An applicant may be denied admission only for very specific reasons. 24 C.F.R. §§ 982.552–.553 list the mandatory and discretionary grounds for denying admission to the program. The PHA must deny admission to the program if any member of the family fails to sign and submit required consent forms, fails to provide required evidence of citizenship or eligible immigration status, fails to meet the eligibility requirements concerning individuals enrolled at institutions of higher education, or is over-income for the program.

The PHA must perform a criminal background check of all adult household members before admission into the HCVP program. Certain criminal acts have the effect of banning a person from receiving federal housing assistance. Registered lifetime sex offenders and persons convicted of methamphetamine manufacturing or production in federally assisted housing are permanently banned.1  If a PHA proposes to deny admission for criminal activity as shown by a criminal record, the PHA must provide a copy of the criminal record to the subject of the record and to the applicant. The PHA must give the family an opportunity to dispute the accuracy and relevance of that record in the informal review process.2  Arrests and police reports are not sufficient to meet the PHA’s burden of proving criminal activity.3

A PHA cannot grant admission to a person for 3 years following an eviction from a federally assisted housing unit for drug-related criminal activity.4  Further, the PHA must bar admission to any person whom the PHA can establish is currently engaging in illegal drug use or in alcohol abuse that may threaten the health, safety or right to peaceful enjoyment by other residents. A household member is “currently engaged in” criminal activity if the person has engaged in the behavior recently enough to justify a reasonable belief that the behavior is current.5

The 3-year ban can be lifted if the person who engaged in the criminal activity completes a PHA-approved drug treatment program or if “the circumstances leading to eviction no longer exist (for example, the criminal household member has died or is imprisoned).”6  The exceptions can be invaluable in overcoming a denial of admission. Some municipalities are turning to rehabilitative programs as part of sentences for drug use, allowing applicants to take advantage of this exception. In many cases, you will find removing the offending person from an application is an acceptable solution to allow the rest of the family a chance to secure housing.

The Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) has a progressive criminal background screening policy that will only automatically deny Section 8 applicants who have been convicted of production of methamphetamines in federally assisted housing or who are on the lifetime sex offender list. Other applicants may be sent through a “further review” process depending on the nature of their criminal conviction and time that has elapsed since the conviction. In the further review process, applicants can provide evidence of the facts and circumstances surrounding the conviction, evidence of good tenant and employment history, and evidence of rehabilitation and community support. No applications will be denied based on arrest alone. Southeast Louisiana Legal Services has authored a toolkit that may be useful for applicants navigating the further review process.7

• 1See 24 C.F.R. § 982.553(a)(1)(ii)(c), (a)(2)(i).
• 224 C.F.R. § 982.554.
• 3See U.S. Dep’t of Hous. & Urb. Dev., Office of General Counsel Guidance on Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to Use of Criminal Records by Providers of Housing and Real Estate-Related Transactions (Apr. 4, 2016); U.S. Pipe & Foundry Co. v. Webb, 595 F.2d 264, 270 (5th Cir. 1979) (hearsay may constitute substantial evidence in an administrative proceeding only if certain reliability factors are present); Sanders v. Sellers-Earnest, 768 F. Supp. 2d 1180, 1185–88 (M.D. Fla. 2010) (Section 8 termination based solely on police report was improper); Edgecomb v. Hous. Auth. of the Town of Vernon, 824 F. Supp. 312 (D. Conn. 1993) (Section 8 termination based solely on police report and newspaper articles was improper).
• 424 C.F.R. § 982.553(a).
• 524 C.F.R. § 982.553(a)(2)(ii)(C)(2).
• 6Id.
• 7Se. La. Legal Servs., Navigating the Criminal Background Screening Policy of the Housing Authority of New Orleans.

The PHA must give an applicant prompt written notice of a decision denying admission to the HCVP. The notice must briefly state the reasons for the decision (including any eligibility determination) and the availability of and process for requesting an informal review of the decision.1  This “informal review” differs from the “informal hearing” available when assistance is terminated. For instance, an “informal hearing” provides a right of discovery, whereas an “informal review” does not.2

The PHA’s Administrative Plan will identify the specific procedures it will use to conduct the informal review. At a minimum, the procedures must comply with three provisions: it may not be conducted by the person who made or approved the decision to deny or by a subordinate of this person; the applicant must have opportunity to present written or oral objections to the decision; the PHA must issue its decision in writing after the informal review, including a brief statement of the reasons for the final decision.3

The PHA is not required to provide the applicant an opportunity for an informal review when the denial of assistance relates to a discretionary administrative determination by the PHA; general policy issues or class grievances; a determination of the family unit size under the PHA subsidy standards; a determination not to approve an extension or suspension of a voucher term; a determination not to grant approval of the tenancy; a determination that a unit selected by the applicant is not in compliance with Housing Quality Standards.4

It is important to act quickly when a family has received notice of a denial of assistance. The informal review process is usually time sensitive with hard deadlines set by the PHA. When assisting a client who has been denied assistance, quick action to notify the PHA of the request for an informal review should be your first step. Because many denials of assistance stem from the PHA making its determination on information that is inaccurate or out-of-date, include with this notification a request to review the family’s file to determine what information the PHA is using as the basis for its determination. Even if the PHA has correct information, you can nonetheless take action that will allow the problem to be rectified before the review occurs, such as when a denial is due to an expungable criminal record.

• 124 C.F.R. §§ 982.201(f), .554(a).
• 2Compare 24 C.F.R. § 982.555 (“informal hearing”), with 24 C.F.R. § 982.555(E)(2) (“informal review”).
• 324 C.F.R. § 982.554(b).
• 4See 24 C.F.R. § 982.554(c).