How to Incorporate HOTMA Discretionary Policies into Tenant Selection Plans

Update your Tenant Selection Plan by March 31.

 

According to the HUD Handbook, multifamily housing owners are required to develop and make public written tenant selection policies and procedures. This Tenant Selection Plan (TSP) describes the procedures for processing and selecting applicants, including the establishment of preferences and priorities, occupancy standards, rejection standards, and notice requirements. It helps ensure that tenants are selected for occupancy in accordance with HUD requirements and established management policies.

Chapter 4 of HUD Handbook 4350.3 outlines both required topics and recommended topics for TSPs. But with this year’s implementation of the Housing Opportunity through Modernization Act’s (HOTMA) changes to income calculations and reviews, some previously recommended topics are now mandatory. And before the full compliance deadline with the HOTMA final rule by Jan. 1, 2025, HUD is requiring project-based Section 8 owners to update their TSPs and Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) policies and procedures to reflect HOTMA policies no later than March 31, 2024. Owners also must make the revised TSP publicly available by this date.

To help accomplish this, HUD has published a list of policies in which owners have discretion when implementing HOTMA. Discretionary policies are areas where owners have flexibility to define policies within a given set of parameters. We’ll go over these discretionary policies and identify considerations you need to make before you incorporate them into your site’s operations and TSP to comply with HOTMA provisions.

Self-Certification of Net Household Assets

A mandatory or non-discretionary policy is one that’s set in statute and by HUD. This type of policy allows no flexibility for owners. According to HUD, it’s a mandatory policy that Section 8 owners determine the value of net family assets and the income earned on assets at admission and annually.

The HOTMA statute introduced limitations on assistance to households that own certain assets. These include when total assets exceed $100,000 (as adjusted for inflation) and when a household owns real property that’s suitable for occupancy.

In determining whether the net family assets for a household exceed $100,000 (as adjusted for inflation), an owner has the option to streamline the verification process by choosing to accept a declaration from the household that their net assets don’t exceed $50,000 (as adjusted for inflation), without needing to further verify that declaration at admission and/or at reexamination. Owners must include their choice in their TSPs.

Owners who choose not to accept self-certification must verify net family assets every year. But owners who choose to accept self-certification of net family assets equal to or less than $50,000 at reexamination are required to fully verify net family assets every three years.

Accepting self-certifications streamlines reexaminations and may be less burdensome for owners. And accepting self-certification at admission may reduce the initial burden on applicants and speed up the leasing process.

In deciding whether to accept a self-certification of assets at admission, HUD encourages owners to consider the local needs and priorities in their communities along with the potential risks, including the requirement to repay funds for participants who are later found to be ineligible for assistance.

Sample Language

ABC Properties will determine net household assets and anticipated income earned from assets at new admission [based solely on a household self-certification that their net household assets are equal to or less than $50,000. / by fully verifying the information reported by the household, regardless of the household having assets that are equal to or less than $50,000].

After a household’s assets of $50,000 or less have been self-certified for two years in a row, at the next annual reexamination, ABC Properties will fully verify net household assets and anticipated income earned from assets. After fully verifying the household’s net household assets, ABC Properties will resume accepting self-certification until the third annual reexamination following the most recent full verification. If net household assets are greater than $50,000, assets will be fully verified.

When fully verifying assets, ABC Properties will obtain a minimum of [one] account statement to verify the balance and any interest on accounts, including any checking and savings accounts.

Hardship Exemption: Medical Care Expenses, Attendant Care, Auxiliary Apparatus

There are two types of hardship exemptions to the 10 percent threshold for deducting unreimbursed health and medical care expenses (for elderly and disabled families) and reasonable attendant care and auxiliary apparatus expenses (for families that include a person with disabilities).

Phased-in relief. This first category is for households eligible for and taking the unreimbursed health and medical care expenses and reasonable attendant care and auxiliary apparatus expenses deduction in effect before Jan. 1, 2024. It’s mandatory HOTMA policy that all households who received a deduction for unreimbursed health and medical care and/or reasonable attendant care or auxiliary apparatus expenses based on their most recent income review prior to Jan. 1, 2024, will begin receiving the 24-month phased-in relief at their next annual or interim reexamination, whichever occurs first, on or after the date the owner complies with HOTMA. The phased-in relief schedule is cited in the sample language below.

According to HUD, owners may continue the phased-in relief for a new admission who was receiving the phased-in relief at their prior assisted housing at the time that the household is admitted to their current unit. This discretionary policy should be stated in the TSP. For example, a household is admitted to a new site, but they would have still been receiving the 24-month phased-in hardship exemption had they continued to reside in their previous unit at a different site. Owners may establish a policy to continue the phased-in hardship exemption for the family’s remaining months in the 24-month phase-in period.

Sample Language

Phased-in Relief

• All households who received a deduction for unreimbursed health and medical care and/or reasonable attendant care or auxiliary apparatus expenses based on their most recent income examination prior to January 1, 2024, will begin receiving the 24-month phased-in relief at their next annual or interim reexamination, whichever occurs first after the site implements HOTMA (this date will be publicly announced when available).
• Households who receive this phased-in relief will have eligible expenses deducted as follows:
  • 1st 12 months—in excess of 5% of annual income.
  • 2nd 12 months—in excess of 7.5% of annual income.
  • After 24 months—in excess of 10% threshold will phase in and remain in effect unless the family qualifies for general hardship relief.
• Once a household chooses to obtain General Relief, a family may no longer receive the phased-in relief.

General Relief. This second category is for households that can demonstrate that the family’s health and medical care expenses or reasonable attendant care and auxiliary apparatus expenses increased, or the households’ financial hardship is a result of a change in circumstances that would not otherwise trigger an interim reexamination.

It’s mandatory HOTMA policy that owners provide hardship relief to a household that demonstrates its eligible health and medical care expenses, or reasonable attendant care and auxiliary apparatus expenses, exceed 5 percent of the family’s annual income.

An increase in health and medical care, reasonable attendant care, and auxiliary apparatus expenses constitutes a qualifying eligibility factor, so long as it exceeds 5 percent of the family's annual income. With qualifying hardships, the owner will deduct eligible expenses in excess of 5 percent of the household’s income for a period of up to 90 days.

HUD says owners must develop written policies in their TSPs defining what constitutes a hardship and how the owner will verify the hardship. The owner must also decide the maximum number of 90-day extension periods (if allowing any) a household may receive, while the hardship condition exists. Owners aren’t limited by HUD to a maximum number of 90-day extensions. And owners must obtain third-party verification of the hardship or must document in the file the reason that third-party verification wasn’t available. Owners must attempt to obtain third-party verification before the end of the 90-day hardship period.

Sample Language

A household may request a hardship exemption for health or medical care expenses, reasonable attendant care, or auxiliary apparatus expenses.

Eligibility: A household must demonstrate that their applicable expenses increased or they experienced a change in circumstances that resulted in a financial hardship, as defined below, that would not otherwise trigger an interim reexamination. This relief is available regardless of whether the household previously received health and medical deductions or is currently receiving, or previously received, a phased-in hardship exemption under 5.611(c)(1).

A change in circumstances includes the need for new, qualifying, health/medical, reasonable attendant care, and auxiliary apparatus expenses or an increase in the cost of qualifying expenses so that qualifying expenses exceed 5% of the household’s annual income.

The exemption ends when the circumstances that made the household eligible for the exemption no longer apply or after 90 days, whichever comes earlier.

If the household wishes to request a successive 90-day period for the exemption, they must make that request within [5] days of the end of the current eligibility period and must demonstrate to the site why an additional period of exemption is warranted.

If ABC Properties determines that the expense giving rise to the hardship exemption will not end within 90 days, ABC HOUSING AGENCY may grant one or more 90-day extensions in advance.

ABC Properties will not consider [more than four (4) consecutive] requests for this hardship exemption.

Verification: ABC Properties must obtain third-party verification of the household’s inability to pay rent or must document in the file the reason third-party verification was not available. ABC Properties must attempt to obtain third-party verification prior to the end of the 90-day period.

ABC Properties must comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Privacy Act of 1974 when requesting documentation to determine eligibility for a financial hardship exemption for unreimbursed health and medical care expenses.

ABC Properties may not request documentation beyond what is sufficient to determine anticipated health and medical care and/or reasonable attendant care and auxiliary apparatus costs or when a change in circumstances took place. Before placing bills and documentation in the household file, ABC Properties will redact all personally identifiable information.

Hardship Exemption: Continued Childcare Expense Deduction

Any reasonable childcare expenses necessary to enable a member of a household to be employed or to further his or her education may be deducted from income. This means that the amount of childcare expenses may be deducted from the household’s annual income in determining their adjusted annual income and therefore their rent. The expenses that can be deducted cannot exceed the amount of income earned by the person who is able to work due to the childcare.

HOTMA allows for a household whose eligibility for the childcare expense deduction is ending to request a financial hardship exemption to continue the deduction. The household must demonstrate that they’re unable to pay their rent because of loss of this deduction, and the childcare expense is still necessary even though the family member is no longer employed or furthering education. For example, the parent who was working due to the childcare had to leave their job to care for a sick family member. To provide this unpaid care, they continue to need childcare.

Owners are required to develop written policies to define what constitutes a hardship, which includes the family’s inability to pay rent, for the purposes of this childcare expense hardship exemption. Owners must include this policy in their TSPs. And owners must obtain third-party verification of the family’s inability to pay rent or must document in the file with the reason third-party verification was not available. Owners must attempt to obtain third-party verification prior to the end of the 90-day period.

It’s up to the owner’s discretion to extend the hardship relief for one or more additional 90-day periods while the household’s hardship condition continues. And owners must include in their TSPs whether they will allow extensions of the 90-day hardship period and the maximum number of 90-day extension periods (if establishing a maximum policy) that a household may receive.

Sample Language

It is the policy of ABC Properties to offer general hardship relief for the childcare deduction. A household is considered to have a hardship when:

• The household’s share of total housing costs exceeds 35 percent of adjusted household income; or
• When the family would be evicted because it is unable to pay the tenant portion of the rent.

Childcare hardship includes the following situations:

• A death has occurred in the family. To qualify under this provision, a household must describe how the death has created a need for childcare.
• A health/medical issue in the household which has created the need for childcare. To qualify under this provision, a household must describe how the health or medical issues have created a need for childcare.

It is the policy of ABC Properties to extend the childcare expense deduction for additional 90-day periods if the family demonstrates that they are unable to pay their rent because of loss of the childcare expense deduction, and the childcare expense is still necessary even though the family member is no longer employed, looking for work, or furthering his or her education.

• ABC Properties may extend the hardship exemption for additional 90-day periods based on household circumstances.
• ABC Properties may terminate the hardship exemption if it is determined that the family no longer needs the exemption.
• The childcare deduction may continue to be necessary when the family has a hardship so that they continue to need childcare.

Households must report if the circumstances that made the family eligible for the hardship exemption are no longer applicable. If the family reports the change in circumstances in a timely manner [(within 7 days)] ABC Properties will provide the household with [30 days] advance notice of any rent increase, and such rent increase will be effective the first day of the month beginning after the end of that [30-day] notice period.

If the family does not report the change in a timely manner, the adjustment will be made retroactive to the date it would have been effective had the information been provided on a timely basis. The family will be responsible for any underpaid rent and may be offered a repayment agreement.

De Minimis Errors in Income Determinations

De minimis errors occur when a determination of a household’s income is different from the correct income determination by no more than $30 per month in monthly adjusted income (or $360 in annual adjusted income). HUD may revise the amount of de minimis error though rulemaking.

Owners must include in their TSPs how they will credit or repay a household if the family was overcharged tenant rent because of the error in income determination, regardless of the dollar amount of the error (including de minimis errors). Owners may choose how they will repay or credit a family the amount they were overcharged.

The credit or repayment must be retroactive to the effective date of the action the error was made. Households won’t be required to repay the owner in instances where the site miscalculated income resulting in a household being undercharged rent.

Sample Language

Once ABC Properties becomes aware of the existence of an income calculation error, the error(s) will be corrected retroactive to the effective date of the action resulting in an error regardless of the dollar amount associated with the error.

Households will not be required to repay ABC Properties in instances where ABC HOUSING AGENCY miscalculated income resulting in a household being undercharged for rent. Once ABC Properties becomes aware of the error the family will be provided with a 30-day notice of the increase to their rent portion.

ABC Properties will take corrective action to credit or repay a household if the household was overcharged tenant rent, including de minimis errors, in the income determination. ABC Properties will provide an immediate rent credit. If the amount of the credit would be more than the rent due ABC Properties will provide payment to the household within [1 week] of becoming aware of the error.

Interim Reexaminations

A household may request an interim determination of family income or composition because of any changes since the last determination. An owner must conduct any interim reexamination within a reasonable period of time after the household request or when the owner becomes aware of a change in the family’s adjusted income.

Timely reporting of changes. Owners must adopt policies prescribing when and under what conditions a household must report a change in family income or composition. And the household must report household composition changes and changes to adjusted income consistent with HOTMA and owner requirements.

The owner has discretion in determining how soon a family must report a change for it to be considered timely and the TSP must include this information along with the consequences of untimely reporting the changes in income, deductions, and family and household composition.

The owner must conduct any interim reexamination within a “reasonable time,” which may vary based on the amount of time it takes to verify information but generally shouldn’t be longer than 30 days after changes are reported. If the owner allows retroactive rent decreases, the TSP must specify under what conditions or extenuating circumstances a retroactive decrease will be allowed. A retroactive rent decrease may not be applied prior to the later of:

• The first of the month following the date of the actual decrease in income.
• The first of the month following the most recent regular annual or interim reexamination.

Sample Language

Households must report all changes in household income or composition within [15 or another number] calendar [or business] days from the effective date of the change to be considered “timely.”

Timely reporting related to an increase in rent: When a household reports a change in family income or composition that will result in an increase in tenant rent, the household must be provided a minimum of 30 calendar days’ notice of the rent increase. The rent increase will be effective on the first of the month following the end of the 30-day notice.

Timely reporting related to a decrease in rent: For families that report changes in family income or composition within [15 or another number] calendar days from the effective date of the change that results in a decrease in tenant rent, the decrease will be effective the first day of the month after the date of the actual change leading to the interim reexamination of family income.

Untimely reporting related to an increase in rent: Households that do not report changes in household income or composition within [15 or another number] calendar days from the effective date of the change that will result in an increase to tenant rent will have the rent increase implemented retroactively to the first of the month following the date of the change leading to the interim reexamination. The household will owe a one-time payment equal to the difference in the rent paid and the new increased rent for each monthly rental period from the time of the change in circumstances through the date of the interim reexamination.

Untimely reporting related to a decrease in rent: When a family does not report a change in a timely manner that will result in a decrease in tenant rent, ABC Properties will implement the decrease no later than the first of the month following completion of the reexamination.

• However, ABC Properties may make a determination that the late report was due to circumstances outside of the household’s control and that the decrease will be implemented retroactively. Situations that may warrant a retroactive rent decrease might include late reporting due to (but not limited to):

• Medical emergency.

• Natural disaster.

• Wage theft by the employer.

• Disruptions to site operations.

• When the determination is made that the late report was outside of the household’s control, then a retroactive decrease may be applied beginning on the later of the first of the month following the date of the actual decrease in income or the effective date of the most recent admission, interim, or annual income examination. A rent adjustment cannot be retroactive to a date prior to the last income examination.

In case of any rent adjustment, the household will be provided with clear, written communication after the interim reexamination that shows:

• Any one-time charge or credit due to a retroactive adjustment;
• The new monthly rent due;
• The date that rent is due; and
• The date of the household’s next annual income reexamination.

Decrease in adjusted income. A household may request an interim reexamination of family income for any change since the last determination. The owner, however, may decline to conduct an interim reexamination of household income if the owner estimates the household’s adjusted income will decrease by an amount that’s less than 10 percent of the family’s annual adjusted income (or a lower amount established by HUD through notice), or a lower threshold established by the owner—which must be included in TSP.

In other words, owners must identify in the TSP the percentage threshold they’ll use for conducting an interim reexamination for decreases in a household’s annual adjusted income. Owners, by discretion, may set an income reduction threshold that’s lower than 10 percent. And owners aren’t permitted to establish a dollar figure threshold amount instead of a percentage threshold. You should keep in mind that in addition to decreases in household income, increases in deductions may produce a sufficient decrease in annual adjusted income to trigger an interim reexamination. Also, owners are required to process interim reexaminations for all decreases in adjusted income when a household member permanently moves out of the unit.

Along with the discretion to choose a threshold of under 10 percent, owners may establish policies to round calculated percentage decreases up or down to the nearest unit. For example, a calculated decrease of 9.5 percent may be rounded up to 10 percent.

Sample Language

An interim reexamination will be conducted when ABC Properties becomes aware that the family’s adjusted income has changed by an amount that is estimated to result in a decrease of [at least 10 percent/other percentage less than 10 percent] or more of the family’s annual adjusted income. Calculated percentage decreases less than 5 percent will be rounded up to their nearest whole number (ex: 4.4 percent will be rounded up to 5 percent.).

Or

An interim reexamination will be conducted when ABC Properties becomes aware that the family’s adjusted income has changed by an amount that is estimated to result in a decrease of 10 percent or more of the household’s annual adjusted income. Calculated percentage decreases less than 10 percent will not be rounded up to the nearest whole number.

Increases in adjusted income. Owners must conduct an interim reexamination of household income when the owner becomes aware that the household’s adjusted income has changed by an amount that the owner estimates will result in an increase of 10 percent or more in annual adjusted income or another amount established through a HUD notice.

However, PHAs may not consider any increases in earned income when estimating or calculating whether the family’s adjusted income has increased, unless the household had a previous interim examination where the household’s income decreased during the same reexamination cycle.

The owner has the discretion to choose not to conduct an interim reexamination if a household reports an increase in income within three months of their next annual reexamination effective date. And an owner can choose not to include earned income increases in determining whether the 10 percent threshold is met for increases in adjusted income when the family previously had an interim reexamination performed for a decrease in annual adjusted income since the last annual reexamination. Owners are required to describe these policies in their TSPs.

Sample Language

ABC Properties will perform an interim reexamination when the family reports a change in adjusted income that will result in an increase of 10 percent or more in annual adjusted income.

ABC Properties will take into consideration not only changes to income but must also consider changes to eligible expenses, if applicable, to determine if an interim reexamination will be completed.

ABC Properties will not consider any increases in earned income when estimating or calculating whether the household’s adjusted income has increased unless the household had a previous interim examination where the household’s income, of any type, decreased during the same reexamination cycle.

Or

ABC Properties will not consider any increases in earned income when estimating or calculating whether the household’s adjusted income has increased, regardless of whether the family had an interim decrease in income since the last annual reexamination. All households are required to report any changes in household income that will result in an increase of 10 percent or more in annual adjusted income, with the exception that households are not required to report any increase in income during the last three months before their regular annual examination.

No interim reexaminations will be conducted due to increases in annual adjusted income in the three months before the next regular annual examination.

Revocation of Consent Form

Revocation of consent or refusal to sign the consent form (Form HUD-9887) bars an owner from requesting and accessing income information and financial records, including pulling EIV reports and using the EIV data to verify income. An executed consent form will remain effective until the household is denied assistance, the assistance is terminated, or the household provides written notification to the owner to revoke consent. Owners may not process interim or annual reexaminations of income, including when a family’s income decreases and the family requests an interim reexamination to decrease tenant rent, without the household’s executed consent form(s).

Households have the right to revoke consent by notice to the owner. But revoking consent can result in termination or denial of assistance if the owner has established a written policy that the revocation of consent will result in termination of assistance or denial of admission.

When owners don’t establish a policy that says revoked consent will result in termination of assistance, households will be required to sign a new consent form by the next regularly scheduled reexamination or interim reexamination, whichever occurs first. And owners may establish policies to deny admission but allow existing participant households to continue to receive assistance after revoking their consent until the next interim or annual reexamination, whichever is sooner. HUD says owners must describe these policies in their TSPs.

Sample Language

The executed consent form (Form HUD-9887) will remain effective until the household is denied assistance, the assistance is terminated, or if the household provides written notification to the ABC Properties to revoke consent.

Households have the right to revoke consent by notice to ABC Properties; however, revoking consent will result in termination or denial of assistance.

Safe Harbor: Income Determination Using Other Public Assistance

Owners aren’t required to accept or use income determinations from other federal means-tested forms of assistance. But owners may determine the household’s income prior to the application of any deductions based on income calculation information from other means-tested forms of federal public assistance programs or agencies made within the previous 12-month period. Means-tested forms of federal public assistance include:

• The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.)
• Medicaid (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.)
• The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.)
• The Earned Income Tax Credit (26 U.S.C. 32)
• The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (26 U.S.C. 42)
• The Special Supplemental Nutrition for Woman, Infants, and Children (42 U.S.C. 1786)
• Supplemental Security Income (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.)
• Other programs administered by the Secretary of HUD
• Other means-tested forms of federal public assistance for which HUD has established a memorandum of understanding
• Other federal benefit determinations made by other means-tested federal programs that the HUD Secretary determines to have comparable reliability and announces through a Federal Register notice.

Owners that choose to implement such a “Safe Harbor” determination must establish in policy when they will accept Safe Harbor income determinations, including which programs they will accept income determinations from, and create policies that outline the course of action when families present multiple verifications from the same or different acceptable Safe Harbor programs. Owners must describe these policies in their TSPs.

Sample Language

ABC Properties may determine the household’s income prior to the application of any deductions based on income calculation information from other means-tested forms of federal public assistance programs or agencies, listed below, made within the previous 12-month period.

The ABC HOUSING AGENCY will use third-party verification, which must include the family size and composition and state the family’s annual income. The verification must be dated within the time frame specified for the type of verification, including within the previous 12-month period for purposes of the specified means-tested forms of federal public assistance. The family members listed in the third-party verification must match the family composition in the assisted unit. The annual income need not be broken down by family members nor income type.

Given that annual income includes income earned from assets, when using Safe Harbor to verify a family’s income, ABC Properties will not inquire as to a family’s net family assets, nor the income earned from those assets except with respect to whether the family owns assets which exceed the asset limitation in 24 CFR § 5.618.

If multiple determinations are available that meet all of the minimum verification criteria, ABC Properties will use the most recent determination (if completed more than three months apart). If determinations were completed within three months, ABC Properties will use them in the following order:

1.     The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program (26 U.S.C. 42).

2.     The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.).

3.     The Special Supplemental Nutrition for Women, Infants, and Children (42 U.S.C. 1786).

4.     The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant (42 U.S.C. 601, et seq.).

5.     Medicaid (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.).

6.     Supplemental Security Income (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.).

7.     The Earned Income Tax Credit (26 U.S.C. 32).

If ABC Properties cannot obtain the required third-party verification, or if the household disputes the determination, ABC Properties will calculate the household’s annual income using the methods established in 24 CFR Sec. 5.609(c)(1) and (2) or in the applicable program regulations.

HUD’s Enterprise Income Verification System

It’s a mandatory policy that owners use HUD’s Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) system in its entirety to verify tenant employment and income information at annual and streamlined reexaminations of household composition and income. But owners are no longer required to use EIV to verify tenant employment and income information during an interim reexamination.

While EIV is required only at annual recertifications, and not at interim recertifications, owners may use EIV for interims if desired. Since the EIV Income Report can take up to 90 days to be updated, it often isn’t helpful during an interim reexamination. Owners that adopt policies to not include earned income increases in determining whether the 10 percent threshold is met for increases in adjusted income when the household previously had an interim reexamination performed for a decrease in annual adjusted income (earned, unearned, or combined) since the last annual reexamination are not required to use the EIV New Hires report between annual reexaminations.

Sites with a policy to consider earned income increases in calculating whether the 10 percent threshold has been met for an interim reexamination are required to review the EIV New Hires report at least quarterly, for the remainder of the reexamination period after the interim reexamination to decrease rent occurs. And owners are not required to use the EIV Income Discrepancy Report at annual reexamination if they used Safe Harbor verification to determine the family’s income at the last reexamination. In addition, owners must update their EIV policies and procedures to reflect their discretionary use of EIV reports under HOTMA.

Sample Language

ABC properties will use HUD’s verification hierarchy when verifying each household’s income, assets, deductions, and expenses.

ABC Properties will access the EIV system and obtain an Income Report for each household during annual recertifications.

Or

ABC Properties will not use the EIV system during interim reexaminations.

Or

ABC Properties will not use the EIV New Hires report between annual reexaminations given the site’s policy to not include earned income increases in determining whether the 10 percent threshold is met for increases in adjusted income when the household previously had an interim reexamination performed for a decrease in annual adjusted income since the last annual reexamination.

Or

ABC Properties will review the EIV New Hires report for households that have an interim reexamination to decrease rent.

ABC Properties will advise households that if it is later determined that a family inaccurately reported income during an interim reexamination, the family may owe ABC Properties for any miscalculation in rent based on the household’s incorrect reporting.