Tenants' Obligations

1. What are my obligations under a state public housing lease?
2. What are my obligations under a federal public housing lease?
3. When do I have to report a change in income to the housing authority?
4. When do I need to report a change in household size to the housing authority?

What are my obligations under a state public housing lease?

It is important to know your obligations as a tenant to avoid problems with the housing authority that could put your housing at risk.

All public housing residents

Every public housing lease must include a listing of your obligations as a tenant.¹ These obligations include:

• Paying the rent.
• Paying the cost of any utilities that the lease requires you to pay.
• Using your apartment only as a private residence for yourself and the members of your household who are named in the lease.
• Not subleasing or transferring use of your apartment to someone else.
• Not providing accommodations to boarders or lodgers.
• Keeping your apartment clean, safe, and sanitary.
• Properly storing and disposing of all garbage and other waste.
• Signing a new lease or lease addendum whenever your rent is redetermined, your household size changes, or there are changes in the terms of the tenancy.
• Agreeing to a transfer to an appropriately-sized unit if the number of people in your household decreases, if you don’t need accessible features in the unit and someone else does, or if the housing authority is renovating your apartment.
• Allowing the housing authority access to your apartment for inspection or routine maintenance after you have received 48 hours notice.
• Allowing the housing authority access to your apartment if you requested a repair, after reasonable notice to you.
• Allowing your landlord access to your apartment on an emergency basis.
• Following rules and policies established by the housing authority that are reasonable.
• Paying reasonable charges for the repair of damages to your apartment or the building that were caused by you, your guests, or members of your household.

Guests and household members

The following obligations apply not just to you, but also to members of your household and your guests:

• Not making any changes or additions to your apartment or any housing authority property unless the housing authority gives you permission.
• Not making unreasonably loud noise in your apartment and on housing authority property that would interfere with other tenants.
• Taking reasonable care of electric, heating, plumbing, and other utility services.
• Not damaging, defacing, or removing any part of your apartment or building.
• Not injuring, harassing, or unreasonably disturbing other tenants, housing authority officers and staff, or people lawfully on the property.
• Not engaging in criminal activity or creating a nuisance in your apartment or on or near housing authority property.

State public housing

In state public housing, your lease must also state that you are responsible for doing the following:²

• Participate in wage, tax, and bank match systems that the housing authority has established and provide the housing authority with information and authorizations that are necessary for them to perform such matches.
• Give the housing authority your Social Security Number and allow the housing authority to use your Social Security Number to verify your income and assets.
• Not obstruct any smoke detectors or other fire safety equipment.
• Promptly report any problems with smoke detectors or fire safety equipment to the housing authority.
• Not keep pets without the permission of the housing authority.
• Live in the apartment for at least 9 months in any 12-month period unless there is a good reason for you to be away from the apartment for a longer time, such as for medical reasons or military service.³
• Not install or allow someone else to install any major appliances or waterbeds unless the housing authority gives you permission to do so.
• Pay the housing authority’

What are my obligations under a federal public housing lease?

It is important to know your obligations as a tenant to avoid problems with the housing authority that could put your housing at risk.

All public housing residents

Every public housing lease must include a listing of your obligations as a tenant.⁴ These obligations include:

• Paying the rent.
• Paying the cost of any utilities that the lease requires you to pay.
• Using your apartment only as a private residence for yourself and the members of your household who are named in the lease.
• Not subleasing or transferring use of your apartment to someone else.
• Not providing accommodations to boarders or lodgers.
• Keeping your apartment clean, safe, and sanitary.
• Properly storing and disposing of all garbage and other waste.
• Signing a new lease or lease addendum whenever your rent is redetermined, your household size changes, or there are changes in the terms of the tenancy.
• Agreeing to a transfer to an appropriately-sized unit if the number of people in your household decreases, if you don’t need accessible features in the unit and someone else does, or if the housing authority is renovating your apartment.
• Allowing the housing authority access to your apartment for inspection or routine maintenance after you have received 48 hours notice.
• Allowing the housing authority access to your apartment if you requested a repair, after reasonable notice to you.
• Allowing your landlord access to your apartment on an emergency basis.
• Following rules and policies established by the housing authority that are reasonable.
• Paying reasonable charges for the repair of damages to your apartment or the building that were caused by you, your guests, or members of your household.

Guests and household members

The following obligations apply not just to you, but also to members of your household and your guests:

• Not making any changes or additions to your apartment or any housing authority property unless the housing authority gives you permission.
• Not making unreasonably loud noise in your apartment and on housing authority property that would interfere with other tenants.
• Taking reasonable care of electric, heating, plumbing, and other utility services.
• Not damaging, defacing, or removing any part of your apartment or building.
• Not injuring, harassing, or unreasonably disturbing other tenants, housing authority officers and staff, or people lawfully on the property.
• Not engaging in criminal activity or creating a nuisance in your apartment or on or near housing authority property.

Federal public housing

Federal public housing authority leases will also require you to do the following:

• Send any notices to the housing authority in writing and deliver them either by hand or by mail.
• Perform seasonal maintenance tasks that your lease says you are required to do, which is permitted by the State Sanitary Code. For example, a housing authority lease could require tenants to mow their own lawns, if each apartment has its own yard. The housing authority cannot, however, shift its own maintenance obligations to tenants. The State Sanitary Code, for example, says that it is the landlord’s duty to clean common hallways. Also, elderly tenants and tenants with a disability who cannot perform such maintenance tasks should be excused or exempted from these requirements.
• Not engage in any drug-related or other criminal activity that threatens the health and safety of other tenants. This includes drug-related criminal activity on or off the premises. This requirement applies to you, members of your household, your guests, and persons who are "under your control."⁵
• Not abuse alcohol in a way that affects the health and safety of other tenants. This requirement applies to you, members of your household, and your guests.

When do I have to report a change in income to the housing authority?

Once a year, the housing authority requires that you do what is called an "annual reexamination" or "annual redetermination."⁶ This means, once a year the housing authority checks or verifies who lives in your household and what your household’s income is.

The housing authority will also have rules about when to report changes in income in between the annual checks. Reporting a change of income between yearly redeterminations is called "interim" reporting.

State public housing

If you live in state public housing, in between your yearly redeterminations, you must report any monthly increase in your household’s income of 10 percent or more. For example, if the monthly gross income the housing authority used to determine your rent was $1,000, and you made another $100 or more this month, you would need to report this amount to the housing authority.

You must report this increase by the 7th day of the month after the month of the increase. This means that if your income went up by 10 percent or more in January, for example, you would need to report the increase by February 7.

Your rent will then be redetermined. The housing authority must give you at least 14 days notice of a rent increase, and that increase must start on the first day of a month (not in the middle of the month).⁷

Federal public housing

For federal public housing, each housing authority has its own rules about whether and when you have to report changes in your household’s income between the annual reexaminations.⁸ Some housing authorities require you to report any changes in income throughout the year. Other housing authorities don’t.

To see what the rules about interim reexaminations are in your housing authority read your lease and get your housing authority’s Admissions and Continued Occupancy Plan (ACOP). There should be a copy of this plan in the housing authority’s office.

Decreases in income

If you live in state or federal public housing, you should report all decreases in your household’s income throughout the year, even if you are not required to do interim reporting of increases. Lower income usually means lower rent.⁹ For state housing, the housing authority must lower your rent in the month following when you reported the decrease. For federal housing, the housing authority must lower your rent within a reasonable time.

Challenging a rent increase

If you disagree with the amount that the housing authority has determined that your rent should be, you have a right to file a grievance.¹⁰ But you need to pay attention to deadlines.

• If you live in state public housing, you must file a grievance within 14 days of receiving the housing authority’s rent notice.¹¹
• If you live in federal public housing, look at the notice that your housing authority sent you to see if there is a deadline by which you have to file a grievance. You may also need to read your lease or your housing authority’s grievance procedure to figure out the deadlines for filing a grievance about rent.

When do I need to report a change in household size to the housing authority?

You must immediately tell the housing authority if the household members who are named in your lease change. This means that if you want to remove someone from the lease or if you want to add someone to your lease, you must immediately tell the housing authority.¹² If you do not notify the housing authority, you may be putting yourself at risk of eviction.

To add someone to your lease, in most cases you must apply to the housing authority for approval before the person moves in with you; and you must do so in writing. The housing authority will then determine if that person is likely to be a good tenant before it gives permission to add him or her to your lease.¹³

Advance approval from the housing authority is not needed in cases of the birth, adoption or court-awarded custody of a minor child. You must, however, promptly notify the housing authority of these changes. You may also need to move (transfer) to a different size unit because of the change in your household.

If someone leaves your household, the housing authority may require that you provide proof of the new address for the individual. Get the best information that you can. Otherwise, the housing authority may continue to think that the person is in your household and may not change your lease or may hold you responsible for that person. If you can’t get the new address because it is not known to you, show the housing authority that you’ve done the best you can.

If you ask that someone be added to or removed from your household, and the housing authority denies this request, you have the right to use the housing authority grievance procedures to dispute this.¹⁴

If you do make a change to your housing, you and the housing authority will have to sign a lease addendum to reflect this change. A lease addendum is a piece of paper that is added or attached to your lease which makes a change to your current lease. ¹⁵