Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 760 CMR - HOUSING AND LIVABLE COMMUNITIES, EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF › Title 760 CMR 5.00 - Eligibility And Selection Criteria › Section 5.12 - Verification of Preference, Eligibility and Qualification

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1) When an application nears the top of a waiting
			 list for housing in a program at an LHA, the LHA shall require the applicant to
			 provide the LHA access to reliable and reasonably obtainable documentation verifying
			 the accuracy of information appearing on the application form or otherwise necessary
			 for the LHA's final determination of the applicant's Preference, eligibility and
			 qualification. If the LHA is unable to verify the information that was provided in
			 the application within ten business days of the LHA's request for verification, then
			 the LHA may make an offer of housing to the applicant appearing next on the waiting
			 list for whom it has obtained fully verified information. If an LHA determines that
			 the criteria for Preference, eligibility or qualification is not met, then the LHA
			 shall deny the applicant's Preference, eligibility or qualification and inform the
			 applicant of the right to appeal the determination pursuant to
			 760
			 CMR 5.13. Any grant or denial of a Preference, or
			 determination of ineligibility or disqualification, that is made by an LHA shall
			 only affect the application on that LHA's waiting list for the program for which the
			 applicant is being considered at that LHA.
(2) Income of applicants shall be verified by the
			 procedure specified for rent determination. If the LHA has verified any information
			 when making a preliminary determination of eligibility for the applicant, and that
			 information is more than 90 days old, the LHA shall reverify such information on its
			 final determination of eligibility and qualification. Nonreceipt of requested
			 documentation, without good cause established by applicant, shall be cause for
			 determining applicant unqualified.
(3)
			 The LHA shall require an applicant to provide the names and current addresses of all
			 landlords (or housing providers) for applicant and household members during the
			 period five years prior to application through the date of the final determination.
If, after request the LHA has failed to receive a reference from a
				landlord (or housing provider) it shall notify applicant of nonreceipt, and the LHA
				shall request that applicant use his or her best efforts to cause the landlord (or
				housing provider) to submit the reference to the LHA. In the event the applicant
				uses his or her best efforts but is unsuccessful, the applicant shall cooperate with
				the LHA in securing information from other sources about the tenancy. Nonreceipt of
				a reference from a landlord (or housing provider) shall be cause for determining an
				applicant unqualified, unless the applicant can show that he or she has used best
				efforts to secure the reference and that he or she has complied with reasonable
				requests for cooperation in securing other information.
(4) In determining qualification the LHA shall
			 check Criminal Offender Record Information and Sex Offender Registration Information
			 and make reasonable efforts to check available records of out-of-state criminal
			 convictions. The LHA may also check: public records; other sources of public
			 information; credit reports; and other reliable sources. The LHA may also make a
			 home visit, which shall be scheduled reasonably in advance. Observations by the
			 person making such a visit shall be promptly reduced to writing and placed in the
			 applicant's file.
(5) Information
			 regarding eligibility or qualification may be obtained by the LHA from interviews
			 with the applicant and with others, from telephone conversations, letters, or other
			 documents, and from other oral or written materials. All such information received
			 shall be recorded in the applicant's file, including the date of its receipt, the
			 identity of the source, and the person receiving the information.