10 TAC §1.14
The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (the
Department) proposes new §1.14, concerning Housing Sponsor: Tenant Management
Selection. The purpose of this section is to set standards and restrictions
concerning tenant and management selection by a housing sponsor in accordance
with §2306.269 of the Government Code as added by Senate Bill 322, 77th
Session of the Texas Legislature.
Ms. Edwina P. Carrington, Executive Director, has determined that for the
first five-year period the proposed section is in effect, there will be no
fiscal implications for state or local government as a result of enforcing
or administering the rule.
Ms. Carrington also has determined that for each year of the first five
years the proposed section is in effect, the public benefit anticipated as
a result of enforcing the section will be more efficient disposition of complaints.
There will be no effect on persons, small businesses or micro-businesses.
There are no anticipated economic costs to persons, small businesses or micro-businesses
who are required to comply with the section as proposed. The proposed new
rule will not have an impact on any local economy.
Comments may be submitted to Anne O. Paddock, Deputy General Counsel, Texas
Department of Housing and Community Affairs, P.O. Box 13941, Austin, Texas,
78711-3941 or by e-mail at the following address: apaddock@tdhca.state.tx.us.
The new section is proposed pursuant to the authority of the
Texas Government Code, Chapter 2306; and in accordance with the Texas Government
Code §2001.039.
The new section affects no other code, article or statute.
§1.14.Housing Sponsor: Tenant and Management Selection.
(a)
Purpose. The purpose of this section is to set standards
for tenant and management selection by a housing sponsor and to prohibit a
housing development funded or administered by the Department, including a
development supported with a housing tax credit allocation, from:
(1)
excluding an individual or family from admission to the
development because the individual or family participates in the housing choice
voucher program under Section 8, United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.
Section 1437f); and
(2)
using a financial or minimum income standard for an individual
or family participating in the voucher program that requires the individual
or family to have a monthly income of more than 2.5 times the individual or
family's share of the total monthly rent payable to the owner of the development.
(b)
Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in
this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly
indicates otherwise.
(1)
Department--The Texas Department of Housing and Community
Affairs.
(2)
Housing development--Property or work or a project, building,
structure, facility, or undertaking, whether existing, new construction, remodeling,
improvement, or rehabilitation, that meets or is designed to meet minimum
property standards required by the Department and that is financed under the
provisions of Chapter 2306 of the Government Code for the primary purpose
of providing sanitary, decent, and safe dwelling accommodations for rent,
lease, use, or purchase by individuals and families of low and very low income
and families of moderate income in need of housing. The term:
(A)
buildings, structures, land, equipment, facilities, or
other real or personal properties that are necessary, convenient, or desirable
appurtenances, including streets, water, sewers, utilities, parks, site preparation,
landscaping, stores, offices, and other nonhousing facilities, such as administrative,
community, and recreational facilities the Department determines to be necessary,
convenient, or desirable appurtenances; and
(B)
multifamily dwellings in rural and urban areas.
(3)
Housing sponsor--means:
(A)
an individual, including an individual or family of low
and very low income or family of moderate income, joint venture, partnership,
limited partnership, trust, firm, corporation, or cooperative that is approved
by the department as qualified to own, construct, acquire, rehabilitate, operate,
manage, or maintain a housing development, subject to the regulatory powers
of the department and other laws; or
(B)
in an economically depressed or blighted area, or in a
federally assisted new community located within a home-rule municipality,
the term may include an individual or family whose income exceeds the moderate
income level if at least 90% of the total mortgage amount available under
a mortgage revenue bond issue is designed for individuals and families of
low income or families of moderate income.
(4)
Management plan--A written plan clearly stating the following
objectives:
(A)
prospective applicants who hold Section 8 vouchers or certificates
are welcome to apply and will be provided the same consideration for occupancy
as any other prospective tenant;
(B)
any minimum income requirements for Section 8 voucher and
certificate holders will only be applied to the portion of the rent the prospective
tenant would pay, provided, however, that if Section 8 pays 100% of the rent
for the unit, the housing sponsor may establish other reasonable minimum income
requirements to establish other reasonable minimum income requirements to
ensure that the tenant has the financial resources to meet daily living expenses.
Minimum income requirements for Section 8 voucher and certificate holders
will not exceed 2.5 times the portion of rent the tenant pays; and
(C)
all other screening criteria, including employment policies
or procedures and other leasing criteria (such as rental history, credit history,
criminal history, etc.) must be applied to prospective tenants uniformly and
in a manner consistent with the Texas and Federal Fair Housing Acts and with
Department requirements.
(5)
Non-compliance score--The scoring and methodology used
to determine the compliance status of applicants applying for Departmental
funding.
(c)
Applicability. The policies, standards, and sanctions established
by these rules apply only to:
(1)
multifamily housing developments that receive the following
assistance from the Department on or after January 1, 2002:
(A)
a loan or grant in an amount greater than 33% of the market
value of the development on the date the recipient took legal possession of
the development; or
(B)
a loan guarantee for a loan in an amount greater than 33%
of the market value of the development on the date the recipient took legal
title to the development; or
(2)
multifamily rental housing developments funded or administered
by the Department as low income tax credit property whose application for
an allocation of low income housing tax credits for that housing development
is received by the Department on or after August 10, 1993.
(3)
A housing development that benefits from the incentive
program under §2306.805 of the Texas Government Code is subject to the
policies, standards, and sanctions established by these rules.
(d)
Procedures. The following procedures apply to the selection
of tenants and management by all housing sponsors.
(1)
Tenants must be income eligible under the rules and regulations
of the program or activity funded.
(2)
Housing Sponsors must apply all other screening criteria,
including employment policies or procedures and other leasing criteria (such
as rental history, credit history, criminal history, etc.) uniformly and in
a manner consistent with the Texas and Federal Fair Housing Acts, program
guidelines, and the Department rules.
(3)
Income determination must be made in a manner consistent
with Section 8, of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. Section
1437f) and the guidelines established in Handbook 4350.3, as amended and promulgated
by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
(4)
The Housing Sponsor shall not exclude an individual or
family from admission to the development because the individual or family
participates in the housing choice voucher program under Section 8, United
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. Section 1437f).
(5)
The Housing Sponsor shall not use a financial or minimum
income standard for an individual or family participating in the voucher program
that requires the individual or family to have a monthly income that exceeds
2.5 times the individual or family's share of the total monthly rent payable
to the owner of the development.
(6)
The Housing Sponsor must maintain a written management
plan that is available for review upon request and states the intention of
the development owner to comply with state and federal fair housing and antidiscrimination
laws.
(7)
The Housing Sponsor must ensure that management posts Fair
Housing logos and a Fair Housing poster in the leasing office.
(8)
The Housing Sponsor must approve and distribute a written
affirmative marketing plan to the property management and on-site staff.
(9)
The department shall require a land use restriction agreement
providing for enforcement of the restrictions by the department, tenants of
the development, or by a private party that includes the right to recover
reasonable attorney's fees if the party seeking enforcements of the restrictions
is successful.
(10)
The Housing Sponsor must communicate annually during the
first quarter of each year with the administrator of each Section 8 program,
which has jurisdiction within the geographic area where the development is
located. Such communication will include information on the unit characteristics
and rents, will advise the administrating agency that the property accepts
Section 8 vouchers and certificates, and will treat referrals in a fair and
equal manner. Copies of such correspondence must be available during on-site
reviews conducted by the Department.
(11)
A prospective tenant participating in the voucher program
shall report to the administrator of the Section 8 program that provided the
certificate or voucher an exclusion from admission to a housing development
based on a financial or minimum income standard requiring the tenant to have
a monthly income of more than 2.5 times the tenant or tenant's family share
of the total monthly rent payable to the owner of the development. The administrator
shall promptly report such exclusion to the Department.
(e)
Sanctions. A Housing Sponsor of a multifamily rental housing
development that fails to comply with the procedures pursuant to subsection
(d) of this section is subject to the following sanctions:
(1)
Failure to lease to a prospective tenant due to the applicant's
status as a recipient of a federal rental assistance voucher or certificate
will result in a material non-compliance score, and
(2)
A complaint of exclusion from admission as described in
subsection (d)(11) of this section, that has been verified by the Department,
shall result in a non-compliance score for a period of one year from the date
of the Department’s verification of the complaint.
(f)
These rules, policies, standards, and sanctions are enforceable
by the Department, tenants of the development, or by private parties against
the initial owner or any subsequent owners.
This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's legal authority to adopt.
Filed with the Office of
the Secretary of State on June 24, 2002.
TRD-200203937
Edwina P. Carrington
Executive Director
Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs
Earliest possible date of adoption: August 4, 2002
For further information, please call: (512) 475-3726