HUD PIH Notice § 2012-01
Income Exclusion of Kinship, Kin-GAP and Other Guardianship Care Payments (HUD PIH Notices)
Operative Text
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U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Office of Public and Indian Housing
Special Attention of:
Notice PIH-2012-1 (HA)
Regional and Field Office Directors of Public
Housing; Section 8 Financial Management Center; Issued: January
6, 2012
Public Housing Agencies Administering Housing
Choice Voucher and Public Housing Program; Expires: This notice
remains in
Owners/Agents; Resident Management Corporations; effect until amended,
revoked,
Resident Councils or superseded
References:
24 CFR 5.609(a)(1) and (c)(2);
Notice PIH 2008-30 and 2008-40
Subject: Income Exclusion of Kinship, Kin-GAP and Other Guardianship Care
Payments
1. Purpose. This notice supersedes notices PIH-2008-30 and 2008-40 and
clarifies the treatment of income received from Kinship Guardian
Assistance Payments (Kin-GAP), kinship care payments, and other
guardianship care payments pursuant to 24 CFR § 5.609(c)(2).
2. Applicability. This notice applies to Public and Indian Housing (PIH)
rental assistance programs including: Public Housing, Section 8 Moderate
Rehabilitation, Housing Choice Voucher and Section 8 Project-Based
Voucher and Certificate Programs.
3. Background. HUD notices PIH 2008-30 and 2008-40 informed public housing
authorities (PHAs) that guardianship payments such as California’s
Kinship Guardian Assistance Payments (Kin-GAP) and kinship care payments
are similar to traditional foster care payments and are to be excluded
from determining a family’s annual income pursuant to 24 CFR §
5.609(c)(2). Kin-GAP payments are subsidies that go to, or on behalf of,
children leaving the juvenile court system to live with a relative or
legal guardian. Kinship care payments are foster care subsidies that go
to, or on behalf of, children living with a relative or legal guardian.
4. Exclusion of income. The Department determined that kinship care, Kin-
GAP, and similar programs funded by states serve as an alternative to
foster care placements and that the compensation to participating
relatives or legal guardians is comparable to the compensation to foster
care parents. Payments for the care of foster children (including foster
adults) are exempt from income. Thus, during annual and/or interim
reexamination of family income pursuant to 24 CFR § 960.257 for public
housing and 24 CFR § 982.516 for Section 8 programs, kinship, Kin-GAP and
similar state guardianship care payments are to be excluded from a
household’s income under 24 CFR § 5.609(c)(2).
Moving to Work (MTW) PHAs are given flexibility to include specific types
of income found under 24 CFR 5.609(c)—with the exception of 24 CFR
5.609(c)(17)—that are normally excluded from a family’s annual income for
rent calculation purposes if the activity has been approved by HUD in the
PHA’s Annual MTW Plan. In complying with their respective MTW
agreements, MTW agencies should treat kinship, Kin-GAP and similar state
guardianship care payments in the same manner that traditional foster
care payments are treated. For a summary of HUD’s position on this
limited exception, see section 5.B. of PIH-2011-45. MTW PHAs must
continue to determine the eligibility of families in accordance with the
provisions of 24 CFR 5.609.
Please note that you may contact the state’s Department of Health or the
appropriate social service agency for detailed information regarding
kinship, Kin-GAP, or other guardianship care payments.
5. Further information. If you are not sure if income from a state’s
guardianship care payment would qualify as an income exclusion under 24
CFR § 5.609(c)(2), you may direct inquiries to your local HUD Field
Office of Public Housing. You may also contact the Public Housing
Management and Occupancy Division, Office of Public Housing and Voucher
Programs at (202) 708-0744, or the Housing Voucher Management and
Operations Division at (202) 708-0477. Persons with hearing or speech
impairments may access this number via TTY by calling the Federal
Information Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
/s/
Sandra B. Henriquez, Assistant Secretary
for
Public and Indian Housing
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PIH Notice § 2012-01 clarifies that payments made through kinship care, Kin-GAP (Kinship Guardian Assistance Payments), and similar state guardianship care programs must be excluded from a household's annual income when calculating rent under HUD's Public Housing and Section 8 programs. These payments, which support relatives or legal guardians caring for children who would otherwise be in foster care, are treated the same way as traditional foster care payments under 24 CFR § 5.609(c)(2). The rule applies across Public Housing, Housing Choice Voucher, Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation, and Project-Based Voucher and Certificate Programs. Moving to Work (MTW) agencies operate under a limited exception but are still generally expected to treat these payments consistently with foster care payment rules.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Under PIH Notice § 2012-01, housing operators and public housing agencies (PHAs) administering Public Housing or Section 8 programs are expected to exclude kinship care, Kin-GAP, and similar state guardianship payments from a household's annual income during both annual and interim reexaminations. Compliant operators document these payment types separately and do not count them when calculating a family's rent contribution under 24 CFR § 5.609(c)(2). PHAs uncertain whether a specific state guardianship payment qualifies for exclusion can direct inquiries to their local HUD Field Office of Public Housing or call the Public Housing Management and Occupancy Division at (202) 708-0744.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
PIH Notice § 2012-01 establishes that if a household member receives kinship care, Kin-GAP, or a similar state guardianship care payment, that income generally should not be counted when a PHA calculates the household's rent in Public Housing or Section 8 programs. Tenants who believe such payments have been incorrectly included in their income calculation during a reexamination may raise this as a concern with their PHA, referencing 24 CFR § 5.609(c)(2) and this notice. Tenant-rights organizations or a HUD Field Office of Public Housing can provide additional guidance on how this exclusion applies and what steps are generally available to households whose income may have been miscalculated.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated October 14, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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