Included in this section is a list of frequently asked questions regarding the Housing Opportunities with AIDS program. The following is a fact sheet compiled by the Brazos Valley Council of Governments (BVCOG) based on the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) HOPWA Manual, as well as training received by HUD and clarification from DSHS. This fact sheet is merely meant to provide some general clarification and guidance and is not a comprehensive source for information on HOPWA in Texas. For more information, please refer to the most recent DSHS HOPWA Manual at http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/hivstd/fieldops/hopwa.shtm
HOPWA Fact Sheet
Short-term Rent, Mortgage, and/or Utility Assistance (STRMU)
STRMU is a term used by HUD, but it is also known as "Emergency" or "Short-term" Assistance. Below is a description of the requirements for eligibility for Short-term Assistance, as well as the documentation required before payments can be made:
The client must be HIV-positive or living with AIDS and low income.
The client must be a tenant on a valid lease for property in which they have been residing "for a time" before seeking the HOPWA assistance, or be the owner of a mortgaged dwelling in which they reside. In other words, the client must already be living in a residence that is in their name and cannot be homeless. The purpose of short-term assistance is the prevention of homelessness, not to put a homeless person into a residence. The client must present evidence that they are the named tenants under a valid lease (to receive a rental payment), the owner of a mortgaged real property (to receive a mortgage payment). To receive a utility payment, the client must be named on the lease or have an account in their name with a utility company. Because homeless individuals cannot be assisted with emergency assistance, it will become increasingly important to be familiar with and utilize other resources in your community to assist the homeless."
The client must submit evidence of their inability to make their monthly payments (i.e., late payment notice, eviction notice, disconnect notice, medical bill, employment termination letter). A late payment notice is not required, but the client must still show evidence of need.
The HOPWA provider must verify the debt by contacting the entities that issued the notices, taking particular care to keep the confidentiality of the client and not reveal that HOPWA is the potential source of assistance.
Once the applicant's need and eligibility are verified, the HOPWA provider should process the payment(s) and send the payee those amounts necessary to bring the account current, including any late fees or penalties. Paying late fees is allowable, but that can be determined by the program.
In addition to a complete and correct HOPWA application, there must be an adequate housing plan for all short-term clients.
Following is information about the eligible period for short-term HOPWA assistance:
Assistance may not be provided for costs accruing over a period of more than 21-weeks in any 52-week period. The period of time in which the HOPWA program may pay for a client's rent, mortgage and/or utilities is limited to the total expenses accrued over 21-weeks. A client may be several payments behind, for example from June 1 through August 31, which would total 13 weeks of assistance. Therefore, in this example, an additional 8 weeks of assistance would be allowed during the 21-week period of eligibility.
The 21-week time clock begins on the first date of the bills covered by HOPWA on behalf of the eligible client.
Methods for calculating the eligible period:
The 21-week eligibility period may be calculated by using one of two acceptable methods. However, the provider must elect to use one method consistently for all of its clients.
1. The 1st method is to use a set period for all clients. This can be either the calendar year or the grantee's contract year.
2. The 2nd method is for providers to establish a separate period of eligibility for each client, based on the date the client began to receive assistance. The client's eligibility period would end 52 weeks after the payments were supposed to be received by the payee from the client (e.g., June 1st from the example above, which establishes the beginning of the period covered by the assistance). This is the preferred method of determining eligibility.
* The push for HOPWA is housing stability. If someone is on the Emergency (short-term) Assistance program, they are not in stable housing. Short-term assistance is not intended to provide continuous or perpetual assistance and the statute requires that good faith efforts be undertaken to relocate clients to permanent housing.
Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA)
TBRA is another term used by HUD, but is also known as long-term rental assistance. Following is some important information regarding long-term assistance:
Grace Periods: All HOPWA providers must allow for some grace period when the eligible client leaves the household (due to incarceration, death of the client, entrance into a substance abuse treatment facility, etc.). The Texas Department of State Health Services recommends at least 3 months and no more than 12 months for the grace period. Providers must be uniform for all clients and be clear about the grace period. Providers must also re-calculate eligibility once the eligible (HIV-positive) person is out of the household.
While security deposits were never allowed in short-term assistance, they are also currently NOT allowed under long-term housing assistance.
Clients are NOT required to contribute to the rent if they have $0 income.
Providers must do a "rent reasonable" check and document that in the client's file every time the client moves or begins housing assistance (it does not need to be re-done unless the client moves). Some ways this could be documented is checking real estate/having copies of newspapers in the file or speaking to someone and documenting that in the file (e.g., "I spoke to ___ with [company] who stated that..."). The documentation must show that the residence is reasonable compared to other housing in the area that meet minimum standards.
Other important HOPWA information
Providers can be more strict than 80% of median income in calculating eligibility when funds are insufficient to assist all clients in need (e.g., 150% of poverty).
Providers must ensure that the agency's caller ID does not identify them as a provider of HIV/AIDS services.
Functioning smoke detectors are required for ALL types of assistance (both short-term and long-term). The provider does not have to physically go out to the property and check, but there must be some certification in the client file.
Payments made for clients to stay in hotels/motels is NOT allowed under HOPWA.
Payments for either short-term or long-term to a client's family member is basically not allowed except if there is absolutely no other way to accommodate them (because you must make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities). However, there is a great deal of documentation that is required. You must make the argument that you need to make the accommodations and the accommodations cannot be found elsewhere. Or, you could make the argument that the family member is needed for the emotional well-being of the client; however, you would again need documentation, such as a letter from a psychiatrist.
HOPWA assistance should not be denied simply because a client uses or is alleged to use or abuse illegal drugs in their place of residence, or because he or she refuses to enter drug treatment services. Client eligibility must be based on the criteria specified in the eligibility sections of the manual. The owner of the rental property certainly has the right to prohibit illegal acts on his or her property, and has the right to notify law enforcement officials when needed or to initiate eviction proceedings when a client has violated lease provisions.
If a client is evicted, they can reapply for the program.
A client can be terminated for non-compliance with program requirements, but you MUST HAVE the following in place:
Written notification that states why the client was terminated and a description of the appeal process
The appeal cannot go to someone who made the decision to terminate the client or to someone who reports to the person who made the decision
The appeal needs to go to someone who has power over the decision
There must be a timeframe for the appeal, which is described in the letter (i.e., 30 days notice before terminating the client; must respond within __ days to appeal the decision, etc.)
The process for the appeal must be clearly outlined in the letter
The client can self-identify whether the person they live with is a partner or roommate. That relationship can change, but it should really only be done at recertification (the client can't change their mind every week or month). However, the client should make an informed decision and the Case Manager should explain both options very clearly.
There is a manual called "Section 8 Made Simple: Using the Housing Choice Voucher Program to Assist People with Disabilities" that is recommended for all providers to access: http://www.tacinc.org/cms/admin/cms/_uploads/docs/Sect8.2ndEd.pdf
Please ensure that all program staff are aware of and are operating under these requirements. You can contact Crystal Crowell at ccrowell@bvcog.org or (979) 595-2800 with any questions or concerns regarding
the above information.
Link to the HOPWA Appendix Y
http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/hivstd/fieldops/hopwa/appendix_y.pdf
HOPWA Training Session Q&A
The following file is a summary of discussion questions and answers at a HOPWA training provided by BVCOG in January 2006.
Download file (MS Word)
