Minnesota Administrative Rules

4900.3372 VOUCHER OPTION.

Subpart 1.

General description.

Under the voucher option, the agency shall award a number of rental assistance vouchers to self-sufficiency program administrators for use by participating families. Participating families may use the rental assistance voucher for rental housing that is certified by the local housing organization as meeting Section 8 existing housing quality standards.

Subp. 2.

Responsibilities of self-sufficiency program administrator.

Self-sufficiency program administrators must select the caretaker parents whose families will receive the rent assistance. The self-sufficiency program administrator must notify the local housing organization and the agency of the following:

A.

if the caretaker parent, before completion of a program, is no longer participating in or leaves a program;

B.

if a caretaker parent who has discontinued participation in a program returns to the program; and

C.

if a caretaker parent, after six months of discontinued participation in a program, has not returned to the program, is not employed at least half-time, or is not participating in another program.

The self-sufficiency program administrator must provide the caretaker parent who has discontinued participation in a program before completion with the notice specified in part 4900.3379. The self-sufficiency program administrator must send a subsequent notice to the caretaker parent, the local housing organization, and the agency 60 days before termination of the housing assistance.

Subp. 3.

Responsibilities of local housing organization.

The local housing organization must administer the monthly rent assistance. It must:

A.

certify that the rental property meets the federal Section 8 existing housing quality standards before rent assistance is paid initially and must inspect the property annually, or as needed, to determine compliance with existing housing quality standards;

B.

pay the rent assistance directly to the owner of the property;

C.

require the property owner to enter into an approved standard lease agreement with the tenant that includes a clause providing for good cause evictions only;

D.

recertify family eligibility on at least an annual basis to verify the family's current eligibility for housing assistance; and

E.

if it has received a 60-day notice from a self-sufficiency program administrator under subpart 2 that a caretaker parent has discontinued participation in a program, notify the property owner that rental assistance may terminate and notify the caretaker parent of the termination of rental assistance under part 4900.3380.

Subp. 4.

Eligible application.

A local housing organization and a self-sufficiency program administrator must submit an application jointly to the agency for the rent assistance for family stabilization demonstration program. The applicants must provide an application in the form prescribed by the agency. At a minimum, the application shall include the following:

A.

a description and history of the self-sufficiency program;

B.

a description of how the caretaker parent participants are selected;

C.

the amount of rental assistance subsidy requested;

D.

descriptions and histories of the applicants, including funding sources; and

E.

a three-year budget projection for the self-sufficiency program.

Subp. 5.

Eligible applicants.

Eligible applicants are self-sufficiency program administrators that provide services to caretaker parents who reside in counties with high average housing costs and the local housing organization that administers the federal Section 8 housing certificate and voucher program for the area.

Statutory Authority:

MS s 462A.06

History:

16 SR 1446; 18 SR 2277

Published Electronically:

October 2, 2013