Family Changes

• When do I report changes in my family?
• How can I add someone to my household?
• How do I remove someone from my lease?
• If my housing authority says I am overhoused, what can happen to my rent?

When do I report changes in my family?

Reporting changes in your family is just like reporting income. You will go through a recertification check at least once a year, and you will likely have to report any changes throughout the year. Read your lease to find out what is required. If someone leaves your household and your rent is based in part on their income, you should report that right away so your rent can be decreased.

How can I add someone to my household?

You have the responsibility to inform your housing authority of any person you wish to add to your lease,ⁱ and should make a request for the addition to the manager. It is always best to put your request in writing and keep a copy. Some housing authorities have a required application form. The housing authority must give approval for the addition of a person to your household.

Children

In general, if the person being added to the household is just born to a household member, or where a household member has adopted or obtained court-awarded custody of a young child, you will not need advance permission from the housing authority to have a minor live with you in the interim before official approval. The housing authority is likely to want the birth certificate, adoption order, or copy of the court order. If the child is young, there will probably not be any screening. If the child is a teenager, however, the housing authority may wish to do a criminal record check to be sure that the teenager has not been adjudicated as an adult for any crimes.

Adults

If the person you want to add to your lease is an adult, the housing authority will probably require that the person be screened, which could include a screening of criminal history. The housing authority may also apply other rules it uses when admitting households with noncitizens. If the person you want to add to your lease is not approved, you should have the right to challenge this using the grievance procedure. For more information about screening and criminal history records and admissions rules related to noncitizens, see Legal Tactics: Finding Public and Subsidized Housing, Booklets 6 and 9, available at www.MassLegalHelp.org/housing.

Under housing authority leases, you have the right to have a guest stay with you for limited periods of time without advance approval of the housing authority. In state public housing, state regulations usually limit this period to 21 days during any 12-month period, unless the housing authority has received approval for a different time period.ⁱⁱ In federal public housing, each housing authority can set its own policy, as long as it is reasonable.ⁱⁱⁱ

You can ask the housing authority to let your proposed new household member stay with you during the guest period while you make the written request for an addition. The housing authority might agree to extend the period if the request is still going through screening. If the person has been denied and you file a grievance, you can ask the housing authority to extend the time period for the person to stay while your grievance is pending.

If you lose the grievance and any appeal, the housing authority will require that the proposed household member vacate the unit. Keep in mind that even if someone is related to you by marriage or blood, if that person has a criminal record, the housing authority may be able to refuse to allow them onto your lease. If you let the proposed new household member continue to live in the unit after your grievance has been deemed unsuccessful, the housing authority can terminate your tenancy because the person would be an unauthorized household member.

How do I remove someone from my lease?

In general, the head of household controls who lives in the public housing apartment and must submit a request to remove a household member from the lease. Often, 1the housing authority will ask for proof that a family member lives elsewhere before removing that person from your lease. This kind of proof can be a copy of a new lease, a utility bill, or a rent receipt in the person’s name.^iv

Domestic violence, separation or divorce

There may be cases where the head of household has engaged in domestic abuse toward other household members, or where there is a divorce or separation. If the family members cannot otherwise reach an agreement about who stays and who leaves, a court may determine who gets to stay in the apartment.

A new federal law called the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 provides that a public housing authority may bifurcate (divide) a lease in order to evict or remove an abuser, while allowing the person being victimized to stay.^v

A housing authority may ask an individual to document or certify that he or she is or has been a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking. Such certification may include: police or court records documenting incidents of violence; or a statement, under oath, from a victim service provider, attorney or medical professional that there have been one or more incidents of abuse.^vi The certification must be provided within 14 days of the housing authority’s request, although this deadline may be extended by the housing authority.

A housing authority also has a duty to provide reasonable and appropriate assistance to household members who are victims of domestic violence, including changing locks for those who have obtained abuse prevention orders and waiving (not charging) the cost to change the locks.^vii

If my housing authority says I am overhoused, what can happen to my rent?

If you are living in an apartment with more bedrooms than is determined to be appropriate for your household size, your housing authority can classify your household as overhoused and ask you to move to a smaller apartment. In state public housing, if you refuse to transfer to a smaller apartment of appropriate size offered by the housing authority, your rent can be increased to 150% of your usual rent.^viii (See also Is my rent always based on my income?.)

In addition, in either state or federal public housing, if your household has been classified as overhoused and refuses to transfer to a smaller apartment, this could be grounds for eviction. If you think you have good cause (good reason) not to move to the smaller apartment, you should file a grievance. Some reasons to challenge the transfer include:

• You are a veteran, surviving spouse of a veteran, or Gold Star Mother and allowed by state law to stay in your state public housing unit; ^ix
• You need to remain in your current apartment due to a disability or you require additional space because of medically required equipment;
• The apartment you are offered is dangerous or not up to building or health codes;
• You cannot climb the stairs or the apartment does not otherwise meet your needs for accessibility (for example, you have a wheelchair and the apartment is not wheelchair accessible); or
• The apartment is otherwise not appropriate.

For more information about how to file a grievance, see Using Your Public Housing Grievance Procedure, a guidebook available at www.MassLegalHelp.org/housing/grievances.