Participant Eligibility

Applicants must meet several criteria to be eligible for assistance:

• Income Limits Requirement: The Applicant household or individual must meet income requirements which are published and updated annually by HUD.
• At least one household member must be a United States citizen or an eligible immigrant.
• Each household must have a Social Security Number or be able to verify that one has been applied for.
• Meet AH’s criminal background screening criteria.
• Comply with AH’s Work/Program Participation Requirement.

Work / Program Participation Requirement

As a condition of receiving the housing subsidy, households must meet the Work/Program Requirement where:

• One non-elderly (18 to 61 years old), non-disabled adult household member must maintain continuous full-time employment (at least 20 hours per week)

AND

• All other non-elderly, non-disabled household members must also maintain employment with a minimum of 20 hours per week or participate in a combination of school, job-training and/or part-time employment for a minimum of 20 hours per week.

Continued Eligibility

AH may review a household’s eligibility for continued participation in its programs through a process called “Recertification.” During the recertification process, AH does one or more of the following activities to confirm that the participant continues to meet AH eligibility requirements:

• Income review, verification, and calculation
• Determination of Work/Program Participation requirement compliance status
• Confirmation of household composition to determine the appropriate voucher size
• Recalculation of income and deductions to determine the Total Tenant Payment (TTP)
• Must adhere to AH’s Family Obligations

Recertification cycles occur annually, biennially or triennially based on each household’s Work/Program Participation compliance status.

Portability

An eligible household that has been issued a Housing Choice Voucher may use that voucher to lease a unit anywhere in the United States where there is a housing agency operating a Housing Choice voucher program. This feature of the program is referred to as portability. (Note: AH requires new applicants to use their vouchers in AH’s jurisdiction during the first year of program participation. To promote stability and quality of life, Participants and their households must remain in their current unit for a minimum of 24 months to be eligible for an elective move).

To be considered eligible to port in to AH’s jurisdiction, Port Applicants must:

• Meet all AH eligibility requirements
• Receive approval from the Initial Public Housing Authority (IPHA)
• Ensure that a complete inbound Port Package is received from the IPHA
• Meet the Work/Program Requirement as applicable

If any of the above requirements are not met, AH will return the port package to the IPHA and no further processing will occur.

Outbound Ports are households that request to move to a property located outside of AH’s jurisdiction. Participants are not eligible to port out before their annual recertification date.

To be considered eligible to port out of AH’s jurisdiction, the Applicant/Participant must:

• Comply with AH’s Work Program requirements
• Have met all terms and conditions of the rental lease agreement and have continuously complied with all household obligations under the MTW Voucher