Haw. Code R. § 17-2031-3

Current through April, 2024
Section 17-2031-3 - Definitions

As used in this chapter:

"Adjusted income" means "annual income" of the members of the family residing or intending to reside in the dwelling unit minus any HUD allowable expenses and deductions as defined in 24 C.F.R. § 5.611, as it existed on October 20, 2022, which is incorporated by reference and attached as exhibit A.

"Annual income" means the gross amount of income anticipated to be received by the family during the twelve months after certification or recertification. Gross income is the amount of income prior to any HUD allowable expenses or deductions and does not include income which has been excluded by HUD, as defined in 24 C.F.R. § 5.609, as it existed on October 20, 2022.

"Applicant" means an individual or family that submits an application for admission to the program but is not yet a participant in the program.

"Assets" or "net family assets" means net cash value after deducting reasonable costs that would be incurred in disposing of real property, savings, stocks, bonds, and other forms of capital investment as defined in 24 C.F.R. § 5.603, as it existed on October 20, 2022.

"Authority" means the Hawaii public housing authority.

"Board" means the board of directors of the Hawaii public housing authority.

"C.F.R." means the United States Code of Federal Regulations.

"Child" means a person who is born alive and is less than eighteen years of age.

"Community wide" means inclusive of any location that is under the jurisdiction of the authority.

"Continuously assisted" means that the applicant is currently receiving assistance under any program of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937, as amended, and there is no break in assistance to the family.

"Contract rent" means the total rent payable to the owner of a dwelling unit through a housing assistance payments contract.

"Covered families" means families who receive welfare assistance or other public assistance benefits ("welfare benefits") from a State or other public agency ("welfare agency") under a program for which federal, State, or local law requires that a member of the family must participate in an economic self-sufficiency program as a condition for such assistance.

"Criminal activity" means any conduct that is prohibited by any criminal laws, whether federal, state or county, regardless of whether there has been an arrest or conviction and without satisfying the standard of proof for a criminal conviction.

"Disability" means having a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, having a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment, including persons who have human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or AIDs. The term does not include current illegal use or addition to a controlled substance or alcohol or drug abuse that threatens the property or safety of others. Disabled individual or family includes:

(1) A single individual who or a family whose head or spouse is unable to engage in any substantial, gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in indefinite duration; or
(2) A single individual who or a family whose head or spouse has a physical impairment which is expected to be of long, continued and indefinite duration and which substantially impedes the ability to live independently, and which is of a nature that the ability could be improved by suitable housing conditions.

"Disabled family" means a family whose head, spouse, or sole member is a person with disabilities; or two or more persons with disabilities living together; or one or more persons with disabilities living with one or more live-in aides.

"Domestic violence" means the actual or threatened physical violence directed against a family member by a spouse or other household member who lives in the dwelling unit with the family.

"Domiciled" means physically residing in the dwelling unit with intent to remain.

"Drug" means a controlled substance as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. § 802) as it existed on October 20, 2022.

"Drug related criminal activity" means the manufacture, sale, distribution, use or possession with intent to manufacture, sell, distribute or use a controlled substance as defined in 21 U.S.C. 802, as it existed on October 20, 2022, and which activity is conducted on or near the premises of the assisted dwelling unit.

"Dwelling unit" means a residential unit accepted for lease in the program.

"Economic self-sufficiency program" means any program designed to encourage, assist, train, or facilitate the economic independence of HUD-assisted families or to provide work for such families.

"Elderly" or "elderly family" means a family whose head, spouse, or sole member is a person who is at least sixty-two years of age; or two or more persons who are at least sixty-two years of age living together; or one or more persons who are at least sixty-two years of age living with one or more live-in aides.

"Eligible family" means a family that meets the qualifications and requirements of the program.

"Executive director" means the executive director of the authority or the executive director's designated representative.

"Extremely low income family" means a family whose annual income does not exceed thirty per cent of the median income for the area, as determined by HUD, with adjustments for smaller and larger families, except that HUD may establish income ceilings higher or lower than thirty per cent of the median income for the area [may be established] if if HUD finds that such variations are necessary because of unusually high or low family incomes.

"Fair market rent" or "FMR" means the rent including the cost of utilities (except telephone or cable television), as established by HUD for dwelling units of varying sizes (by number of bedrooms), that must be paid in the housing market area to rent privately owned, existing, decent, safe and sanitary rental housing of modest (non-luxury) nature with suitable amenities.

Family means regardless of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status:

(1) Two or more persons who live or intend to live together and whose income and resources are available to meet the family's needs and who may be related by blood, marriage, or operation of law and whose head of family has reached the age of majority. A child who is temporarily away from the home because of placement in foster care is considered a member of the family. Family may include foster children and hanai children or a child who is domiciled with, and for whom an adult member of the current household is caring for with written or unwritten permission from the legal parent or other person having legal custody, or child domiciled with, and for whom an adult member of the current household is in the process of securing custody;
(2) An elderly family;
(3) A disabled family;
(4) A displaced family;
(5) The remaining member of a tenant family who is recorded as an authorized occupant on the current list of household members and who has reached the age of majority; or
(6) A single person who is not an elderly or displaced person, or a person with disabilities, or the remaining member of a tenant family.

"Family self sufficiency program" or "FSS program" means the program establish by the authority in accordance with 24 C.F.R. Part 984 to promote self-sufficiency of assisted families, including the coordination of supportive services.

"Foster child" or "Foster children" means a person or persons under eighteen years of age who is or are provided foster care by a foster parent pursuant to Chapter 587A, HRS.

"Foster parent" means any adult person licensed by the department of human services or another authorized agency to provide foster care services for a child or children under Chapter 587A, HRS.

"Gender identity or expression" includes a person's actual or perceived gender, as well as a person's gender identity, gender-related self-image, gender-related appearance, or gender-related expression, regardless of whether that gender identity, gender-related self-image, gender-related appearance, or gender-related expression is different from that traditionally associated with the person's sex at birth.

"Gross rent" means the contract rent plus allowances for utilities and other services.

"Hanai child" or "Hanai children" means a child who is taken permanently to reside, be educated, and reared by someone other than the natural parents, traditionally a grandparent or other relative, with the written or unwritten permission of the natural parents.

"HAP" means the monthly housing assistance payment by the authority as defined in 24 C.F.R. § 982.4, as it existed on October 20, 2022, which includes:

(1) A payment to the owner for rent under the family's lease and
(2) Any additional payment to the family if the total assistance payment exceeds the rent to the owner.

"HAP contract" means housing assistance payments contract.

"HCV" means Housing Choice Voucher

"Household" means the family and the authority-approved live-in aide.

"HRS" means Hawaii Revised Statutes.

"Housing quality standards" means the HUD minimum quality standards for housing assisted under the tenant-based programs.

"HUD" means the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

"Imputed welfare income" means the amount of annual income not actually received by a family, as a result of a specified welfare benefit reduction, that is nonetheless included in the family's annual income for purposes of determining rent.

"Involuntarily displaced" means an applicant who has vacated or may have to vacate the dwelling unit where the applicant lives because of one or more of the following:

(1) Displacement by disaster;
(2) Displacement by governmental action; or
(3) Displacement by action of housing owner for reasons beyond the applicant's control and despite the applicant meeting all previously imposed conditions of occupancy. The action taken by the owner is for reasons other than rent increase.

"Landlord" means either the owner of the property or his or her representative or the managing agent or his or her representative, as shall be designated by the owner.

"Live-in aide" means a person who resides with one or more elderly persons, or near elderly persons, or persons with disabilities, and who:

(1) Is eighteen years of age or older;
(2) Is determined by the authority to be essential to the care and well-being of the elder or elderly family member or the family member with disabilities;
(3) Is not obligated for the support of the elder or the elderly family member or family member with disabilities;
(4) Would not be living in the dwelling unit except to provide the necessary support services;
(5) Is not a tenant; and
(6) Notwithstanding any other rule, has no rights of tenancy, continued occupancy of dwelling unit, and is not a remaining member of the household and shall cease to be an occupant therein upon the recovery of the dwelling unit by the authority, or removal from the project of the elder or elderly family member or a family member with disabilities who required the live-in aide.

"Near elderly" means a family whose head, spouse, or solo member is at least fifty years of age but below the age of sixty two.

"Owner" means any persons or entity having the legal right to lease or sublease a residential dwelling unit to a participant and includes, when applicable, a mortgagee.

"Participant" or "tenant" means a person or family that is receiving rental assistance in the program. Participation begins on the first day of the approved lease term.

"Payment standard" means the maximum monthly assistance payment for a family assisted in the voucher program before deducting the total tenant payment by the family.

"PBRA" means Project-Based Rental Assistance. "PBV" means Project-Based Voucher.

"Portability" means the right to receive Section 8 tenant-based assistance outside of the jurisdiction of the initial public housing agency.

"Program" means the tenant-based Section 8 rental and voucher programs.

"RAD" means Rental Assistance Demonstration.

"Resident" for the purpose of conducting eligibility means a United States citizen or national or an eligible immigrant under one of the categories set forth in 42 U.S.C. § 1436a(a), as it existed on October 20, 2022, also known as "noncitizen", who is able to demonstrate his or her intent to reside in Hawaii. Under one of these categories, one eligible immigrant is an alien who is a lawful resident in the United States and its territories and possessions under section 141 of the Compacts of the Free Association between the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federal States of Micronesia (48 U.S.C. 1901 note), and the Republic of Palau (48 U.S.C. 931 note) while the applicable section is in effect, also known as "COFA" resident. Intent to reside in Hawaii may be demonstrated by the following: length of time spent in Hawaii; leasing or renting of a home in Hawaii; filing of personal Hawaii income tax returns; registering to vote in Hawaii; Hawaii driver's license; record of Hawaii motor vehicle registration; notification of hire to work in Hawaii; record of employment in Hawaii; military records substantiating Hawaii residency; record of Hawaii residency; enrollment of minor children in Hawaii schools; establishment of bank accounts and other accounts in Hawaii; written reference from Hawaii residents, relatives, or social agencies; and any other indicia which could substantiate a claim of an intent to reside in Hawaii.

"Security deposit" means the deposit required by an owner from a participant as defined in the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code, § 521-44, HRS, as it existed on October 20, 2022.

"Sexual orientation" means having a preference for heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality, having a history of any one or more of the preferences, or being identified with any one of more of these preferences, "sexual orientation" shall not be construed to protect conduct otherwise proscribed by law.

"Utility allowance" means the value of utilities such as electricity, gas, and water costs that are included in the gross rent of the participant. This does not include telephone or cable TV services.

"Veteran" means a person who has served in the active military or naval service of the United States at any time and who shall have been discharged or released from active service under conditions other than dishonorable.

"Violent criminal activity" means any criminal activity that has as one of its elements the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force substantial enough to cause, or be reasonably likely to cause, serious bodily injury or property damage.

"Voucher" means a document issued by the authority to a family selected for admission to a voucher program.

"Voucher holder" means an applicant who has a valid voucher but not an approved lease.

Haw. Code R. § 17-2031-3

[Eff 12/31/2022] (Auth: HRS § 356D-13) (Imp: HRS § 356D-13; 24 C.F.R. Parts 5 and 982)