but none came forward, he said. Federal rules state that public housing authorities “must establish one or more resident advisory boards.”
• Does not have a policy to address or implement federal requirements under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which provides protections to women who are victims of domestic violence. Hentschel said that the authority does advise tenants of their rights under VAWA.
Gloria Shanahan, a spokeswoman with HUD, wrote in an email: “We will look into this matter to ensure they have followed the proper procedures. If we find that the regulations were not followed, we may require a new process that complies with the regulations. The implementation of the changes to the administration plan may then be delayed until the flaws in the process are corrected.”
Legal Services asks Homestead in its letter to “correct the procedure to allow full public comment before making any permanent changes.”
Hentschel said the housing authority is “in compliance” and already submitted the plans to the local HUD office. The changes will go into affect Nov. 1, he said.
Among the changes that will kick in: the authority will not take into consideration the ages and gender of family members when deciding how many bedrooms a family needs, according to the legal services letter.
“It creates scenarios where children and family members of entirely different generations would share a room,” according to the letter from legal services. “For instance, a teenaged son would share a room with a 4 year old daughter; an adult aunt may share a room with a young nephew; a grandfather with a granddaughter.”
The authority also won’t assign a room for family members who are away in the military for long periods of time, but their income will count toward the amount of rental assistance a family gets.
That “directly hurts those families who serve our country,” Legal Services lawyers wrote.
The letter also argues that the housing authority can’t deny housing to people solely because they have been arrested in the past — something which the authority currently takes into consideration. Legal Services lawyers point to a case in Chicago where a court decided an arrest alone is not enough to deny someone housing.
Follow @Cveiga on Twitter.
The letter stems from a September vote by the authority’s board of commissioners to change its annual and administrative plans, which govern how Homestead gives out vouchers under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 voucher program. The federal government funds the program and the Homestead Housing Authority administers it.
Legal Services of Greater Miami is now asking Homestead to follow the federal guidelines that lay out how changes can be made to the authority’s plans.
An Oct. 4 letter from Legal Services claims that the housing authority:
• Did not advertise all of the proposed changes for 45 days before the changes were voted on, which is required by federal regulations. Housing Authority Executive Director Oscar Hentschel said that Homestead’s new administrative plan didn’t need to be noticed. Federal rules only mention the annual plan, which Hentschel and Legal Services both said was noticed.
• Does not have a resident advisory board, which is required by federal regulations. Hentschel admitted the housing authority doesn’t have a resident advisory board and said there are no plans to create one. The board tried to recruit a tenant to become a member of the commission, but none came forward, he said. Federal rules state that public housing authorities “must establish one or more resident advisory boards.”
• Does not have a policy to address or implement federal requirements under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which provides protections to women who are victims of domestic violence. Hentschel said that the authority does advise tenants of their rights under VAWA.
Gloria Shanahan, a spokeswoman with HUD, wrote in an email: “We will look into this matter to ensure they have followed the proper procedures. If we find that the regulations were not followed, we may require a new process that complies with the regulations. The implementation of the changes to the administration plan may then be delayed until the flaws in the process are corrected.”
Legal Services asks Homestead in its letter to “correct the procedure to allow full public comment before making any permanent changes.”
Hentschel said the housing authority is “in compliance” and already submitted the plans to the local HUD office. The changes will go into affect Nov. 1, he said.
Among the changes that will kick in: the authority will not take into consideration the ages and gender of family members when deciding how many bedrooms a family needs, according to the legal services letter.
“It creates scenarios where children and family members of entirely different generations would share a room,” according to the letter from legal services. “For instance, a teenaged son would share a room with a 4 year old daughter; an adult aunt may share a room with a young nephew; a grandfather with a granddaughter.”
The authority also won’t assign a room for family members who are away in the military for long periods of time, but their income will count toward the amount of rental assistance a family gets.
That “directly hurts those families who serve our country,” Legal Services lawyers wrote.
The letter also argues that the housing authority can’t deny housing to people solely because they have been arrested in the past — something which the authority currently takes into consideration. Legal Services lawyers point to a case in Chicago where a court decided an arrest alone is not enough to deny someone housing.
Follow @Cveiga on Twitter.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/10/19/3058052/lawyers-say-homestead-housing.html#storylink=cpy
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