LINK to read, copy and print out

As a resident (tenant), have rights and responsibilities that help make your HUD-assisted housing a better home for you and your family. This post will be where you will learn what those rights and responsibilities are.

It is the dedication of HUD to work and maintain with the residents the best possible living environment for all.

HUD encourages and supports the following:
• Management agents/property owners stay in communication with residents
when there are issues.

• Owners/managers are prompt with consideration to all valid resident
complaints and resolve quickly as possible.

• Recognize the Residents’ right to organize and participate in decisions regarding
the well-being surrounding the property which is their home.

You play the most important role in making your residence, the grounds, and, other common areas a better place to live by creating the community you will be proud of.

YOUR RIGHTS

at Home ~

• You have the right to decent, safe, and sanitary housing. Free from
environmental hazards such as lead-based paint hazards for example.

• You have the right to repairs. To be performed in a timely manner when requested.
You have the right to quality maintenance programs and employees.

• You have the right to reasonable notice, in writing, of any nonemergency
inspection and other entry into your apartment, You have the right to be present for these nonemergency inspections.

Resident Organizations and your Right to be involved~

• You have the right to organize as residents without obstruction, harassment, from the property management.
Property owners/management CAN’T retaliate against you.

• You have the right to post materials in common areas and provide
informing other residents about their rights. This includes notification of opportunities to involve
themselves Resident organized projects • You have the right to meet without the owner/manager present. Resident Councils are for the Tenants, Run by the Tenants.

• You have the right to be recognized as a Resident Council, by property owners and managers. Having
a voice in residential community affairs helps the tenants in the long run.

.
• There is a right, which may be subject to a reasonable, HUD-approved fee, to
use appropriate common space or meeting facilities to organize or to
consider any issue affecting the condition or management of the property.

As a resident of a HUD-assisted community, you also have
certain responsibilities to ensure that your building remains a suitable home
for you and your neighbors.

Signing your lease, you and the owner/
the management company has entered into a legal, enforceable contract.

You and the owner/management company are responsible for complying with
your lease, house rules, and local laws governing your property.

If you have any questions about your lease or do not have a copy of it, contact your
management agent or your local HUD field office.
to Your Property Owner or Management Agent.

• Complying with the rules and guidelines that govern your lease.

• Paying the correct amount of rent on a timely basis each month.

• Providing accurate information to the owner at the certification or recertification interview to determine your total tenant payment, and consenting to the release of information by a third party to allow for verification.

• Reporting changes in the family’s income.
to the Project and to Your Fellow Residents

• Conducting yourself in a manner that will not disturb your neighbors.

• Not engaging in criminal activity in the unit, common area, or grounds.

• Keeping your unit clean and not littering the grounds or common areas.

• Disposing of garbage and waste in a proper manner.

• Complying with local codes that affect the health or safety of the residence.

• Maintaining your apartment and common areas in the same general
physical condition as when you moved in.

• Reporting any apparent environmental hazards to the management, such
as peeling paint—which is a hazard if it is a lead-based paint—and any
defects in building systems, fixtures, appliances, or other parts of the unit,
the grounds, or related facilities.

Responsibilities

Residents in HUD-assisted housing can play an important role in
decisions that affect their projects/communities. Different HUD programs provide for specific resident rights. You have the right to know under which HUD program your building is assisted. To find out if your apartment building is covered
under any of the following categories, contact your management agent.

If your building was funded under Section 236, 221 (d)(3)/BMIR, Rent
Supplement Program, Section 202 Direct Loan Program, Section
202/811 Capital Advance Programs, or is assisted under any applicable
project-based Section 8 programs, and prior HUD approval is required
before the owner can prepay, you have the right to participate in or be notified of, and comment on, the following:

• An increase in the maximum permissible rent.

• Conversion of a project from project-paid utilities to tenant-paid utilities
or a reduction in tenant utility allowance.

• Conversion of residential units in a multifamily housing project to a
nonresidential use or to condominiums, or the transfer of the project
to a cooperative housing mortgagor corporation or association.

• Partial release of mortgage security.

• Capital improvements that represent a substantial
addition to the project.

• Nonrenewal of a project-based Section 8 contract.

• Any other action which could ultimately
lead to involuntary temporary or
permanent relocation of residents.

• Prepayment of a mortgage.
Participation

If your unit has a project-based Section 8 contract that is expiring or
being terminated and will not be renewed, the assisted family may elect
to remain in the same project in which the family was residing on the date
of the eligibility event for the project.

The family residing in an assisted
unit may be eligible for an
enhanced voucher. Owners
must provide a 1-year notification of their intent to opt
out of the Section 8 contract.

Residents may use the
Section 8 voucher in any
building with rents in the
allowable range. Eligible
tenants can receive enhanced
vouchers only if they remain
in the same project in which
they resided on the date the
Section 8 contract was terminated.

If an eligible tenant
moves, they are eligible for
a Section 8 voucher that is
not enhanced.

You also have the right to Relocation
Counseling, where you can
learn about housing options
available to you.

If you live in a building that is owned by HUD and is being sold, you have
the right to be notified of, and comment on, HUD’s plans for disposing of
the building.

Always Remember~

Residents of HUD-assisted
housing are our partners and
partners in their communities.
HUD regulations give residents
the right to press for improved
conditions by organizing independent resident associations.
These associations encourage
residents to become involved
in the decisions that affect their
homes without harassment or
retaliation by property owners
or management.
—Secretary of HUD

If you need help or more information, you may contact:

• Your property manager or management company.

• The project manager in HUD’s Multifamily Hub, Multifamily Field Office,
or your local Contract Administrator.

• Your local HUD Field Office – http://www.hud.gov/local/index.cfm

• The housing counseling agency in your community (for assistance, call
the HUD Housing Counseling Service Locator at 1–800–569–4287).

• HUD’s National Multifamily Housing Clearinghouse at 1–800–685–8470
to report maintenance or management concerns.

• HUD’s Office of Inspector General Hot Line at 1–800–347–3735 to report
fraud, waste, or mismanagement.

• Citation to the Multifamily Housing Rule—24 CFR Part 245.

• World Wide Web – http://www.hud.gov
If you believe that you have been discriminated against, or would like
information on what constitutes housing discrimination, call 1–800–669–
9777, or call your local HUD Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.

Your local government tenant/landlord affairs office, legal services office, and
tenant organizations may also provide you with information on additional
rights you have under local or state law.

The brochure about your rights and responsibilities as a resident of HUD
assisted housing is available in languages other than English.
To find out which language versions are currently in stock, contact HUD’s
National Multifamily Housing Clearinghouse at 1–800–685–8470.