District of Columbia Administrative Code

5406 VERIFICATION OF ANNUAL INCOME 5406.1 All of the below listed sources of income are subject to the verification hierarchy listed previously in this chapter, unless specifically stated otherwise. (a) Three (3) consecutive paycheck stubs; (b) Tips, commissions and bonuses. If n…

5407 ASSETS 5407.1 DCHA, under its MTW authority, established Initiative 3.7.08 entitled “Rent Simplification and Collection”, which simplified calculation of assets for purposes of determining income. The following provision shall apply to calculating assets as imputed income: (…

5500 PARTICIPANT FAMILY REQUEST FOR PORTABILITY 5500.1 When a Family wishes to move under portability, the Family shall inform DCHA in writing of the area to which the Family wishes to move. DCHA shall assist the Family in contacting the PHA where they wish to port (the Receiving…

5501 DENYING FAMILY REQUEST TO MOVE UNDER PORTABILITY 5501.1 DCHA shall deny a Family’s request to move under portability, subject to the protections in the VAWA, Fair Housing Act (FHA), and District of Columbia Human Rights Act (DCHRA) if: The Family is an applicant Family comin…

5502 DENYING PORTABILITY MOVES DUE TO INSUFFICIENT FUNDING 5502.1 If DCHA denies a request for portability due to insufficient funding such requests shall be documented with proper financial documentation demonstrating DCHA’s inability to support the portability request. 5502.2 D…

5503 OUTGOING PORTABILITY PROCEDURES 5503.1 Once DCHA approves the Family’s portability move out of DCHA’s jurisdiction, DCHA shall schedule the Family to attend a portability briefing. 5503.2 DCHA shall brief the Family on: The estimated time frame for submitting paperwork to th…

5504 BILLING 5504.1 The Receiving PHA shall provide initial billing to DCHA: (a) No later than ten (10) business days following the date of execution of the HAP contract; and (b) To receive the billing no later than sixty (60) days following the expiration date of the Family's vo…

5505 INCOMING PORTABILITY PROCEDURES 5505.1 Once DCHA receives the portability packet, the assigned Housing Programs Specialist shall ensure that the Family’s voucher has not expired and will not expire within thirty (30) days. 5505.2 If an incoming Family’s voucher has expired, …

5506 TERM OF VOUCHER WHEN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HOUSING AUTHORITY IS ABSORBING 5506.1 In order to allow families the maximum time available to locate safe, decent, and affordable housing in a neighborhood that is low-poverty and to maximize the families’ economic opportunities, DC…

5507 TERM OF VOUCHER AND EXTENSIONS WHEN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HOUSING AUTHORITY IS BILLING 5507.1 The term of the voucher shall not expire before the expiration date of the Initial PHA voucher. 5507.2 DCHA shall not provide additional search time to the Family beyond the expirati…

5508 ABSORPTION OF A PORTABLE FAMILY 5508.1 A Housing Specialist shall not absorb families into the Program unless the Director of the HCVP or his or her designee directs or approves the absorption of the families. 5508.2 When DCHA is absorbing on an ongoing basis, an incoming po…

5509 NOTICE TO INITIAL PUBLIC HOUSING AUTHORITY OF BILLING OR ABSORPTION 5509.1 DCHA shall send Part II of HUD Form-52665 to the Initial PHA notifying the Initial PHA of absorption or billing arrangements. 5509.2 Under no circumstances shall DCHA absorb families into its program …

5510 BILLING DEADLINES AND ONGOING RESPONSIBILITIES 5510.1 DCHA shall submit initial billing notice as follows: (a) No later than ten (10) working days following the date the HAP contract was executed; and (b) In time that it shall be received no later than sixty (60) days follow…

5599 DEFINITIONS 5599.1 The following terms and phrases shall apply only to Chapter 55 of Title 14 DCMR: Initial PHA - the Public Housing Authority in the jurisdiction where the participant Family currently leases a unit and wishes to move from. Receiving PHA - the Public Housing…

5600 DEBTS AND REPAYMENT AGREEMENTS POLICIES 5600.1 DCHA shall make a concerted effort to collect the debt when it is determined that participant families or owners owe money to DCHA. 5600.2 DCHA shall use a variety of collection tools to recover debts including, but not limited …

5601 DEBTS DUE TO PROGRAM FRAUD, MISREPRESENTATIONS, OR NON-REPORTING OF INFORMATION 5601.1 A participant Family or owner may owe a debt to DCHA for program abuse or non-reporting information to the HCVP, even if the participant Family or owner had no intent to commit fraud. In s…

5602 REPAYMENT AGREEMENTS GENERALLY 5602.1 A Repayment Agreement is a document entered into between DCHA and a Head of Household or an owner who owes a debt to DCHA. It is similar to a promissory note, but contains more details regarding the nature of the debt, the terms of payme…

5603 REPAYMENT AGREEMENTS TERMS 5603.1 DCHA shall only execute Repayment Agreements with a Head of Household or an owner. 5603.2 All payments under a Repayment Agreement shall be due in full on the first (1st) day of the month and shall be considered to be in default if not paid …

5604 RESTRICTIONS ON MOVES FOR DEFAULT 5604.1 No participant Family moves shall be approved if the Repayment Agreement is in default, unless there is a request in writing from the Participant Family and documentation provided, satisfactory to HCVP, that the move is the result of …

5605 ARREARS 5605.1 If any payment is more than thirty (30) days past due, the repayments shall be considered to be in arrears, and the Family shall be deemed in violation of the terms of the Repayment Agreement. 5605.2 DCHA shall take action to terminate assistance to the partic…

5606 WRITING OFF DEBTS 5606.1 Heads of Household and former Heads of Household shall remain liable for all unpaid debts which shall remain on the books as a debt to DCHA, unless discharged by order of the United States Bankruptcy Court. 5606.2 While a Head of Household’s debt sha…

5700 RAD-CONVERTED HOUSING: GENERAL PROVISIONS 5700.1 This Chapter 57 of Title 14 DCMR supplements the Section 8 Administrative Plan and sets forth rules which govern the operation of housing converted under the Rental Assistance Demonstration (“RAD”) from public housing to housi…

5701 AMENDMENT OF RULES 5701.1 Any revision or amendment of this Chapter 57 shall be consistent with the provision of the District of Columbia Administrative Procedures Act (D.C. Official Code §§ 2-501 et seq. (2016 Repl.), except as provided for in this section. 5701.2 The rules…

5702 IMPLEMENTATION OF POLICIES 5702.1 Whenever the policies established under this Chapter 57 require DCHA to provide additional procedural details affecting tenants of RAD Covered projects, the details provided by DCHA shall be consistent with the policies established by HUD, t…

5703 WAIVER OF RULES 5703.1 Upon determination of good cause, the Executive Director of DCHA may waive any provision of this subtitle, subject to statutory limitations of Federal and District law. Each waiver shall be in writing and shall be supported by documentation of the pert…

5704 RULES GOVERNING ADMINISTRATION OF SECTION 8 PROGRAM 5704.1 The District of Columbia Housing Authority pursuant to requirements and funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development administers rental allowance programs under Section 8 of the Housing Act of 19…

5705 [RESERVED] SOURCE: Final Rulemaking at 64 DCR 12956 (December 22, 2017); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 66 DCR 6831 (June 7, 2019). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Housing 14 DCMR § 5705 AUTHORITY: DC-DCMR District of Columbia Housing Authority Act of…

5706 SELECTION OF AND ASSIGNMENT TO RAD PROPERTIES 5706.1 Applicants that wish to reside in a RAD Covered Project must apply to either of the Public Housing Waiting Lists, in accordance with the procedures set forth in Chapter 61 of this Title 14. 5706.2 All vacant RAD units shal…

5707 ELIGIBILITY 5707.1 The procedures for collecting required information, determining eligibility, and briefing applicants shall be governed by Sections 6106 and 6107 of this Title 14, except as otherwise provided in this Chapter 57. Applicants to Private Mixed Finance Projects…

5708 INCOME LIMITS 5708.1 To be eligible for admission to the RAD program, an applicant's annual household income shall be within the income limits for low income families, as established by HUD. 5708.2 HUD establishes low income limits based on eighty percent (80%) of the area m…

5709 SUBSIDY STANDARDS / VOUCHER SIZE 5709.1 The Voucher size is used to determine the maximum rent subsidy for a Family assisted in the HCVP. 5709.2 The following requirements apply when DCHA determines Voucher size under the subsidy standards: The subsidy standards shall provid…

5710 BRIEFING 5710.1 The purpose of the briefing is to fully inform the applicant Family about the RAD Project-Based Program. 5710.2 DCHA shall give each Family accepted into the RAD Project-Based Program an oral briefing and provide the Family with a briefing packet containing w…

5711 NOTIFICATION AND ATTENDANCE 5711.1 The RAD Program shall notify Families in writing, by first class mail or hand delivery, of their eligibility for assistance at the time that they are invited to attend a briefing. The notice shall identify who is required to attend the brie…

5712 ORAL BRIEFING 5712.1 Each briefing shall provide information on the following subjects: How the RAD Project-Based Program works; Family and owner responsibilities; SOURCE: Final Rulemaking at 64 DCR 12956 (December 22, 2017); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 66 DC…

5713 BRIEFING PACKET 5713.1 Documents and information provided in the briefing packet shall include the following: A description of the method used to calculate the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) for a Family, including: How DCHA determines the payment standard for a Family; Ho…

5714 APPROVAL OF REQUEST FOR TENANCY 5714.1 Prior to approving the assisted tenancy at a RAD property, DCHA shall ensure that all required actions and determinations have been completed. These actions include ensuring: (a) That the unit is eligible; (b) That the unit has been ins…

5715 SEPARATE AGREEMENTS 5715.1 Owners and tenants may execute agreements for services, appliances (other than for range and refrigerator), and other items outside those which are provided under the lease if the agreement is in writing and approved by DCHA. 5715.2 Any appliance, …

5716 HOUSING ASSISTANCE PAYMENT CONTRACT EXECUTION 5716.1 Owners who have not previously participated in the voucher program shall attend a meeting with DCHA in which the terms of the Tenancy Addendum and the HAP contract shall be explained. DCHA may waive this requirement on a c…

5717 RENT CALCULATIONS 5717.1 Initial Contract Rent. The amount to Owner must not exceed the lowest of: (a) An amount determined by DCHA, not to exceed one hundred ten percent (110%) of the applicable fair market rent for the unit bedroom size minus any utility allowance; or (b) …

5718 EARNED INCOME DISREGARD 5718.1 Definitions. The following definitions apply for purposes of this section. Baseline income. The annual income immediately prior to implementation of the disallowance described in Subsection 5718.3 of this section of a person who is a member of …

5719 CHANGES IN RENT 5719.1 (a) Rent Phase-In. If a tenant’s monthly rent increases by more than the greater of ten percent (10%) or twenty-five dollars ($25) purely as a result of RAD conversion, the rent increase will be phased in over a period of five (5) years. The tenants th…

5720 UTILITY ALLOWANCE 5720.1 DCHA shall establish on a project basis, in accordance with Federal regulations, appropriate utility allowances for tenants with individual utility meters. 5720.2 Allowances shall be based on average consumption levels and information provided by the…

5721 EXCESS UTILITY CHARGES 5721.1 Tenants who do not pay for their own electricity shall be charged reasonable amounts for electricity consumed as a result of major electrical appliances which are not provided by DCHA. Major electrical appliances include the following: (a) Cloth…

5722 SECURITY DEPOSITS 5722.1 Each new tenant household shall be required to make a security deposit to DCHA prior to the execution of the dwelling lease. 5722.2 The security deposit shall be a flat fee assessment as follows: (a) Fifty dollars ($50) - elderly family households; o…

5723 REPAYMENT OF SECURITY DEPOSITS AND MOVE-OUT INSPECTIONS 5723.1 The amount of the security deposit to be refunded shall be based on the following: (a) Actual unpaid repair costs for damages to the premises beyond normal wear and tear; (b) Total rent delinquency charges; (c) T…

5724 RENT COLLECTION 5724.1 Rental payments and excess utility or other charges where applicable, for each month shall be due on the first (1st) day of each month. A payment received by the tenth (10th) day of the month shall not be considered delinquent. 5724.2 Current rent shal…

5725 RETURNED CHECKS 5725.1 Tenants whose checks are returned for insufficient funds shall be assessed a fifteen dollar ($15) returned check fee, and shall be required to make payment within five (5) working days, from the date of the returned check notice, for the amount outstan…

5726 RETROACTIVE RENT 5726.1 Retroactive rent charges, determined in accordance with § 5719 of this subtitle, shall be due in full within thirty (30) days of notification. 5726.2 Partial payments of amounts due may be authorized by the Project Owner if it is determined that the t…

5727 ABATEMENT OF RENT 5727.1 In the event that a unit is rendered uninhabitable and repairs are not made as provided for in § 5758, the Project Owner shall abate the tenant's total tenant payment in proportion to the seriousness of the damage and loss in value as a dwelling. 572…

5728 [RESERVED] SOURCE: Final Rulemaking at 64 DCR 12956 (December 22, 2017); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 66 DCR 6831 (June 7, 2019). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Housing 14 DCMR § 5728 AUTHORITY: DC-DCMR District of Columbia Housing Authority Act of…