HUD Handbook 7465.1 § 5-6

a.   POLICY

            (1)   PHAs must organize their waiting lists in a way
                  which will let them easily identify which
                  applicants need which type of project and size and
                  type of unit, and the priority each applicant has
                  for admission based on the tenant selection
                  preferences the PHA has adopted and the date and
                  time the application was made.

            (2)   No PHA may solicit a statement from an applicant
                  regarding his or her desire to live in a
                  particular project or group of projects unless
                  this practice has specific approval from the
                  Assistant Secretary for FHEO.

            (3)   All waiting lists must be community-wide in scope.
                  A PHA with more than one community within its
                  jurisdiction may establish separate waiting lists
                  for each community, provided that:

                  (a)   any such arrangement is approved by HUD
                        Headquarters;

                  (b)   it would not result in or perpetuate patterns
                        of occupancy that would be inconsistent with
                        Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or
                        Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968;

                  (c)   the communities have similar types of
                        projects and sizes and types of units;

                  (d)   there are no separate community residency
                        preferences or requirements; and

                  (e)   it would not prevent the PHA from achieving
                        or maintaining a broad range of income in
                        each of its projects.

            (4)   A PHA which has HUD Headquarters approval to have
                  separate waiting lists for separate communities
                  within its jurisdiction must not restrict
                  applicants to the list covering their community.
                  Rather they must have the opportunity to apply and
                  be considered on any or all of the PHA's lists
                  which are open to new applicants.

            (5)   A PHA may have one waiting list for projects for
                  the elderly and another for general occupancy
                  projects provided the PHA permits an elderly family
                  to be listed on either or both if unit size and
                  type are appropriate.

(6)   PHAs which have designated certain units for
           occupants who require the support of a social
           service agency in order to establish a tenancy,
           may have a separate waiting list for those units.
           (See Paragraph 6-1, Agreement with Social Service
           Agency.)

b.   DISCUSSION

     (1)   PHAs with many applicants may want to create
           several sublists to help them to more easily
           identify who should be offered an available unit.

           (a)   Sublists may be organized according to the
                 type of project and size and type of unit
                 required. (These sublists may be further
                 organized by tenant selection preferences or
                 by date and time of application.)

           (b)   PHAs giving a very high preference for income
                 range may want to establish sublists on that
                 basis. These sublists could be further
                 organized by type of project and size and
                 type of unit required.

     (2)   PHAs with few applicants may want to have a single
           waiting list organized only by date and time of
           application or other convenient order. A short
           list of applicants can be readily searched to fill
           an available unit.

     (3)   PHAs which have computer capabilities may find a
           single list to be sufficient even if there are a
           large number of applicants.

     (4)   A PHA may maintain its community-wide waiting list
           in whatever form it believes to be most useful
           provided the list meets the PHA's needs and can be
           easily audited by HUD. For example, some PHAs use
           a card file system instead of or in addition to an
           actual list of applicant names.

c.   PROCEDURES - Requesting separate waiting lists

     A PHA which has more than one community within its
     jurisdiction can request HUD approval to establish
     separate waiting lists by submitting its plan and the
     rationale for it to the local HUD office.

d.   HUD RESPONSIBILITIES - Approval or separate waiting
     lists

     The local HUD FHEO office will review the PHA's plan in
     consultation with public housing staff. The local FHED

            office will then forward the plan and the
            recommendations to its Regional counterpart.   Regional
            FHEO will review the package

and submit it along with its own recommendations to the
            Assistant Secretary for FHEO for final action.

       e.   REFERENCES
            Federal civil rights laws listed at paragraph 1-3(c)