Research Plan for a Study of Rents and Rent Flexibility

OMB Control Number: 2577-XXXX

Expiration Date: XX/XX/XXXX

Information Collection Requirements

The information collection requirements contained in this proposed rule have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520) and assigned OMB Control Number 2577-XXXX. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless the collection displays a currently valid OMB control number.

Telephone Survey

Public Housing Authority Staff Members

Respondent Name(s):

Position/Title(s):

HA Name:

City/State:

Phone Number:

E-mail Address:

HA Identification Code:

Interviewer Name:

Date Interview Completed:

PHA Size Information (Pre-fill from PIC)

# of Vouchers ___________

# of Public Housing Units __________

Introduction

Hello, my name is [interviewer name]. I work for the [AREA/Abt Associates/Urban Institute] in [Chicago/Boston/Washington, DC], an independent research organization. I do not work for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) or any housing authority; however, we are conducting research for HUD. [AREA/Abt Associates/Urban Institute] is conducting a study to identify possible reforms to the subsidies provided to low-income renters through the Office of Public and Indian Housing Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs.

As part of this research, we are conducting interviews with staff members of approximately 200 public housing authorities to obtain staff experiences and insights on a number of topics affecting rent subsidies. The objective of the housing authority (HA) survey is to provide the Office of Public and Indian Housing with information on current and potential rent policies.

To answer these questions, we want to learn as much as we can about the nature of your HA’s experiences with current rent policies. [For staff other than Executive Director] A letter and a copy of the telephone survey instrument were mailed to your Executive Director with information about the study. [Person’s Name] recommended that we contact you to complete this telephone survey.

This survey will take about 45 minutes to complete. Participating in this survey is voluntary, and you can refuse to answer any question. The information we obtain from these interviews will be presented only as statistical summaries, and no individual respondents will be identified. This survey is being conducted with OMB approval. Your opinions are important to the study and we hope that you agree to participate. The information you provide will help HUD better understand housing agencies’ perspectives and experiences with respect to rent policies. HUD hopes to use findings from this study to develop rent policies that are more equitable for households needing assistance and more flexible and effective for HAs to administer.

Do you have any questions or comments before we continue?

Waiting Lists/Tenant Preferences

First, I would like to ask you a few questions regarding your waiting list(s) and the HA’s philosophy and criteria for selecting households whom you should serve.

1. Do you have one waiting list for public housing and voucher applicants or separate lists?

One list for both ____

Separate lists ____ (Skip to 1b)

Public housing only HA ____ (Skip to 1b)

Voucher only HA ____ (Skip to 1c)

REFUSED ____

DON’T KNOW ____

1a. (If one list for both) About how long do people stay on the waiting list before being offered assistance?

Less than one year ___

One year ___

Two years ___

Three years ___

Four years ___

Five to nine years ___

Ten years or more ___

If range, specify in years ____to____

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

1b. (For HAs with separate list(s) for public housing) About how long do people stay on the public housing waiting list before being offered assistance?

Less than one year ___

One year ___

Two years ___

Three years ___

Four years ___

Five to nine years ___

Ten years or more ___

If range, specify ___ to ____years

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

1c. (For HAs with separate list(s) for HCV units) About how long do people stay on the HCV waiting list before being offered assistance?

Less than one year ___

One year ___

Two years ___

Three years ___

Four years ___

Five to nine years ___

Ten years or more ___

If range, specify ___ to ____years

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

1d. (For HAs with both vouchers and public housing and separate lists for both) Can an applicant be on more than one list?

Yes ____

No ____

REFUSED ____

DON’T KNOW ____

2. Compared to other households who are elderly, disabled, or homeless, do working households have a much shorter wait, a shorter wait, about the same, a longer wait or a much longer wait before they are admitted?

Much shorter wait ____

Shorter wait ____

About the same wait ____

Longer wait ____

Much longer wait ____

REFUSED ____

DON’T KNOW ____

3. For non-elderly and non-disabled households on the waiting list who are not currently working, do you require entrance into a work training program upon admittance?

Yes ____

No ____

REFUSED ____

DON’T KNOW ____

4. (If have separate public housing and voucher lists) At the present time, is your public housing waiting list open? At the present time, is your voucher list open?

Public Housing

Lists HCV Lists

Open (If both open, skip to 5) ____ ___
Closed ____ ___

REFUSED ____ ___

DON’T KNOW ____ ___

4a. For each list that is closed, how long has/have the waiting list(s) been closed?

	One List	Public Housing Lists	HCV Lists
Less than one year
One year
Two years
Three years
Four years
Five or more years
REFUSED
DON’T KNOW

4b. For each list that is closed, when does the HA plan to reopen the list? (Probe for estimate if respondent reports it depends on certain circumstances. Ask: Given those circumstances/situation, what is your best estimate of when it will open?)

	One List	Public Housing Lists	HCV Lists
Less than six months
More than six months but less than one year
More than one year
No plans to open the wait list
It depends on circumstances and cannot provide good estimate of time
REFUSED
DON’T KNOW

Rent Systems

Now I would like to ask you about the HA’s experiences with minimum and flat rents. I will start out with some questions about the minimum rent.

Minimum Rent

5. What minimum rent do you currently charge?

$50 ___

$25 ___

$ 0 ___ (Skip to 9)

Other (specify) $___ ___ ___(1-199)

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

6. (If minimum rent > $0) A hardship exemption allows income-based rent that is lower than the minimum rent. What financial hardship exemptions does the HA allow for minimum rents? (Check all that apply.)

When a family has lost eligibility for or is awaiting an eligibility determination for a Federal, State, or Local assistance program	____
When a family would be evicted because of inability to pay minimum rent	____
When income of family has decreased because of changed circumstances, such as job loss	____
When there are changes in family composition/number of employed adult members	____
When there are changes in family composition/addition of dependent members (children, elderly adults, or live-in aide)	____
When a death has occurred in the household or immediate family	____
When a disability or other serious medical problem occurs	____
Other circumstances	____
REFUSED	____
DON’T KNOW	____

7. During the past year, approximately what percentage of minimum rent households used the hardship exemption?

___ ___ ___% 1-100

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

8. Is the use of the hardship exemption to the minimum rent limited by the number of months it is permitted each lease term?

	Yes	If yes, specify number of months	No	DON’T KNOW	REFUSED
Number of months

8a. (If yes) Specify the number of times it is permitted each lease term?

	Yes	If yes, specify number of times	No	DON’T KNOW	REFUSED
Number of times permitted

9. Have your minimum rents changed over time?

Yes ___

No ___ (Skip to 10)

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

9a. (If yes) Have minimum rents increased or decreased?

Increased ___

Decreased ___

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

1. (If increased) What was the approximate dollar amount of the increase in the last 2 years?

$____ ____ 1-50

Not changed in last 2 years ___

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

2. (If decreased) What was the approximate dollar amount of decrease in the last 2 years?

$____ ____ 1-50

Not changed in last 2 years ___

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

9b. (If minimum rents changed) Why did minimum rents change? (Mark all that apply)

(If minimum rents increased)

To generate more revenue to serve more people ___

To generate more revenue to meet budget shortfall ___

Negative responses from residents/community ___

Lower minimum rent was not fair to households paying higher rent. ___

Wanted to increase motivation to became self sufficient ___

Did not believe income reports at incomes less than $150

dollars a month were accurate ___

(If minimum rents decreased)

Too many hardship exemptions ___

Minimum rent was unaffordable to many people ___

Negative responses from residents/community ___

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

10. (For HAs that charge less than $50 for minimum rent) Why did the HA establish a minimum rent below the maximum allowed?

Families would not be able to afford $50 ___

Negative response from residents/community ___

Plan to gradually increase to $50 over time ___

Other (specify ______) ___

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

11. I would like to ask you a hypothetical question. What is the highest minimum rent that housing authorities should be allowed to set for non-elderly and non-disabled households assuming that current hardship policies continued and any additional revenue went to assist more households?

$50 ___

$75 ___

$100 ___

$150 ___

$200 ___

10% of the Fair Market Rent ___

20% of the Fair Market Rent ___

Utility costs ___

Other (specify) ___

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

Flat Rents (IF HCV only HA, Skip to next section, question #22.)

Now, I would like to ask you some questions about flat rents. For these questions, I’m referring to the flat rents specified in the QWHRA that do not vary by the income of the tenant and give tenants an option each year of paying a flat rent that the HA establishes for the rental value of the unit or paying the standard income-based rent.

12. Which of the following best describes how you determined the appropriate level for your flat rents?

In proportion to Fair Market Rents (FMRs)	___
In proportion to payment standard	___	___
Based on rent reasonableness data	___
95th percentile of actual tenant rents	___	___
Other percentile of actual tenant rents	___
Based on operating cost for a unit	___
Based on private market surveys	___	___
Other (specify) ___________________	___
No data sources used	___
REFUSED	___	___
DON’T KNOW	___

13. Do your flat rents vary by bedroom size, household size, amenities, recent modernization, location, etc.?

Yes

No (Skip to 14)

REFUSED (Skip to 14)

DON’T KNOW (Skip to 14)

13a. If yes, which of these factors does it vary by?

	Flat Rents
Bedroom size
Household size
Amenities
Recent modernization
Location
REFUSED
DON’T KNOW

14. How frequently do flat rents change?

Annually (every year)	____
Every 2 years	____
As needed/ad hoc basis	____
REFUSED DON’T KNOW	____

15. Under what circumstances do flat rents change?

Due to changed housing market conditions	____
Due to changed HA property conditions	____
Due to annual/periodic review	____
Due to sharp increases in utility costs paid by housing authority	____
Due to changes in HUD funding	____
REFUSED	____
DON’T KNOW	____

16. When setting flat rents, what purposes do you assume that they serve?

16a. Which of the purposes that you identified is the most important purpose of flat rents?

	CHECK ALL THAT APPLY	INDICATE ONE MOST IMPORTANT
Allow HA to more accurately project revenue stream	____	____
Lessen income verification workload	____	____
Encourage tenants to accurately report income	____	____
Encourage tenants to sustain or increase earnings	____	____
Retain higher income households	____	____
Decrease tenant length of stay	____	____
Improve tenant sense of equity	____	____
Improve tenant sense of stability	____	____
Improve tenant planning	____	____
Encourage mixed-income communities	____	____
Other (specify _______)	____	____
REFUSED	____	____
DON’T KNOW	____	____

17. Has the establishment of flat rents increased, decreased or had no affect on the following?

17a. (If more than one increased or decreased) Which change has been most important to your HA?

	Increased	Decreased	No Affect	Check Only One (Most Important)	REFUSED	DON’T KNOW
HA revenues
HA income verification workload
Accuracy of reported income
Number of households with increased earnings
The rate of tenant turnover

18. Has the establishment of flat rents affected demand for public housing?

Yes ____

No ____ (Skip to 19)

REFUSED ____

DON’T KNOW ____

18a. (If yes) How has the establishment of flat rents affected demand?

Increased the demand in a few modernized
and mixed-income developments ____

Increased the demand in many developments ____

Decreased the demand ____

REFUSED ____

DON’T KNOW ____

19. Have there been changes in the characteristics of households that apply for housing and/or are on the HA’s waiting list, since the HA established flat rents?

Yes ____

No ____ (Skip to 20)

REFUSED ____

DON’T KNOW ____

19a. (If yes) Do you have fewer, more, or a similar number of wage earners?

19b. (If yes) Do you have fewer, more, or a similar number of single-headed households?

	Fewer	More	Similar	REFUSED	DON’T KNOW
Wage earners
Single-headed families

20. Should there be maximum income limits for households that elect to use flat rents?

Yes ____

No ____ (Skip to 21)

REFUSED ____

DON’T KNOW ____

20a. (If yes) What percentage of the area median income should be the income limit?

___ ___ ___% 1-199

REFUSED ____

DON’T KNOW ____

21. If you could set flat rent standards lower than the current standards allowed in order to serve more households earning $10,000 to $20,000, would you?

Yes ____

No ____ (Skip to 21c)

REFUSED ____

DON’T KNOW ____

21a. (If yes) What average flat rent levels would you use? Please provide an average flat rent number or a range of flat rents.

Average $___ ___ ___ ___ 1-1,000+

Range $___ ___ ___ ___ to $___ ___ ___ ___

Other (specify)_____________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

REFUSED ____

DON’T KNOW ____

21b. (If yes) Would you keep a higher level of rents for current users of flat rents with higher incomes?

Yes ____

No ____

REFUSED ____

DON’T KNOW ____

(Skip to 22)

21c. (If no) Do you see obstacles in setting flat rents lower for some households?

Yes, it is difficult to administer multiple tiers. ____

Yes, if one tier were set lower, the HA would lose revenue. ____

Yes, it is difficult to administer multiple tiers

that vary by income and development ____

Yes, would not be a fair system for tenants ____

No ____

Other (specify) _____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

REFUSED ____

DON’T KNOW ____

Opinions about Current Rent System

The current rent system for tenants in public housing and vouchers requires most tenants to make payments based on 30 percent of adjusted income, except for those with minimum and flat rents and those with temporary earnings disregards. We would like to know your opinions about the current system.

22. We want to know whether you are satisfied with the current rent system or do you think it has flaws. Would you say you are….

Satisfied with current system as it is. ____

Satisfied with current system, but it has minor flaws. ____

Not satisfied with current system; it has minor flaws. ____

Not satisfied with current system; it has major flaws. ____

REFUSED ____

DON’T KNOW ____

22a. If you could change anything about the current rent system to better serve households needing housing assistance, what two things would you change?

Specify_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Specify_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

REFUSED

DON’T KNOW

23. Now I would now like your reaction to the following statements about the current system. Please indicate if you strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, or strongly disagree with the statement.

	Strongly Agree	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree	REFUSED	DON’T KNOW
The current rent system discourages work.
The current rent system charges too high a rate on types of income that are easily verified.
The current rent system charges an appropriate rent – not too high and not too low – to most tenants.
The current rent system spends far too many housing authority resources on verifying incomes.
The current system serves the people most in need of housing assistance.
The current system does not serve the people most in need of housing assistance.
The current rent system discourages adult partners from staying in the household.
The current rent system prevents the housing agency from being trusted by tenants.

24. Some housing observers say that government agencies cannot determine with any accuracy the real annual income of households, because much of the income from such households comes from sources that are not easily verified or predictable. In short, these critics say that government agencies cannot determine if a household reporting an income of zero or $2,500 is any needier than a household reporting an income of $10,000.

How strongly do you agree or disagree with this opinion? Do you strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, strongly disagree, or have no opinion?

Strongly agree ____

Agree ____

Neither agree nor disagree ____

Disagree ____

Strongly disagree ____

REFUSED ____

No opinion/DON’T KNOW ____

Alternative Rent Systems

HUD would like to hear your perspective on alternative rent systems. I would like to ask you questions about alternative rent systems, such as used by some MTW sites, and the HA’s preferences for each alternative.

25. Should housing authorities be allowed more flexibility in setting rents and payment standards than is allowed under the current rules?

Yes ___

No ___

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

26. If more flexibility were allowed, would your HA use the greater flexibility to establish different policies for settings rents and payment standards?

Yes ___ (Skip to 26b)

No ___

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

26a. (If no) What would be reasons not to use such flexibility? (Read list.)

i. (If more than one in 26a) Which reason would you say is most important?

Check all Most

that apply Important

Current system is known ___ ____

Current system is fairer to current residents ___ ____

Board wants current system ___ ____

New system would be hard to administer ___ ____

New system would be hard to explain ___ ____

Other (specify) ___ ____

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

26b. (If yes, the HA would use greater flexibility) What would be the HA’s reasons for requesting greater flexibility? (Read list.)

i. (If more than one in 26b) Which reason, would you say, is most important?

Check all Most

that apply Important

Make rent flows and HA budgeting more predictable ___ ____

Make rents fairer to current residents

who report earnings ___ ____

Assist more households not currently served ___ ____

Increase household stability ___ ____

Encourage more working households ___ ____

Other (specify) ___ ____

Other (specify) ___ ____

Other (specify) ___ ____

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

26c. (If yes, HA would use greater flexibility) Would you restrict major changes to the following:

Newly admitted households ___

Newly admitted households whose

heads were not disabled and/or not elderly ___

Newly admitted households first and contract
renewals later ___

All households whose heads were not

disabled and/or not elderly ___

No restriction ___

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

26d. (If yes, HA would use greater flexibility) Under a hardship policy that would let a tenant request rents lower than some minimum or flat rents or argue for a higher payment standard, do you think tenants should be limited to a certain number of hardship appeals?

Yes ___

No ___

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

26e. (If yes, HA would apply for greater flexibility) Under a hardship policy that would let a tenant request rents lower than some minimum or flat rents or argue for a higher payment standard, do you think tenants should be limited to a certain number of months for their hardship?

Yes ___

No ___

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

27. I would like to ask you a hypothetical question. Assuming you were allowed greater flexibility in setting rents and payment standards, rate the following rent reform proposals as worth considering, not worth considering, no opinion: (Read options a-c for HA with PH only, d for HA with vouchers only.)

	Worth Considering	Not Worth Considering	No Opinion/ DON’T KNOW	REFUSED
a. Flat rents averaging between $150 and $300 based only on number of bedrooms, with no yearly change except an inflation index. Rents not based on reported income.
b. Flat rents starting at $150 for new tenants, then rising in $50-75 yearly increments. Rents not based on reported income.
c. Minimum rent of $150 per month for households with an annual income of $6,000 or less. If the household has an annual income above $6,000, they would pay 10% of the additional income in rent. (For example, a household with an income of $7,200 would have a rent of $150 per month for the first $6,000 and then 10% of the additional $1,200 which is $120 annually or $10 per month. Total monthly rent would be $160.)
d. (For voucher households only) Payment standards set initially at 90 percent of the FMR for determining tenant rental contribution and HAP payments, then decreasing by 5 percentage points of FMR each year.

Payment Standards (If HA does not have vouchers, skip to next section, question #40.)

The following questions ask about the HA’s payment standards.

28. What factors affect how the HA sets it payment standards?

28a. (If more than three factors) Which three factors are most important?

	CHECK ALL THAT APPLY	INDICATE THREE MOST IMPORTANT
A traditional percentage of the FMR	____	____
Success rates of tenant searches	____	____
Efforts to deconcentrate households with vouchers	____	____
Landlord willingness to participate	____	____
HA budget constraints	____	____
Pressure from waiting lists	____	____
Experience based on previous HCV rents	____	____
Experience based on rent reasonableness determinations	____	____
Data used for rent reasonableness determinations	____	____
Other private rental housing market data	____	____
Arbitrary	____	____
Same percentage as last year	____	____
REFUSED	____	____
DON’T KNOW	____	____

29. Does the HA take into consideration utility costs when setting payment standards?

Yes, fully reflects utility costs ____

Yes, some specific adjustments for utility costs ____

Yes, FMR accurately reflects utility costs ____

Yes, use current local data that reflect HAs

utility costs ____

No ____

REFUSED ____

DON’T KNOW ____

30. At what percent of FMRs have payment standards been typically set in the past year?

90 percent ____

100 percent ____

110 percent ____

Other (specify) ___ ___ ___%

Varies, provide range _______ to ________%

REFUSED ____

DON’T KNOW ____

31. Does HUD allow you to set payment standards up to 120 percent of FMRs or above 120 percent of FMRs?

No, can’t go above 110% of FMR ____

Yes, Up 120 percent of FMRs ____

Yes, Above 120 percent of FMRs ____

REFUSED ____

DON’T KNOW ____

32. Does the HA have one payment standard throughout its jurisdiction or do standards vary by geographic area?

One standard ____ (Skip to 33)

Vary by geographic area ____

REFUSED ____

DON’T KNOW ____

32a. (If payment standards vary by geographic area) How many different payment standards does the HA have for various geographic areas? ______ (number)

32b. How are the geographic areas defined? (Check all that apply.)

Neighborhoods within central city ___

Central city versus suburbs ___

Outlying county/counties ___

Communities within county or HA’s jurisdiction ___

Other (specify) ___________________________ ___

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

32c. What is the highest payment standard in any geographic area?

32d. What is the lowest payment standard in any geographic area?

Area	90%	100%	110%	120%	above 120%	Other (specify)	REF	DK
Highest
Lowest

32e. Why does the payment standard vary by geographic area?

Increase voucher success rate _____

Encourage deconcentration of HCV households _____

High cost Aexception areas@ _____

Other (specify ______) _____

REFUSED _____

DON’T KNOW _____

33. Does the HA use the same percentage of FMR as the payment standard for all unit sizes/number of bedrooms, or do standards vary by unit size?

One standard _____ (Skip to 34)

Vary by unit size _____

REFUSED _____

DON’T KNOW _____

33a. (If payment standards vary by unit size) What unit size(s) has/have the highest payment standard relative to FMR? For that unit size, what is the payment standard relative to the FMR? (Provide information for more than one, if more than one unit size has the maximum payment standard.)

One bedroom units ___ ___ ___% 1-150 of FMR

Two bedroom units ___ ___ ___% 1-150 of FMR

Three bedroom units ___ ___ ___% 1-150 of FMR

Four bedroom units ___ ___ ___% 1-150 of FMR

Five or more bedroom units ___ ___ ___% 1-150 of FMR

REFUSED

DON’T KNOW

33b. (If payment standards vary by unit size) What unit(s) has/have the lowest payment standard relative to FMR? For that unit size, what is the payment standard relative to the FMR? (Provide information for more than one, if more than one unit size has the minimum payment standard.)

One bedroom units ___ ___ ___% 1-150 of FMR

Two bedroom units ___ ___ ___% 1-150 of FMR

Three bedroom units ___ ___ ___% 1-150 of FMR

Four bedroom units ___ ___ ___% 1-150 of FMR

Five or more bedroom units ___ ___ ___% 1-150 of FMR

REFUSED

DON’T KNOW

33c. Why does the payment standard vary by unit size?

Increase voucher success rate for that unit size _____

Encourage deconcentration of HCV households _____

Other (specify __________) _____

REFUSED _____

DON’T KNOW _____

34. Based on your experience, do you think that FMRs, as currently established, are good proxies for market rents for decent housing that most voucher households can rent?

Yes ____ (Skip to 35)

No ____

REFUSED ____

DON’T KNOW ____

34a. (If no) Why not? Is it because FMRs are…? (Read list.) INDICATE

PERCENT

Too high ____ ___ ___% 1-99

Too low ____ ___ ___% 1-99

Too out of date for local market ____

Other (specify) ____

REFUSED ____

DON’T KNOW ____

35. Based on constant dollars that control for inflation, during the last two years, have the HA’s payment standards…? (Read list.)

Increased ____

Decreased ____

Remained the same ____ (Skip to 36)

REFUSED ____ (Skip to 36)

DON’T KNOW ____ (Skip to 36)

35a. Which of the following were reasons the payment standard changed in the last two years? (Read list. Check all that apply.)

Lower the average Housing Assistance Payment (HAP)

to meet budget constraints ____

Raise the average tenant subsidy to deepen the subsidy ____

Lower the average tenant subsidy to serve more tenants ____

Stabilize success rate of tenant search ____

Ensure that new vouchers are used ____

Lower administrative costs ____

React to changing market rents ____

Other (specify) _________________________________ ____

REFUSED ____

DON’T KNOW ____

36. How often does the HA change its payment standards?

Annually ____

Once every two years ____ (Skip to 37)

Once every three years ____ (Skip to 37)

Other (specify) ________________________________ ____ (Skip to 37)

REFUSED ____ (Skip to 37)

DON’T KNOW ____ (Skip to 37)

36a. (If annually) Would the HA prefer to change its payment standards more frequently than once per year?

Yes ____

No ____

REFUSED ____

DON’T KNOW ____

37. I would like to ask you a hypothetical question. If a HA found it difficult to support its current number of voucher tenants at their current HAP levels, and if the HA could set its own minimum rent and payment standard what would be the action(s) you would recommend the HA take?

Reduce admission rates so fewer tenants are served ___

Serve the current number of tenants but lower the payment standards ___

Serve the current number of tenants but raise the minimum rent ___

Serve the current number of tenants and both lower the payment
standards and raise the minimum rent ___

REFUSED

DON’T KNOW

38. What method(s) does the HA use to determine reasonable rents for HCV units? (If more than one, indicate the method that is most important.)

Check Indicate

all that one most

apply important

HA staff research using newspapers, other advertisements

real estate listings, Internet listings ____ ____

Outside vendor provides data upon which HA relies to set rents ____ ____

Outside vendor provides a system that determines whether

or not the requested rent is reasonable ____ ____

HA uses another HA’s system ____ ____

Landlords provide rents for comparable market rate units

in the same building ____ ____

Landlords provide rents for comparable market rate units

in other buildings ____ ____

Other (specify) ____ ____

REFUSED ____ ____

DON’T KNOW ____ ____

39. Based on your experience, what do you think the impacts of setting the payment standards 10 percent lower would be on the following...Would it greatly increase, s

	Greatly increase	Somewhat Increase	Not change	Somewhat decrease	Greatly decrease	REFUSED	DON’T KNOW
HA ability to annually expend its voucher funds?
Diversity of neighborhoods open to tenants to find decent housing?
Administrative costs to the HA?
Cost of HAP payment per tenant?
Number of households served?

Income Components

During this part of the survey, I would like to ask you a few questions about how the HA verifies income for households that participate in the public housing and Housing Choice Voucher Programs.

40. Does your agency use the Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) system?

Yes ____

No ____ (Skip to 41)

40a. (If yes, using EIV) When did you start using EIV?

Less than one year ago ___

One year ago ___

Two or more years ago ___ Specify year: __ __ __ __

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

40b. (If yes, using EIV) Do you use any system in addition to the EIV system?

Yes ___

No ___

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

40c. (If yes) Has the use of EIV increased or decreased the HA’s accuracy of verifying income reported by households during re-examinations? Has EIV…? (Read list.)

Increased accuracy a great deal ___

Increased accuracy somewhat ___

Had no affect on accuracy ___

Decreased accuracy ___

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

40d. As a result of EIV, has the HA shown an increase in the yearly percentage of over-income households?

Yes ___

No ___ (Skip to 40e)

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

1. (If increased percentage of ineligible households since the implementation of EIV) Please estimate the percentage increase in the number of households that are over income now that the EIV system is being used.

___ ___ ___% 1-100

40e. During the most recent year, about what percentage of tenants had their income and rent checked due to the EIV?

___ ___ ___% 1-100

41. (For respondents who don’t use the EIV system) Is there an alternative Upfront Income Verification System (UIV) that you use?

Yes ___

No ___

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

42. Does the HA collect information on previous rent or other household expenditures paid by program applicants?

Yes, rent only ___

Yes, only other expenditures (specify)

Yes, rent and other expenditures (specify)

No ___ (Skip to 42d)

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

42a. (If HA collects information on previous rent or other household expenditures) Is the information that the HA collects on previous rent or other household expenditures used to verify reported household income?

Yes, at admissions only ___

Yes, at admissions and subsequent years ___

No ___

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

42b. (If HA collects information on previous rent/expenditures) Does the HA question applicants whose reported income does not support the level of rent or other expenditures?

Yes ___

No ___

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

42c. Does the HA ask for additional information from households whose reported income is below some extremely low level for one or more years?

Yes ___

No ___ (End survey)

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

1. If HAs ask for additional information, probe for types of information requested.

2. If HAs ask for additional information, probe for income level or other factors that trigger request for more information.

42d. (If HA does not question applicants on previous rent and expenditures) Why doesn’t the HA question applicants on previous rent and expenditures? Is it because…

It is too burdensome ___

The HA does not see a need to do this ___

HA has not considered it as far as I know ___

REFUSED ___

DON’T KNOW ___

We appreciate the time you shared with us to help with this important study on rent structure. Thank you very much for completing the survey.

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Telephone Survey Public Housing Authority Staff Members