The Trainer — October 2016
Determining Eligibility of Remaining Household Members
In this month’s feature, we discussed HUD’s rules for determining who can stay at an assisted site after the original qualifying household member dies or moves out of the unit. Whether the remaining member can stay depends on several factors, including the type of assisted site involved.
QUIZ
QUESTION #1
To qualify as a remaining household member at a Section 8 site after a qualifying household member dies or otherwise leaves the unit, the individual must be:
a. Old enough to sign contracts under your state’s laws.
b. Named on the lease when the household member leaves the unit.
c. Both a and b.
QUESTION #2
You manage a Section 202 Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC) site for the elderly and disabled. One of your residents died, and her adult daughter, who’s listed on the lease, would like to stay in the unit. But the daughter doesn’t meet your site’s eligibility requirements in that she’s not elderly or disabled. Can you evict her?
a. Yes.
b. No.
QUESTION #3
The 68-year-old head of a household at your Section 202 PRAC site moves out of the unit, leaving behind her 42-year-old son. The son asks to stay in the unit as a remaining household member. The son meets the income requirements that apply to the site. Must you let him remain in the unit?
a. Yes.
b. No.
ANSWERS & EXPLANATIONS
QUESTION #1
Correct answer: c
Any individual at a Section 8 site who meets these two requirements—including emancipated minors who were previously named on the lease and who have the right to sign contracts in your state—can stay in the unit when another household member moves out or dies. And they can continue to get assistance and pay rent based on their income.
QUESTION #2
Correct answer: b
You must let the daughter stay in the unit. For Section 202 and 811 sites, a remaining household member is eligible to stay after the elderly or disabled household member dies, even if the remaining member doesn’t meet the site’s age or disability requirements, as long as the remaining member is named on the lease, living in the unit when the deceased household member died, and is of legal contract age under your state’s law. Here, because the daughter meets all three of these requirements, she’s entitled to stay in the unit. And she’ll get assistance and pay rent based on her income.
QUESTION #3
Correct answer: b
If the original elderly or disabled household member left the unit for any reason other than death, individuals still living in the unit aren’t automatically eligible to stay at the site. To determine whether the son meets the age or disability requirements, HUD says to use Figures 3-5 and 3-6 of HUD Handbook 4350.3 to find the appropriate definitions that apply to your site [HUD Handbook 4350.3, par. 3-16(B)(4)]. Figure 3-5 says you must use “Definition C—Elderly Person” to determine eligibility for Section 202 PRAC sites. Figure 3-6 defines “Definition C—Elderly Person” as “a household composed of one or more persons at least one of whom is 62 years of age or more at the time of initial occupancy.” Because there is no person left in the household who is 62 years of age or more, the son isn’t eligible for the site.