CHAPTER 10. DELAY, DEFERRAL OR TERMINATION OF ASSISTANCE

10-1.Termination Of Assisted Occupancy \-- Section 8 Programs Only. In
the

Section 8 Rental Certificate, Rental Voucher, and Moderate

Rehabilitation programs, assisted occupancy is terminated by terminating

assistance payments. (See the provisions in Chapter 8 concerning

termination of assistance.) The HA shall not make any additional

assistance payments to the owner after the required procedures specified

herein have been completed. In addition, the HA shall not approve a

lease, enter into an assistance contract, or process a portability move

for the family after those procedures have been completed.

\[812.9(i)(2)\]

10-2.Assistance Available For Mixed Families. \[812.10(a);
950.310(r)(1);

912.10(a)\]

a.Assistance available for tenant mixed families. For a tenant mixed

family assisted under a Section 214 covered program on June 19, 1995,

and following completion of the INS appeals and HA informal

hearing procedures provided in Chapter 9 if utilized by the family,

one of the following three types of assistance may be available to

the family:

(1)Continued assistance (see paragraph 10-4 of this section);

(2)Temporary deferral of termination of assistance (see paragraph

10-5);

(3)Prorated assistance (see Chapter 11; a mixed family must be

provided prorated assistance if the family so requests).

b.Assistance available for applicant mixed families. Prorated

assistance is also available for applicant mixed families applying

for assistance as provided in Chapter 11.

c.Assistance available to other families in occupancy. For families

receiving assistance under a Section 214 covered program on June

19, 1995, and who have no members with eligible immigration status,

the HA may grant the family temporary deferral of termination of

assistance.

10-3.Discretion Afforded To Provide Certain Family Preservation
Assistance.

a.Owners. With respect to assistance administered by a HA-owned

project under Section 8 New Construction Substantial

Rehabilitation, Loan Management Set-Aside, and Property Disposition

Programs the HA should refer to the Office of Housing\'s Notice H-

95-55 entitled Procedures for implementing Section 214 of the

Housing and Community Development Act of 1980, as amended,

Restrictions on Assistance to Noncitizens.

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b\. HAs.

(1)An HA acting as a contract administrator of a Rental

Certificate (including project-based Rental Certificate),

Rental Voucher, or Moderate Rehabilitation program (as opposed

to an HA owner), or operating public or Indian housing, rather

than HUD, has the discretion to determine the circumstances

under which a family will be offered one of the two statutory

forms of assistance (continued assistance or temporary

deferral of termination of assistance). The HA must establish

its own policy and criteria to follow in making its decision.

In establishing the criteria for granting continued assistance

or temporary deferral of termination of assistance, the HA

must incorporate the statutory criteria, which are set forth

in paragraphs 10-4 and 10-5. However, the housing authority

must offer prorated assistance to eligible mixed families (see

Chapter 11).

(2)HAs must exercise their discretion regarding continued

assistance and deferred termination in a nondiscriminatory

manner. HAs should be prepared to justify any decisions

denying continued assistance and deferred termination, given

that the families involved will be likely to question them. In

this respect, HAs may find it advantageous to always grant

continued assistance or deferred termination whenever a family

meets the criteria specified in 812.10 (c)-(d), 912.10(b)-

\(c\) or 950.310(r)(2)-(3), or, in other words, treat the word

\"may\" in those sections as \"shall\".

10-4.Continued Assistance. A mixed family may receive continued housing

assistance if all of the following conditions are met: \[812.10(c);

950.310(r)(2); 912.10(b)\]

a.The family must have been receiving assistance under a Section 214

covered program on June 19, 1995;

b.The family\'s head of household or spouse must declare either

citizenship or eligible immigration status as described in

paragraph 3-1; and

c.The family may not include any person (who does not have

citizenship or eligible immigration status) other than the head of

household, any spouse of the head of household, any parents of the

head\' of household, any parents of the spouse, or any children of

the head of household or spouse. The inclusion in a housing unit of

an extended family member who is eligible for housing assistance

will not render an otherwise eligible family ineligible for

continued assistance, so long as the extended family member (such

as an uncle) is included in the lease (as required by other

provisions).

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d.Example. A family with a legal head of household, and a nonlegal

spouse and two children and who were in occupancy by the effective

date are eligible for continued assistance. That same family with

the addition of a ineligible brother-in-law living with them is not

eligible for continued assistance (i.e., the family no longer meets

the preceding statutory definition of family).

The family is eligible, however, for prorated assistance. In

determining the amount of prorated assistance, the only eligible

member of the family is the head of household and therefore

entitled to one-fifth assistance.

e.Effective Date. A tenant family\'s eligibility for continued

assistance is judged as of the date following completion of the

hearing process (provided they were tenants on June 19, 1995). If

the tenant family is not eligible for continued assistance on June

19, 1995, but becomes eligible for such assistance by the time the

hearing process is completed, it will be granted continued

assistance.

10-5.Temporary Deferral Of Termination Of Assistance. A mixed family may

receive temporary deferral of termination of assistance under the

following conditions: \[812.10((d); 950.310(r)(3); 912.10(c)\]

a.The family must have been receiving assistance under a Section 214

covered program on June 19, 1995;

b.Eligibility for this type of assistance. If a mixed family

qualifies for prorated assistance (and does not qualify for

continued assistance) but decides not to accept prorated

assistance, or if a family has no members with eligible immigration

status, the family may be eligible for temporary deferral of

termination of assistance if necessary to permit the family

additional time for the orderly transition of those family members

with ineligible immigration status, and any other family members

involved, to find other affordable housing. Other affordable

housing is used in the context of transition of an ineligible

family from a rent level that reflects HUD assistance to a rent

level that is unassisted; the term refers to housing that is not

substandard, that is of appropriate size for the family and that

can be rented for an amount not exceeding the amount that the

family pays for rent, including utilities, plus 25 percent.

c.Time limit on deferral period. If temporary deferral of termination

of assistance is granted, the deferral period shall be for an

initial period not to exceed six months. The initial period may be

renewed for additional periods of six months, but the aggregate

deferral period shall not exceed a period of three years.

d.Notification requirements for beginning of each deferral period. At

the beginning of each deferral period, the HA must inform the

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family of its ineligibility for financial assistance and offer the

family information concerning, and referrals to assist in finding,

other affordable housing.

e.Determination of availability of affordable housing at end of each

deferral period. Before the end of each deferral period, the HA

must:

(1)Make a determination of the availability of affordable housing

of appropriate size based on evidence of conditions, which

when taken together, will demonstrate:

(a)an inadequate supply of affordable housing for the area

in which the project is located,

(b)the consolidated plan (if applicable, as described in 24

CFR Part 91),

(c)the HA\'s own knowledge of the availability of affordable

housing, and

(d)evidence of the tenant family\'s efforts to locate such

housing; and

(2)Notify the tenant family in writing, at least 60 days in

advance of the expiration of the deferral period, that

termination will be deferred again (provided that the granting

of another deferral will not result in aggregate deferral

periods that exceed three years), and a determination was made

that other affordable housing is not available; or

(3)Notify the tenant family in writing, at least 60 days in

advance of the expiration of the deferral period, that

termination of financial assistance will not be deferred

because either granting another deferral will result in

aggregate deferral periods that exceed three years, or a

determination has been made that other affordable housing is

available.

10-6.Option To Select Proration Of Assistance At End Of Deferral Period.

A family who is eligible for and who receives temporary deferral of

termination of assistance, may request, and the HA shall provide,

proration of assistance at the end of the deferral period if the family

has made a good faith effort during the deferral period to locate other

affordable housing. \[812.10(e); 950.310(r)(3)(v); 912.10(d)\]

10-7.Election To Select Proration of Assistance At End of Deferral
Period

Irreversible. Once the family exercises the option to receive proration

of assistance at the end of the deferral period, the family may not

elect to return to receive temporary deferral of termination of

assistance. Prorated assistance is, in a sense, a partial termination of

assistance. Allowing a family to move from prorated assistance to

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deferred termination would give assistance to an ineligible family

member who was not receiving assistance under prorated assistance.

Moving from deferred termination to prorated assistance lowers the

amount of assistance provided, whereas moving in the opposite direction

raises the amount of assistance provided.

10-8.Notification Of Decision On Family Preservation Assistance. An HA
shall

notify the family of its decision concerning the family\'s qualification

for assistance. If the family is ineligible for assistance, the

notification shall state the reasons, which must be based on relevant

factors. For tenant families, the notice also shall inform the family of

any applicable appeal rights. (For HAs administering Rental Certificate

or Rental Voucher Programs, see 24 CFR Sections 882.216 or 887.405).

\[812.10(f); 950.310(r)(3)(vi); 912.10(e)\]

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