PUBLIC HOUSING RENT FREEZE

PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, through local Public Housing Authorities.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: The Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 includes an earned income disregard applicable to the rent paid by people living in federally subsidized rental housing owned and managed by Public Housing Authorities. People in Public Housing Authority rentals, or people with disabilities who are receiving assistance under Section 8 (Housing Choice Voucher Program), Supportive Housing Program (SHP), Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), and HOME programs. People who meet these qualifications, and who have a new or better paying job, must then meet one of the following qualifications:

• Have been unemployed for a year or more, or earned less than $3000 in the last twelve months, or
• Are in a job training or other economic self-sufficiency program, or
• Received TFA benefits within the past six months

may qualify for this earned income disregard. For most people, this earned income disregard will work like a simple rent freeze, in steps: for the first twelve months, there is no rent increase; for the second twelve months the rent may be increased by half; in the third twelve months, the rent may be increased to the full amount, depending upon income. Tenants receiving this earned income disregard must report changes in income and/or employment status to their housing authority.

HOW TO APPLY: Submit a written request to your Housing Authority. Call Statewide Legal Services (SLS) for information on what to write in your letter. If you do not receive the earned income disregard, submit a written request for a grievance hearing, and call SLS for further information. Also, ask your Housing Authority and SLS if you were previously eligible for an earned income disregard. You may qualify to get some of your rent back.

TO FIND PROVIDERS IN CONNECTICUT'S COMMUNITY RESOURCES DATABASE:

• Search by service name: Housing Authorities

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SOURCES: HUD Mandatory Earned Income Disregard from Annual Income (24 CFR 5.609); Connecticut Alliance For Basic Human Needs
PREPARED BY: 211/kq
CONTENT LAST REVIEWED: March2012