Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 760 CMR - HOUSING AND LIVABLE COMMUNITIES, EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF › Title 760 CMR 49.00 - Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program › Section 49.10 - Grievance Procedure

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1)
Requirements for Grievance Procedures
. An administering
			 agency's grievance procedure shall provide for the following:
(a) A grievance shall be initiated by a
			 participant in writing and shall be mailed or delivered to the administering agency
			 at its main office within 14 calendar days after the date of notification was sent,
			 which has been given to the participant by the administering agency, provided that
			 the administering agency shall have discretion to permit a grievance to be initiated
			 late.
The administering agency shall permit additional time for initiation
				of a grievance if the administering agency shall find that there was a good reason
				for late initiation of the grievance and that the late initiation would not cause
				prejudice to the administering agency.
(b)
Informal Settlement
			 Conference
. Promptly after the initiation of a grievance, the
			 administering agency shall offer the grievant the opportunity to discuss the
			 grievance informally in an attempt to settle the grievance without the necessity of
			 a grievance hearing. The administering agency shall give reasonable advance notice
			 to the grievant and his or her representative (if any) of a time and place for an
			 informal settlement conference, unless such a conference shall have taken place when
			 the grievance was delivered to the administering agency. If a matter is not resolved
			 at the informal settlement conference, a grievance hearing shall be held. Failure to
			 attend an informal settlement conference shall not affect a grievant's right to a
			 grievance hearing.
(c)
Hearing Date and Notice of Hearing
. A grievance hearing
			 regarding whether good cause exists for terminating a voucher shall be scheduled as
			 soon as possible, but no later than 21 calendar days or as soon as reasonably
			 practical after the date on which the administering agency receives the grievance. A
			 hearing of a grievance regarding some other issue, shall be scheduled as soon as
			 reasonably convenient following receipt of the grievance. Two or more Administering
			 Agencies may share staffing responsibilities to conduct such hearings.
The administering agency shall give reasonable advance written
				notice of the time and place of the hearing to the grievant and to his or her
				representative (if any). The administering agency, the hearing panel, or the hearing
				officer may reschedule a hearing by agreement or upon a showing by grievant or by
				the administering agency that rescheduling is reasonably necessary.
(d)
Pre-hearing Examination of
			 Relevant Documents
. Prior to a grievance hearing the administering
			 agency shall give the grievant or his or her representative a reasonable opportunity
			 to examine administering agency documents which are directly relevant to the
			 grievance. Following a timely request, the administering agency shall provide copies
			 of such documents to grievant and, for good cause (including financial hardship),
			 may waive the charge for the copies.
(e)
Persons Entitled to be Present
. At the hearing the
			 administering agency and the grievant may be represented by a lawyer or by a
			 non-lawyer. Each person present at the hearing shall conduct himself or herself in
			 an orderly manner or he or she shall be excluded.
(f)
Procedure at Grievance
			 Hearings
. The hearing panel or the hearing officer shall conduct the
			 grievance hearing in a fair manner without undue delay. The hearing panel or the
			 hearing officer shall initially take appropriate steps to define the issues.
			 Thereafter, relevant information, including testimony of witnesses and written
			 material, shall be received regarding such issues. Both the grievant and the
			 administering agency shall be entitled to question each other's witnesses. Procedure
			 at the hearing shall be informal, and formal rules of evidence shall not apply. The
			 hearing shall be recorded. The members of the hearing panel or the hearing officer
			 may question witnesses and may take notice of matters of common knowledge and
			 applicable laws, regulations and administering agency rules and policies. The panel
			 members or the hearing officer may request the administering agency or the grievant
			 to produce additional information which is relevant to the issues or which is
			 necessary for a decision to be made provided that the other party is provided an
			 opportunity to respond to such additional information.
(g)
Written Decision; Effect of
			 Decision
. Within 14 calendar days following the hearing or as soon
			 thereafter as reasonably possible the hearing panel or the hearing officer shall
			 provide the administering agency with a written decision on the grievance,
			 describing the factual situation and ordering whatever relief, if any, that shall be
			 appropriate under the circumstances and under applicable laws, regulations, rules
			 and/or policies. The decision shall be based on the evidence at the grievance
			 hearing and such additional information as may have been requested by the panel
			 members or the hearing officer. The administering agency shall forthwith mail or
			 otherwise deliver a copy of the decision to the grievant and his or her
			 representative. A copy of the decision (with names and personal identifiers deleted)
			 shall thereafter be maintained at the administering agency and shall be open to
			 public inspection.
(h) Review by the
			 administering agency's Board or other equivalent body, as designated by the
			 administering agency. The grievant or the administering agency may request review of
			 the decision by the administering agency's Board or other equivalent body, as
			 designated by the administering agency. The Board or other equivalent body shall
			 promptly decide whether to uphold, set aside or modify the decision after permitting
			 the administering agency and grievant to make oral presentations and submit
			 documentation. The Board or other equivalent body may also permit the hearing
			 officer or hearing panel to make a presentation. The decision of the Board or other
			 equivalent body shall be in writing and shall explain its reasoning. If a written
			 decision is not rendered within 45 calendar days from the date a review is
			 requested, the decision of the Board or other equivalent body, when rendered, shall
			 specify a reason showing that there has been no undue delay.
(i)
Review by the
			 Department
. In the event that the administering agency's Board or other
			 equivalent body shall make a material change in a decision of the hearing panel or
			 the hearing officer, upon written request of the administering agency or the
			 grievant within 14 calendar days of mailing or other delivery of the decision, the
			 Department shall review the decision of the Board or other equivalent body. The
			 Department may request written documentation from the parties. The Department will
			 review all submitted materials and will render a written decision after
			 consideration of the facts presented upholding, setting aside or modifying the
			 decision of the Board or other equivalent body.
(j)
Effect of a Decision on a
			 Grievance
. The last rendered decision on a grievance shall be binding
			 between the administering agency and the grievant with respect to the particular
			 circumstances involved in the grievance, provided that a participant must exhaust
			 all administrative remedies prior to seeking review in court. If a participant does
			 not timely pursue the appropriate administrative remedy in accordance with the
			 grievance process and timeframes specified in
			 760 CMR 49.00, that level of
			 review shall be deemed to be waived. If a court has jurisdiction to determine a
			 matter which has been subject to decision on a grievance, the court's determination
			 on the matter shall supersede the decision on the grievance. As between the
			 administering agency and any person who was not a grievant, the decision on a
			 grievance shall have no binding effect.
(k) The administering agency shall continue to pay
			 the MRVP voucher payment to the owner on behalf of the MRVP participant, until the
			 MRVP participant's voucher has been terminated and the MRVP participant has ceased
			 to pursue the grievance process in accordance with the requirements of
			 760 CMR 49.00, so long as a court
			 of competent jurisdiction has not declared that the MRVP participant is no longer a
			 valid tenant in the contract unit.