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D.C. Municipal Regulations (Last Updated: September 13, 2017) |
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Title 14. HOUSING |
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Chapter 14-54. VERIFICATION PROCEDURES |
Section 14-5402. METHODS OF VERIFICATION
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5402.1 In order of priority, the forms of verification that DCHA shall use are:
(a) Up-front Income Verification (UIV) whenever available;
(b) Third-party Written Verification;
(c) Third-party Written Verification Forms;
(d) Third Party Oral Verification; and
(e) Self-Certification.
5402.2 UIV shall be used to the extent that these systems are available to DCHA. UIV is an automatic form of third-party verification.
5402.3 Current UIV Resources at DCHA are:
(a) HUD's Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) system;
(b) The Work Number;
(c) Department of Human Services;
(d) Department of Employment Services; and
(e) Child Support Enforcement.
5402.4 DCHA shall use HUD's EIV system as a third-party source to verify Family member employment and income information during periodic and interim recertification of Family composition and income, and shall not require the Family to provide information already available through the EIV system. The reports shall be retained in the participant file with the appropriate transaction.
5402.5 EIV reports shall constitute third party verification when the Family does not dispute the income sources and it is supplemented with participant provided documents. EIV may not be used to calculate anticipated wage income; it shall only be used as a verification of the employment income source.
5402.6 If the Family does not dispute the income source, DCHA shall use participant provided documents to anticipate annual income.
5402.7 DCHA shall attempt another form of third party verification in the following circumstances:
(a) The Family disputes income source in EIV;
(b)Additional information is required as determined by DCHA; and
(c) In cases of absent Family members and approved requests for reasonable accommodations.
5402.8 When DCHA is unable to obtain verification through a UIV source, DCHA shall make at least two (2) attempts to obtain third-party verification before using another form of verification.
5402.9 DCHA shall seek third-party verification using a combination of written and oral requests to verification sources. Information received orally from third parties may be used either to clarify information provided in writing by the third party or as independent verification when written third-party verification is not received in a timely fashion.
5402.10 DCHA shall consider documentation provided by the Family to be written third party verification if the documentation is:
(a) Original documentation generated by a third party source;
(b) Dated within sixty (60) days preceding the date of the periodic recertification or interim adjustment; and
(c) If pay stubs, they are consecutive and dated within thirty (30) days of submission.
5402.11 DCHA may mail, fax, e-mail, or hand deliver third-party written verification requests and shall accept third-party responses using any of these methods:
(a) DCHA shall send a written request for verification to each required source and give the source ten (10) business days to respond in writing;
(b) If a response has not been received by the eleventh business day, DCHA may request third-party oral verification;
(c) A record of each attempt to contact the third-party source (including no-answer calls) and all contacts with the source shall be documented in the file. When DCHA uses oral third party verification a “Document Viewed or Person Contacted” form shall be filled out by the staff person;
(d) When any source responds orally to the initial written request for verification DCHA shall accept the oral response but shall also request that the source complete and return any verification forms that were provided;
(e) If a third party agrees to confirm in writing the information provided orally, DCHA shall wait no more than five (5) business days for the information to be provided. If the information is not provided by the sixth business day, DCHA shall use any information provided orally in combination with the information provided by the Family; or
(f) DCHA shall determine that third-party verification is not available when there is a service charge for verifying an asset or expense and the Family has original documents that provide the necessary information. DCHA shall document in the Family file the reason that the third-party verification was not available and shall place a photocopy of the original document(s) in the Family file.
5402.12 If DCHA determines that third-party verification is not available or not required, DCHA shall use information provided by the Family as verification.
5402.13 DCHA may also review documents when necessary to help clarify information provided by third parties. In such cases DCHA shall document in the file how DCHA arrived at a final conclusion about the income or expense to include in its calculations.
5402.14 DCHA shall accept a self-certification from a Family as verification of assets disposed of for less than fair market value.
5402.15 DCHA shall only review documents in lieu of requesting third-party verification when the market value of an individual asset or an expense is less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) annually and the Family has original documents that support the declared amount.
5402.16 Any documents used for verification shall be the original (not photocopies), if available, and shall be dated within one hundred eighty (180) days of the interview date, except tax returns which can be dated within three hundred sixty five (365) days of the interview and may not be original.
5402.17 The documents shall not be damaged, altered or in any way illegible. Print-outs from web pages are considered original documents. A DCHA staff member who views the original document shall make a photocopy.
5402.18 DCHA may reject any income documentation for reasons allowed by the administrative plan or HUD.
5402.19 When information cannot be verified by a third party or by review of documents, Family members shall be required to submit self-certifications attesting to the accuracy of the information they have provided to DCHA.
5402.20 DCHA may require a Family to certify through a sworn statement that a Family member does not receive a particular type of income or benefit.
5402.21 The self-certification shall be made in a format acceptable to DCHA and shall be signed by the Family member whose information or status is being verified. All self-certifications shall be signed in the presence of a DCHA representative or shall be notarized.