(a) When PHA is required to conduct reexamination.
(1) For families who pay an income-based rent, the PHA must conduct a reexamination of family income and composition at least annually and must make appropriate adjustments in the rent after consultation with the family and upon verification of the information.
(2) For families who choose flat rents, the PHA must conduct a reexamination of family composition at least annually, and must conduct a reexamination of family income at least once every three years in accordance with the procedures in § 960.253(f).
(3) For all families who include nonexempt individuals, as defined in § 960.601, the PHA must determine compliance once each twelve months with community service and self-sufficiency requirements in subpart F of this part.
(4) The PHA may use the results of these reexaminations to require the family to move to an appropriate size unit.
(b) Interim reexaminations.
(1) A family may request an interim reexamination of family income or composition because of any changes since the last determination.
(2) The PHA must make the interim reexamination within a reasonable time after the family request. The PHA must adopt policies prescribing when and under what conditions the family must report a change in family income or composition.
(c) Streamlined income determination -
(1) General. A PHA may elect to apply a streamlined income determination to families receiving fixed income, as described in paragraph (c)(3) of this section.
(2) Definition of “fixed income”. For purposes of this section, “fixed income” means periodic payments at reasonably predictable levels from one or more of the following sources:
(i) Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Supplemental Disability Insurance.
(ii) Federal, state, local, or private pension plans.
(iii) Annuities or other retirement benefit programs, insurance policies, disability or death benefits, or other similar types of periodic receipts.
(iv) Any other source of income subject to adjustment by a verifiable COLA or current rate of interest.
(3) Method of streamlined income determination. A PHA using the streamlined income determination must adjust a family's income according to the percentage of a family's unadjusted income that is from fixed income.
(i) When 90 percent or more of a family's unadjusted income consists of fixed income, PHAs using streamlined income determinations must apply a COLA or COLAs to the family's sources of fixed income, provided that the family certifies both that 90 percent or more of their unadjusted income is fixed income and that their sources of fixed income have not changed from the previous year. For non-fixed income, the PHA is not required to make adjustments pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section.
(ii) When less than 90 percent of a family's unadjusted income consists of fixed income, PHAs using streamlined income determinations must apply a COLA to each of the family's sources of fixed income individually. The PHA must determine all other income pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section.
(4) COLA rate applied by PHAs. PHAs using streamlined income determinations must adjust a family's fixed income using a COLA or current interest rate that applies to each specific source of fixed income and is available from a public source or through tenant-provided, third-party-generated documentation. If no public verification or tenant-provided documentation is available, then the owner must obtain third-party verification of the income amounts in order to calculate the change in income for the source.
(5) Triennial verification. For any income determined pursuant to a streamlined income determination, a PHA must obtain third-party verification of all income amounts every 3 years.
(d) PHA reexamination policies. The PHA must adopt admission and occupancy policies concerning conduct of annual and interim reexaminations in accordance with this section, and shall conduct reexaminations in accordance with such policies. The PHA reexamination policies must be in accordance with the PHA plan.
[65 FR 16726, Mar. 29, 2000, as amended at 81 FR 12373, Mar. 8, 2016; 82 FR 58340, Dec. 12, 2017; 85 FR 27139, May 7, 2020]