HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) issued Notice PIH 2016-06 on April 7, providing guidance to public housing agencies (PHAs) regarding their administration of resident self-certification of compliance with the Community Service and Self-Sufficiency Requirement (CSSR). The Notice prescribes the content of a PHA-developed form to be used by self-certifying residents, and sets out the required sampling methodology for validating self-certifications.
The Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 requires every adult resident of public housing to engage in community service or participate in an economic self-sufficiency program for eight hours each month. Residents who are employed or who are disabled are exempt. On March 8, 2016, HUD published a final rule (see Memo, 3/7) streamlining a number of public housing and Housing Choice Voucher provisions (also see related article in this Memo to Members). That rule allows PHAs to accept resident self-certification that they are complying with CSSR. If a PHA elects to accept self-certification, it must notify residents that self-certifications may be subject to third-party verification, and the PHA must validate a sample of self-certifications each year.
Notice PIH-2016-06 is at http://1.usa.gov/1VWtuMu