HUD Handbook 4350.3 § 4-28

A.       Procedures

                 While owners have discretion in establishing screening criteria, they must apply
                 the criteria consistently to all applicants. To ensure that applicants are treated
                 consistently during the screening process, good practice suggests that owners
                 should:

                 1.       Use consistent staffing. Have one or a limited number of staff conduct the
                          screening to reduce inconsistencies that occur, because employees may
                          interpret policies and procedures differently.

                 2.       Provide instructions. Develop step-by-step instructions for staff who are
                          conducting screening activities to help to ensure consistency.

                 3.       Use standard forms. Whenever possible, use standard forms to
                          document fair practices and to increase the likelihood that each applicant
                          will receive the same consideration.

                 4.       Use objective criteria. For example, when interviewing an applicant’s
                          former landlord about rent payment and rental history, the owner should
                          ask fact-based questions. Owners must avoid subjective questions that
                          ask for opinions or do not directly relate to the tenant's ability to meet the
                          requirements of the lease. (See Figure 4-7 for examples of appropriate
                          and inappropriate questions.)

                 5.       Follow a formal, written process for collecting information. Owners must
                          not take into consideration informal information or “gossip” about an
                          applicant. Such information may be discriminatory and will affect
                          applicants inconsistently since the owner does not collect it for all
                          applicants.

B.       Extenuating Circumstances

                 An owner may have a policy to consider extenuating circumstances that would
                 allow acceptance of an applicant whom the owner would normally reject, but an
                 owner must not have a reverse policy to consider extenuating circumstances to
                 reject an applicant who was determined to be eligible. If the applicant is a
                 person with disabilities, the owner must consider extenuating circumstances
                 where this would be required as a matter of reasonable accommodation (see
                 Chapter 2, Subsection 4 for information on Reasonable Accommodation).

                                 Example – Extenuating Circumstances
       Through the screening process, an owner learns that Asad Bhatt was evicted from his last
       apartment for nonpayment of rent. The owner rejects Asad Bhatt’s application and informs
       him of the reason for the rejection. Asad explains that his failure to pay rent on time
       resulted from the need to purchase expensive medications for his seriously ill wife. His wife
       is now well, and his medical expenses have been paid. Asad asks for reconsideration of
       his application, because he believes he will be able to pay rent on time.

       If the owner has a policy of considering extenuating circumstances for any tenant, the
       owner would be required to consider the extenuating circumstances applicable to Asad. In
       evaluating whether to accept Asad as a tenant, the owner may verify that Asad paid rent on
       time prior to his wife's illness and that medical expenses have been paid. If the owner
       learns from a landlord reference that Asad’s rent had been chronically late prior to his wife's
       illness, the owner may deny admission to Asad in accordance with the owner’s written
       screening procedures. If the owner does not have a policy of considering extenuating
       circumstances, the owner may not consider such circumstances as described by Asad.