HUD Handbook 4350.3 § 4-9

A.       Key Requirements

                 1.       Prohibition of discrimination in the denial of tenancy or rental assistance.
                          Owners must not discriminate against an applicant based on race, color,
                          religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability. (See Chapter 2
                          for additional information.)

                 2.       *Prohibition of denying assistance to victims of domestic violence, dating
                          violence or stalking (applicable to the Section 8 program only). The
                          VAWA protects victims of domestic violence, dating violence or stalking,
                          as well as their immediate family members, from being denied housing
                          assistance if an incident of violence is reported and confirmed. An
                          applicant’s status as a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, or
                          stalking is not a basis for denial of rental assistance or for denial of
                          admission, if the applicant otherwise qualifies for assistance or admission.
                          (See Chapter 4, Paragraph 4-4.C.9 and Chapter 6, Paragraph 6-5.G.1 for
                          more information on the VAWA protections.)*

                 3.       Prompt notification. Owners must promptly notify the applicant in writing
                          of the denial of admission or assistance.

B.       Conditions under Which Owners May Reject Applicants

                 An owner may reject an applicant if the applicant:

                 1.        Is ineligible for occupancy in a particular unit or property (see Chapter 3,
                           Sections 1 and 2 for eligibility requirements);

                 2.        *Is unable to disclose and provide verification of SSNs for all household
                           members, except for those household members who do not contend
                           eligible immigration status or tenants who were 62 or older on January 31,
                           2010, whose initial determination of eligibility was begun before January
                           31, 2010. *

                 3.        Does not sign and submit verification consent forms or the Authorization
                           for Release of Information (forms HUD-9887 and HUD-9887-A);

                 4.        Has household characteristics that are not appropriate for the specific
                           type of unit available at the time, or has a family of a size not appropriate
                           for the unit sizes that are available;

                            NOTE: In such cases, the owner may deny the applicant admission to a
                            specific unit, but the applicant may continue to wait for another unit. See
                            the example below.

                                           Example – Denial of Unit
                        An owner could deny an applicant family a particular unit and
                        place the family on the waiting list if the only available unit is an
                        accessible unit and the following is true: (a) the applicant
                        household does not include an individual requiring the features
                        of the unit, and (b) there are either tenants in the property or
                        applicants on the waiting list who desire such a unit and who
                        have a member of the household requiring the features of the
                        unit.

                        NOTE: In some programs, eligibility is dependent on the head
                        or spouse meeting particular eligibility criteria.

5.        Includes family members who did not declare citizenship or noncitizenship
                           status, or sign a statement electing not to contend noncitizen status (see
                           paragraph 4-31). However, an owner should permit families to revise
                           their application to exclude proposed family members who do not declare
                           citizenship or eligible noncitizen status; or

                 6.        Does not meet the owner’s tenant screening criteria.

        C.       Notification of Applicant Rejection

                 1.        Rejection notices must be in writing

2.       The written rejection notice must include:

                          a.       The specifically stated reason(s) for the rejection;

                          b.       The applicant’s right to respond to the owner in writing or request
                                   a meeting within 14 days to dispute the rejection. and

                          c.       That persons with disabilities have the right to request reasonable
                                   accommodations to participate in the informal hearing process.

        D.       Owner Meetings with Applicants to Discuss Rejection Notices

                 1.       Any meeting with the applicant to discuss the applicant’s rejection must
                          be conducted by a member of the owner’s staff who was not involved in
                          the initial decision to deny admission or assistance.

                 2.       Within 5 business days of the owner response or meeting, the owner must
                          advise the applicant in writing of the final decision on eligibility.