Subsidy Contract
Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan
Contractor List
Board list
Resident Selection Plan
Staff contact information
Computer information - passwords, etc.
Instructions for any essential equipment - resetting fire panels, door codes, fob programming instructions, etc.
There are others, but you get the idea. Far from being just a handy book to blow the dust off of and use once in a while, this binder contains information you need to be familiar with.
Some of our sites (Twin Haven, Butter Brook, Templeton Farm, and Lymewood among them) have partial subsidy for the property. That means that subsidy gets assigned to different tenants when it is freed up. Subsidy is sometimes just a total number, and you can move it around to any unit. Sometimes it's restricted by unit size or type. If you don't know exactly what your contract says, you can make a very costly mistake. Here's how it can happen:
Let's say Greenville Estates has 40 units, with only 20 subsidies. Those subsidies can move around to any apartment, BUT in the contract there is a restriction of 18 one-bedroom and 2 two-bedroom allotments. Let's say I have one of my one-bedroom subsidies open up. OneSite's settings simply tell me I have 20 total subsidies. So I assign that one-bedroom subsidy to a two-bedroom unit. I'm still using 20, so all good, right?
Nope - my contract says it has to be 18 and 2. Now it's 17 and 3. OneSite will let me adjust those numbers - it does so in case contracts change. BUT when I send my HAP in, my Contract Administrator will disallow that two-bedroom unit. I can only use two of those. Now I have to go back and tell that two-bedroom tenant that they can't have the subsidy after all. And since the HAP already went in, odds are the site is out some money.It's an error that can be avoided by knowing your contract. Information like this is in your HAP Contract, and typically in your Resident Selection Plan as well. Read them, and know them - or keep them handy to refer to when situations like this come up.
Likewise, knowing your Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan can avoid errors that can cost you at MOR time. You must send out community agency letters and place advertising every year. Your AFHMP tells you the sources for these outreach efforts. Failure to comply can cost you at MOR time. Make sure that you know your AFHMP.
Remember, working in regulated housing means there's a rule for just about everything. Know your rules, and avoid a lot of headaches. Direct questions to your Regional Manager or the appropriate staff when needed. We all want to do our job well, and we all want to do things the way the regulatory body wants us done. Knowledge is key.
