Housing Voucher Programs - Policy and Procedures Manual

Chapter II Sections

1. Opening A Waiting List
2. Outreach
3. Application Distribution Procedures
4. Application Review Procedures
5. Waiting List Placement Procedures
6. Notice of Application Acceptance Procedures
7. Waiting Lists for Special Programs
8. Enter Data in Elite
9. Printing the Waiting List
10. Ranking Applications
11. Changes While on the Waiting List
12. Waiting List Pulls
    1. Confirmation of Residency
    2. Family expresses Desire to Transfer Assistance at time of Wait List Pull
    3. Family expresses Desire to Exercise Portability Rights Out of Michigan
    4. Applicant has moved to another County prior to the Wait List Pull
    5. Preliminary Income Eligibility
13. Removing Applicant Names from Waiting List
14. Purging/Updating Waiting List
15. Closing an Open Waiting List
16. Cross Listing Notice for MRP/SRO
17. Application Maintenance
18. File Retention
19. Portability
20. Special Admissions
21. Applicable Forms List

Chapter II: Waiting List Management

Section L: Waiting List Pulls

1. Confirmation of Residency

The HA must confirm that the residency preference is correct at the time the name is pulled from the waiting list. If at the time of the waiting list pull the applicant continues to be a resident of the county, proceed with application processing.

2. Family Expresses Desire to Transfer Their Assistance at Time of Wait List Pull

• Once the applicant's name reaches the top of the waiting list and their name is pulled and they express a desire to transfer to another county; the initial HA would make a determination if the family is eligible in accordance with residency and the program eligibility income limits. If the family meets eligibility requirements, they may relocate within MSHDA’s jurisdiction (the state of Michigan). The applicant family would be eligible to transfer if they are:
  1. Income eligible in the desired county; and
  2. The payment standard in the new county is equal to or less than the current payment standard the applicant is eligible to receive in the waiting list county, OR,
  3. The family has obtained employment in the new county (and can provide employment verification via the Verification of Earnings, MSHDA 49 or a letter from the employer verifying employment;) OR,
  4. The family has requested and received a reasonable accommodation due to a disability to justify the move.

  Note: If the payment standard exceeds the applicant county's payment standard, the applicant is NOT eligible to transfer to the new county

• If the applicant meets the above criteria, the applicant may transfer. If the applicant does not meet the above criteria, the applicant must stay in their current county or move to another county where they meet the eligibility requirements.
• The initial HA forwards an e-mail to the Portability Coordinator (PC) to request the transfer of the applicant to the appropriate HA. The PC will determine who will be the receiving HA and if the receiving HA has an available increment for the transfer, and notify the parties. The initial HA will perform the voucher issuance in Elite, then PC transfers the applicant to the receiving HA. If the receiving HA does not have an available increment, the MSHDA staff person responsible for increment assignment will transfer an available increment from the initial HA to the receiving HA.
• The initial HA provides the applicant with appropriate documents and instructions for forwarding the information to the receiving HA.

3. Family Expresses Desire to Exercise Portability Rights out of Michigan

• Once the applicant’s name reaches the top of the waiting list and their name is pulled, an applicant is eligible to exercise portability rights outside of MSHDA’s jurisdiction (out of the state of Michigan) if:
  1. Their income qualifies according to both MSHDA and the receiving PHA’s income limits at the time the application is pulled from the waiting list, and
  2. The head of household or spouse resided in Michigan at the time of application. If an applicant head of household or spouse did not live in Michigan at the time of application, they must receive assistance (on a HAP Contract) within MSHDA’s jurisdiction for at least 12 months before qualifying to port to another PHA’s jurisdiction.
• The initial HA is responsible for answering all inquiries until the file is physically transferred or referred to the Portability Coordinator. Refer to Chapter XVI, Portability for more information regarding portability.

4. Applicant has moved to another County prior to the Wait List Pull

• When the resident applicant’s name is pulled from the waiting list and the applicant has moved to another county prior to the pull and the applicant did not notify MSHDA of the move and desires assistance in the new County; the MSHDA 322 must be transferred to the county waiting list where the applicant moved.
• The original county HA must notify the MSHDA Elite Tech by e-mail and request the application be transferred in Elite to the appropriate county. If the waiting list is open or closed in the new county and the physical move to or employment in the new county is documented, a residency preference must be granted in the new county effective the date verification proof of residency is received. No briefing will take place in the new county until the application is pulled based on the date the verification of residency in the new county is received.

5. Preliminary Income Eligibility

• At the time of a waiting list pull, the applicant’s adjusted income must be at or below 30% area median income (AMI) to be eligible. The HA has the option of verifying adjusted income by using one of the following methods:
  1. Following the complete third party income verification process, or
  2. Initially confirming preliminary income eligibility by sending a Self-Certification of Income (MSHDA 1891) to the applicant for completion, and if deemed eligible, following with the complete third party income verification process.
• It is MSHDA’s admission eligibility criteria that 85% of new admissions must be at or below 30% AMI and up to 15% of new admissions must be at or below 50% AMI.
• If the HA determines that adjusted income is above 30% AMI but below 50% AMI, the family may be assisted. Denial notification is sent using the MSHDA 1634b. The HA removes the family from the waiting list. Applicants cannot request an informal review.