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-<· . .,I BILL OF RIGHTS FOR PUBLIC HOUSING TENANTS 1 -
-I. RIGHTS OF APPLICANTS FOR PUBLIC HOUSING Secc lo The . local agency shall use application forms which providE(:-ort\y / such information as is pertinent to / the size of the household unit, the income of that \ household unit and the need of that unit for public housing. Questions concerning the legal stan~Jn& of the marital status of members of the family, the legitimacy of the children in the family, the police record of members of the family and other such information, including race or religion are specially prohibited from appearing on the application form Any otlE r criteria. beside income and family size which i s utilized in d?terming eligibility by the housing a u t hority must be submitted to the Department of Housin g a nd Ur ban Development for approvalo 0 Secc 2c Once t he a pp l ication form has been completed, the a pp licant must be given a number which i ndic ates his chronol og i cal place on the waiting list f or t he size apartment ne c e ssar y f or h i s family unles s on the f ace of the a pplication t he f ami ly is by the publ i shed standards ineligible becaus e of exce ss incqme or on the fac e of · the application there is shm-n.1 no demons trab le need for public hous ing (i.ec, that the family lives i.n decent housing and pays a rent it c an afford )o For this initial determination, all statements made on t he application ar~ deemed t o be trueo Seco 3o For the purpose of determining initial eligibility or ineligibility, all statements ma de on the application are presumed to be true o If the local authority believes that some or all of the statements are untrue, the authority may conduct an investigation after the initial determination of eiigibiiity has been
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made and the person given his chronological place
on the waiting listo It is the sole responsibility
of the housing authority to collect all information
available in public records. The applicant may authorize the authority to collect relevant data not available in public records · from persons other than the
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applicant. No negative inference shall be drawn from
the failure of individuals other than the applicant
himself to cooperate with the housing authority
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(a)
If the ~ocal authority -determines tha~
despite the statement given on the application
form·the person or family are ineligible for
public housing because of excess income or no
need, the family must be notified in writing
within 30 days following the date of the
application of their ineligibility and the
detailed reasons for it. If the household
unit is held to be ineligible and wishes t o
_ challenge this determination, a hearing shall
be afforded. This hearing shall comply with
the provisions of Part IIIo ,. However, during
the time that such procedures are being
utilized and until a decision upon the hearing,
the person shall continue to be listed as
eligible and shall remain on t he waiting list
in the chronologicah order based on the original
number given t o the familyo
(b)
Any applicant not notified that he is ineligible
within 30 days after the date of the application is deemed to be el~gible and thereafter
the housing authority may not challenge his
eligibility unless there is a substantial
change in the income of the family or the
composition of the household unit as it relates
to income, or the housing authority can demonstrate there is no longer a need for public
housing (ioeo, the applicant has moved to
decent housing at a rent he can afford) or
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the authority can demonstrate fraud on the
part of the applicant in providing eligibility
informationo
Sec 4o Applicants · shall be processed in strict
chronological order and no priority shall be given
ex_<::e_p_t _ for:
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(a)
persons who are forced to relocate as a
result of a comprehensive urban renewal
program which includes _demolition of --the
premises in which the persons reside or in
the event that they are forced to relocate
as a result of the Public Housing Authority
having acquired the premises in which they
reside and said premises are to be demolished
so that public housing projects can be built
on that site 9
(b)
persons who demonstrate~
of n ee d
(ioeo, elderly individuals, large families,
those who are destitute) .
Seco So The local agency must make available for
inspection at reasonable times and places the rent
sche dule in effect at all projects administere d by
that agency, a nd the number Qf apartments available
in e ach project broken clown by the size of apartmcnto
The local authority must also make available for
inspe ction the general schedule of max imum income
b~se d on f ami ly s ize wh i ch will permit pers ons to b e
eligib le f or admissio~ t o its proj ects o The a ut hority
mus t a lso make available for public inspection the
wait ing list of applicantso
Seco 60 When an applicant has been notified t hat he
is eligible and that an apartment is available, he
may challenge the housing a uthority ' s determination
of rent through hearing proceedings outlined in
Part IIIo No lease shall extend for a period of less
than 1 year durationo
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IIo
RIGHTS OF TENANTS IN PU~LIC HOUSING
Sec lo The lease shall be written in clear concise
language able to be understood by laymen of average intelligence . Where r e quired, the lease shall be written in the
applicants na tive language· if said applicant does not speak
Englisho
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Seco 2o The signed lease does not in any way derogate th~
rights of the tenant and the authority as declare d and
guaranteed by the United States Constitution, fede~al and
state statutes, decisional law and iegulations promulgated
by the Depar tmen t of Housing and Urban Deve lopment
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Sec. 3 o No lease, regulation or other ·w ritten or oral
agreement shall permit the termination of a tenancy on
gr ouhds other than the. following:
(a)
chronic non-payment of rent after efforts have
been made to develop a schedule of rent payments
throughout the rent period which the t enant
could meet;
(b)
commission of active waste (physical destruction)
of the leased premises by tenant;
(c)
tenant in over-income as determine
d by the Housing
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Authority except where eviction wo uld work extreme
hardship on the family unit ;
(d)
substantia l interference with other tenants i n
such a manner as ·t o mater ial ly diminish t he ir
enjo~nent of the premises; subs tant ial interference
must relate to actual conduct of the tenant and
not to such matters as are specifically prohibited
from appearing on the applications of prospective
tenants by Section 7 of Part I of this Bill of
Rights; issues arising from a proposed tenancy
shall be submitted to the Hearing Panel and no
eviction shall apply except to the individual
offender unless he is the head of the family unit
and no other responsible individual is a member
of the family unito
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failure of resident to proviclc the Hou sing
Authority with income statement within 60 days
from dat e of request.
Seco 4o No local housing authority sha ll i nterfere directly
or indir e ctly with the right of its tenants to free speech,
_to organiz e or to seek redress of grievances. No tenant
· shall be evicted or otherwise penalized for engaging in
such c1ctivity o
Secg So No local housing authority shall interfere with
the ri ght of its tenants to quiet enjoyment of t heol premises
they rented nor sha ll the authority infringe upon its
tenants' ri g ht t o privacy . The authority s hall not enter
the premises ren ted by a tenant without t he tenant's
express permission excep t for an annual inspection or in
an emcrge ncyo
Sec o 6
Rent is de fined as that sum of mone y exp ressly
provided for in the l ease b e t ween the tenant and t he housing authority as consideration for housing prov ided to the
· tenanto No lo cal housing authority sha ll levy any fines,
fees, or ot her financial sanctions upon tenantsg The cos t
of repairs shall be charged to a tenant only if the Hearing
Panel dete rmines it was caused by the t e nant's own malicious
or reckless act and such cos t of repairs sha ll be colle ctible
only by a separate civil actiono
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Seco lo Tenan ts shall be chargeable for repairs only when
managemr:int can affirmatively establish fault on the part of
the tc11:1nt. Tho tenant shall not be r e~~ pon sihlv for
ordin:1ty \v(·ar an cJ lc.1.r, or for neg l igern.:e (except gross
negligence)" Any determination of fault shall be subject
to review by the Hearing Panela
Seco 80 Where repairs are deemed necessary, a tenant or
tenant organization shall have the right to submit a
\<-.-rritten or oral complaint to the local housing authority a
I[ i..i1e cu!ltJJlaiui... ls oi:ctl, U1e r e sponsible official of the
authority shall reduce that complaint to writing on an
appropria te form" If the needed repairs are not of an
immediate natur e or do not create an emergency situation,
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the authority shall have 30 days in which to consider the
complaint and take appropriate actiono If no action is
· taken by the authority within that time, the complaint .
shall automatically be considered by the Hearing Panel.
If the repairs are needed immediately, the authority must
act within 48 hourso If the authority fails to act, the
.tenant may contract privately to have repairs made which
will eliminate the emergency conditions (ioeo, those
necessary to eliminate dangers to health and safety)o
.The tenant's action shall be reviewed by the Hearing Panelo
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Seco 9o If the Hearing Panel determines that the complaint
is valid, the tenant shall have the option of withholding
rent to the extent ·of rent-impairment determined by the
Panel, or to make repairs at his own expense and reduce the
rent pro tantoo The Hearing Panel shall have the additional
authority to invite loc_a l housing · inspection unit to inspect
subject premises in order to determine existence of housing
violation or violations and the housing authority shall
waive any immunity it may otherwise possess with respect to
the action of such inspection unit
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Seco lOo· Overall responsibility for rodent control and
maintenance of hallways, staircases and other common areas
of the Project shall rest in the Authority
It shall bear
·all expenses for materials and labor and shall replace
tenants' garbage rec eptacles in ~eed ~f sameo Where regular
garbage collection is insufficient to control infestation,
additio~al collections shall be made at the expens e of the
Authority.,
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Seco llo The graded rent s ystem, whereby a tenant is
charged a rental which accords with his income, shall be
applied uniformly.
Sec~ 120 Rent shall be redetermined no more often than
once a year, preferably once every 2 years, with the
exception of "hardship rento" Where, during the course of
a tenancy, a tenant undergoes a serious reduction in income
and thereby qualifies for the hardship rent, rent shall be
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., - 7 modified downward immediatelyo Such hardship rent shall then continue until the next annual or biannual redetermina- , -:tion, with the obligation upon the tenant to report any restoration of original income . level during this periodo Seco 130 In any redetermination of income, temporary income shall not-be projected on an annual basis, unless · tenant's prior work history clearly indicates a pattern of · maintaining temporary jobs on a continuous basis. Seco 140 Only a substantial "increc1;se or decrease.!' in family income shall bring redetermination procedures into operation (and require reporting by tenant)o Such amount shall be no less than $400, computed on an annual basis, or other basis if work is temporaryo This same principle is to be followed in the case of decreaseo Seco ·1s. Decreases in rent shall be retroactive to the beginning of the rent determinat~on periodo · Increases in rent shall not be retroactive except in cases where the Authority can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the tenant willfully concealed information. Such . a determination shall be made by the Hearing Panelo Seco 160 Any disputes regarding redetermination shall be submitted to the Hearing Panel or otµer arbitra.tion bodyo The "reduced rent" concept, by wqich' the tenant agrees in advance to be bound by any increases (up to maximwn rent), shall be eliminated.,
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III.
THE RIGHT TO AN ADMINISTRATIVE HEL\RING AND DUE PROCESS
Seco lo The local agency shall adopt and promulgate
· regulations establishing policies for occupancy or continued
occupancy which shall give full consideration to the right
of tGnants or. applicants rejected for tenancy in low-rent
housing projects _to due process of lawo Said regulations,
which shall be incorporated in all leases executed by
tenants at or before the commencement of occupancy and shall
be posted on all bulletin boards accessible to the tenants
or to the public within the project, shall provide... at least
the minimum protections hereinafter set forth.
Seco 2.
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Notices
(a)
Every notice of eviction or other sanction against
tenants or refusal to take action on the complaints
of tenants or ·of rejection of applications shall
be typewritt en, signed by an official of the agency
and mailed in a postage prepaid envelope addressed
to the tenant's apartment of residence in the
project, or, in the case of applicants, the address
furnishEd with the application by registered mail,
return receipt requested.
(b)
The notice shall advis~ the tenant, or applicant
of the time and place of a hearing on the grounds
for the action taken~ t3 be held on a date no
less than 10 -days al~er receipt by the tenant or
applicant of t he notice, and, if feasible, during
the evening hourso The notice shall further
advise the tenant or applicant in clear and precise
langunge of the specific grounds for the action
takeno Where the local agency has reason to
believe that the tenant or applicant if, Spanish
speaking, the no tice and all of its contents shall
be in Spanish a s well as Englisho
(c)
The notice shall further advise the tenant of:
his right to be represented by legal counsel
(including the address of the local legal services,
legal aid, or other office where such assistance
can be obtained) or any other person of his
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all the written evidence to be used by the local
agency against him (at the hearing) prior to and
during the hearing, or a~ any reasonable time
after the hearing; his right to other discovery
as hereinafter set forth; his right to crossexamine hostile witnesses and to bring his own
witnesses; his right to demand that the local
agency produce at the hearing any employee whose
testimony is alleged relevanto A copy of the
rules governing the conduct of hearings s.hall be
attached to the Noticeo
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(d)
Every such notice of hearing shall issue within 5
days of a final decision by the agency on the
application, eviction or complaint, which final
decision in the case of applications and complaints
shall be made ·within 10 days after presentation
by the applicant or tenant of the application or
complainto In the event the agency fails to compl y
with the provisions herein, the tenant or applicant
may request a hearing unilaterally in a letter t o
·the hearing panel stating the circumstances of t he
re quest and, unless the r equest is frivolous on
i ts fac e , t he pane l shall its e lf s chedule a hearing
t o be heldo
Seco 3 o Ans wer t o t he Not i ce
The tenant ·or app lic ant shall a cknowl edge i n writing , or in
person, receipt of the notice and h is willingness to
participate in a hearing on the scheduled date, within 5
days of receipt of the notice. If t he tenant or applicant
does not so acknowledge, and no reasonab le excuse is shown,
the hearing shall be canceled and t he matter terminatedo
'!he agency shall give consideration to reasonable requests
for postponements of hearing dateso
Sec o 4. Place __~£ Hea.ri~
Hearings under this paragraph shall be conducted, to the
extent feasible, in a well-lighted , confortable room in
the project containing ample space and chairs for the.
parties and for other interested personso
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Secc 50
Hearing Officers
a) Hearings shall be conducted before a panel
of three officers; one officer to be designated by the agency,
who shall not be an employee of the agency; one officer to
be designated by the tenants of the project, and one officer,
to represent the public, to be designated by agreement of
the other officersc
b) The representative of the tenants on~the
hearing panel shall be elected by majority vote of the
tenants a t a meet i ng ini tially called for tha t purpose within the project on at least ten days notice, published on all
bulletin boards, by officers of the tenants' associationo
c) All of fice r s · shall act in their respective
capac i ties f or one year te r ms to conclude on t he s ame date
eac h year c Af t er t he init ial des ign a tion of t he t enants '
representative, subsequent elections shall be held on a dat e
exact l y one year afte r the original election unless ot herwise
agreed t o b y majorit y vote of
tenants
In t he event of
resignation or d isab ility to serve, t he succes sor representative s
shall be de s ignated withi n fiv e da ys of t he effectiv e date of
sa i d res i gnat i on or disability , t o serve as officer s f or t he
balance of the respective one year t ermso An i nterim tenant s'
r epresentative s hall be elec t ed in t h~ manner pres cribed in
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subpara gr aph (b)c
the
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d) All officers shall be c ompens a t e d out of t he
agenc y 's funds at the rate of t wenty-five do llars for each
day of he ar ing ser v i ce, ot substantial port ion thereof
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e) The hearing off i cers s hall mutually designate
and retain at the commencement of t he initial term of service
and as often thereafter as necessary , the services of an
attorney whose dut ies shall include attendance at all hearings
for the purpose of furnishing l egal advice and guidance to the
presiding officer and otrer officers of the panel, and the
prep~ration of the panel vs decision in each case, and who
shall be compensated for his services out of agency funds at
the rate of fifteen dollars for each hour of legal service
renderedo
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f) The me mbers of the ·panel shall serve in
rotation as presiding officer at each complete hearingo _
the other officers may participate in the examination of
witnesses or in discussions with the parties or counsel but
only the presiding officer, with the assistance of counsel
to the panel, ma y make rulings during the course of the
· hearirg o
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g) The panel, at its discretion, may elect to
·hear s ev e ral cases, separately, at one hearing session and
will so advise the agency officials responsible for issuance
of notic e s of he aring.
Sec . 6
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Jurisdic t ion of the Hearing Panel
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a) The panel sha ll have jurisdiction to decide
issues r e l a ting to rejections of applications for admission
t o the projects, evictions, or other sanctions sought to be
imposed by the agency on tenants, rent determinations, and
complaints by tenants against management personnel but not
against other t enants (unle ss such complaints against other
te nants are consid ered as pa rt of an eviction action under
Sect i on I (d) of Part II of this Bill of Rights)o
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b) The panel shall determine whe the r the action
t aken b y manageme nt confl i cts with the Housing Act , and the
re gulat i ons of the Public Housin~ Administration and the l oc a l
agency o I f the pane l de te rmines that a conflict e xi s t s , i t
shall dis mi ss t he notic e of eviction , orde r t he app lication
r einstate d or order any ot her ne c e ssary and appr opr i a t e relie f.
·rn the ev ent that t he matter of i s s ue does no t con f lic t wit h
a specific provision of the s t a t ute or t he r egul~tions , the
pane l shall decide the cas e, in an e quitable manner , with
the obj e c t of e ffectuating the humane i nte n t and purp oses of
the Housing Ac to
Sec., 7
Conduct of Hearin g
a) Rights of Part ies., In any hear ing he ld purs uant
to this Section, any party s hall have t he right t o appe ar,to
be represented by couns el or other per son of his choos ing; to
call, e xamine, and cross - examine witness es; to introduce into
the re c ord documentary or other evidence; and to ·present an
opening sta t ement and closing argument.,
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(1)
Cross-Examination; Exclusion of
Certain Evidenceo In any hearing the
- tenant or applicant shall have the right to confront and
cross-examine all witnesses who testify or furnish or have
furnished evidence adverse to the applicant or tenant;
including persons who have· furnished information contained
·in case records, investigation reports, affidavits, statements,
and other documents the Housing Authority wishes to introduce
into evidence at the hearingo If the Housing Authority fails
·to produce any such person for cross-examination by the
applicant or tenant, no evidence, oral, written, err otherwise,
attributable to such person may be admitted in evidence except
at the reques t of the applicant or tenant, provided however that nothing herein· shall preclude the admission of evidence
otherwise admissible under judicially recognized exceptions
to the hearsay ruleo
(2) Discove~ At least seven (7) days prior
to the date set for the hearing the applicant or tenant shall
receive upon request: a list of all witnesses who are to testify
on behalf of the Housing Authority~ copies of all statements
of such witnesses in possession of the Housing Authority which
have been reduced to writing and signed or otherwise approved
or adopted by the witness; copies of all written or other
evidence which the Housing Authority intends to read from or .
introduc e into evidence at the hearing; copies of all statutes,
rules, regulations, and policies•to which the Housing Authority intends to rely, at the hea~ing and otherwis e in support of its
actionso Any witness not disclosed, or document not furnished
in accordance with this sub-section may not testify, or be
introduced in evidence , at the hear ing.
b) Rules of Evidenceo Every party shall have the
rigjlt to pres ent his case or defense by oral or documentary
evidence, to submit rebuttal evidence, and to conduct such
cross -examination as may be required for a ful l and true
disclosure of the factso Subject to the provisions of subsection ( a ) of t his Section , any oral n r rl0 ~~me nt Ary ~virlen~~
shall be rec e ived e xcept that which is clearly irrelevant,
immaterial, or unduly repetitious
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c) Burden of Proofo In any hearing involving
an eviction, denial of application, or rent determination
the burden of proof shall be on the Housing Authority to
support its position by a fair preponderance of the evidence.
In a. hearing involving any other issue the same burden of proof
shall be on the party requesting the hearing. The party having
the burden of proof shall present its case firsto
d) TrRnscripto In any hearing held pursuant to
this Section a verbatim record of the proceedings shall be
kept, either by a stenographer or by an ele~troni€ deviceo Wh.en this record shall have been transcribed, copies shall
be furnished to th~ partieso A copy of the transcript shall
be furnished to the 4plicant or tenant free of charge upon
request 0
e) Briefso At the conelusion of any hearing, both
parties shall be advised of their right to submit briefs in
support of their respective positions. The applicant or
tenant shall be granted a minimum of two (2) weeks after
receipt of the transcript of the hearing in which to file his
briefo The Housing Authority shall be granted a minimum of
orie (1) week after receipt of the brief of the applicant or
tenant in which to file a reply briefo A brief is "filed"
within the meaning of this sub-section when a copy has been
filed with the hearing panel and a copy has been served on the
adverse party or his counsel .
f) Decisiono No final decis i on shall be rendered
by the hearing board until each member of the board has had
an opportunity to review the transcript of the hearing and to
read the briefs of the partieso The board shall only consider
evidence contained in the record of the hearing, to wit,
the transcript, exhibits admitted into evidence, and the
briefs of the partieso Decisions shall be by a majority of
the hearing panel and shall be binding upon the parties 51
subject to the right of judicial review provided in Section 8
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(2) The decision shall be in writing and shall
set forth in detail the findings of fact and conclusions of law
upon which the decision is basedo The hearing panel is required
in its decision to consider and dispose of all issues and
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contentions raised by the partieso Each finding of
fact and conclusion of law in the decision must be
supported by and in accar rlance with a preponderance of the
reliable and relevant evidence in the hearing recordo
(3) A decision shall be rendered within two
(2) weeks after receipt by the panel of the case record
and briefs of the partieso Copies of the decision shall
be served upon all parties and their respective counselo
Sec. Bo
Judicial Review
a) The housing authority and the tenant or
applicant, if aggrieved by the decision of the hearing panel,
shall have the right to seek such judicial review as is provide.cl by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the rearing
was held
The decisioµ of the r~viewing court shall be
binding on the panel and the parties unless reversed on appealo
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b) The filing of the complaint or petition for
re~iew shall not stay enforcement of the decision of the
hearing panel, but the hearing panel may order such a s tay
in the interests of justice, except that the filing of such
a complaint or petition shall operate to stay an eviction
pending the e xhaustion of judicial remedies by the tenanto
c) Within ten (10) days. af~ 1.· service of the
complaint or petition, or within such further time as the
court may allow, the hearing panel shall transmit to the
reviewing court a copy of the entire record of the proceeding
under review.
d) Nothing in this section shall be deemed in any
way to foreclose or diminish the right to other means of
judicial review, redress, relief , or trial de novo provided
by lawo
Seco 9o
Hearing Optiorn.l
a) Notwithstanding any othe r prov1.s1on contained
in this Bill of Rights, the hearing procedure provided herein
shall be deemed to be optional with the tenant or applicant
The tenant or applicant shall have the right to refuse a hearing
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before the hearing panel and to seek in the first instance
such relief as is available from the courts of the jurisdiction in which the housing authority is locatedo
b) The hearing procedure provided herein shall
be deemed to be mandatory ·on the housing authorityo The
authority must utilize the hearing procedure in the first
instance and may only seek judicial review of decisions of
the hearing panelo
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July 5, 1967
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