The Trainer — August 2013
EVICTING RESIDENTS WHO ABANDON THEIR UNITS; GETTING PROOF OF SSNs
In this month’s feature, we discussed how to determine whether a household has abandoned its unit, and what steps to take before you should ask a court to evict the household so you can clean out the unit, terminate the household’s assistance, and re-rent the unit. If you act too quickly, you may not be able to prove to a court that the household abandoned the unit, and you’ll lose your case. Or the household may return and sue you for illegally evicting it. To build the strongest possible case against a household you suspect has abandoned its unit, we gave you five steps to take.
In our article on getting acceptable proof of an applicant household’s Social Security numbers (SSNs), we reviewed what documents you can accept to prove (or verify) a household member’s SSN. And we told you what to do if a household member doesn’t have an SSN or doesn’t have one of the specified documents.
QUIZ
QUESTION #1
HUD says you can evict a household that has abandoned its unit only if your site has a house rule that gives guidelines on what constitutes abandonment. True or false?
a. True.
b. False.
QUESTION #2
If you suspect abandonment, you may not enter and inspect the household’s unit without getting the police to accompany you. True or false?
a. True.
b. False.
QUESTION #3
There’s no sense in mailing a notice to a household whose members haven’t been seen at the site for more than a month; you should promptly turn the matter over to your attorney to start an eviction case against them. True or false?
a. True.
b. False.
QUESTION #4
When you ask your attorney to start an eviction case against a household you suspect of abandonment, you just need to tell her how long it has been since anyone has seen the household members at the site, based on the memo you put in the household's file when you began tracking their absence. True or false?
a. True.
b. False.
QUESTION #5
Aside from an original Social Security card, which of the following documents does HUD consider to be acceptable proof of a household member’s SSN?
a. Driver’s license.
b. Identification card issued by a federal, state, or local agency, a medical insurance provider, or an employer or trade union.
c. Earnings statements on payroll stubs.
d. Bank statement.
e. All of the above.
QUESTION #6
If a household member can’t provide proof of his SSN, you may give him 60 days to get an acceptable document to you. True or false?
a. True.
b. False.
QUESTION #7
If a household member over the age of 6 claims she doesn’t have an SSN, you must deny the household’s application. True or false?
a. True.
b. False.
ANSWERS & EXPLANATIONS
QUESTION #1
Correct answer: b
False. HUD makes clear that you can evict households that “abandon” their units by being absent for a set period, not paying rent, and not responding to your notices about the overdue rent [HUD Handbook 4350.3, par. 6-9 (B)(2)]. Although you don’t have to have a house rule on abandonment, if you don’t have one, it’s a good idea to adopt one. And if you do have one, review it whenever you suspect a household has abandoned its unit.
QUESTION #2
Correct answer: b
False. While you don’t need to have the police present to conduct a unit inspection, it’s a good idea to ask them to accompany you. Tell them that you haven’t seen household members for some time and are concerned that something is wrong. A police report covering what officers saw in the unit could help to support your eviction case. And if police officers were with you, household members would have a harder time claiming later that you stole things from their unit when you entered it.
QUESTION #3
Correct answer: b
False. Trying to contact the household by mail will show HUD and a court that you made a reasonable effort to deal with the situation before seeking eviction. You can address the letter to the unit even though the household is absent from the site. The letter might be forwarded to household members if, for example, they left a forwarding address at the post office. Or someone may periodically be picking up and forwarding their mail.
QUESTION #4
Correct answer: b
False. Tell your site’s attorney about all of the lease violations the household has committed—such as nonpayment of rent and unsanitary conditions in the unit—not just its long, unexplained absence from the site. Your attorney should cite all of the violations when putting together the eviction case. Then, if household members return and claim that they didn’t intend to give up their unit, you’ll still have other reasons to support an eviction case.
QUESTION #5
Correct answer: e
All of the above. In addition, the following documents are also considered acceptable proof: Form 1099, a benefit award letter, a retirement benefit letter, a life insurance policy, or court records.
QUESTION #6
Correct answer: a
True. Also, require the member to certify that the SSN he gave you is accurate but that he can’t provide acceptable documentation of the number [Handbook 4350.3, par. 3-9(C)(1)]. Once you have the member’s SSN and certification, continue to process the application. If you determine that the household is otherwise eligible for admission to the site, except for the missing proof of SSN document, keep the household’s place on the waiting list during the 60-day period [Handbook 4350.3, par. 3-9(C)(4)]. But don’t move the household into a unit, even if it’s eligible on all grounds except for the missing SSN documentation, until you get acceptable proof of the member’s SSN.
QUESTION #7
Correct answer: b
False. You shouldn’t reject the household’s application. Instead, require the household member without an SSN to certify that she doesn’t have one [Handbook 4350.3, par. 3-9(A)(2)]. A household member who has never been issued an SSN is eligible for housing assistance provided that she signs a certification like this. You can reject a household’s application if a member refuses to sign this certification [Handbook 4350.3, par. 4-9(B)(2)].