N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 9 § 1627-7.2

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 24, June 12, 2024

Section 1627-7.2 - Standard for admission or continued occupancy

(a) In addition to income eligibility, an authority may establish standards for use in approving eligibility for admission or continued occupancy of a household in any authority project. Such standards shall include that the household will not, or does not, constitute:

(1) a detriment to the health or safety of its neighbors or the community;

(2) a source of danger to the peaceful occupation of the other tenants;

(3) a source of danger or cause of damage to residents, personnel, property or premises of the authority; or

(4) such other lawful and non-discriminatory eligibility or continued occupancy criteria as may be established by the authority.

(b) An authority may admit or continue the tenancy of a household which might otherwise be ineligible under subdivision (a) of this section due to behavior that does not result in a criminal conviction if:

(1) the person responsible for the prohibited action demonstrates rehabilitation or good conduct, demonstrated by, among other things, completion of a credible rehabilitation program;

(2) the household demonstrates to the authority's satisfaction that the person is no longer engaging in drug or alcohol-related activity, if the behavior stemmed from the use or abuse of drugs or alcohol in a way that interfered with the health, safety, or right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other residents; or

(3) the household member(s) determined to have engaged in the behavior will not reside in the unit. If the member is a minor, the authority may consider individual circumstances including the advice of Juvenile Court officials.

(c) In determining a household's eligibility for admission or continued occupancy, an authority may give consideration to a household member's criminal convictions that involved physical violence to persons or property or that adversely affected the health, safety and welfare of other people. The authority may not reject an applicant or remove a tenant based solely on that fact that a household member has such a conviction(s) but must conduct an individualized assessment of each household member who has such convictions, taking into account:

(1) the time which has elapsed since the criminal conviction(s);

(2) the age of the person at the time of the conviction(s);

(3) the seriousness of the conviction(s);

(4) any information produced by the household member, or produced on his or her behalf, in regard to rehabilitation and good conduct, including, but not limited to, evidence of completion of treatment, rehabilitative programming, history of employment and tenancy, volunteer or community activity, and letters of reference from employers, landlords, community members or others who could speak to the person's conduct since the conviction; and

(5) where termination of continued occupancy is considered, the effects that termination of occupancy would have on household members who do not have convictions.

If, after conducting this assessment, the authority determines that the household is not eligible for tenancy, it must be able to articulate its reasoning with specificity. The authority shall communicate its decision to the household, together with the reasons for its determination.

(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of this section, household members with the following convictions shall be ineligible for occupancy in an authority project:

(1) Convictions that lead to lifetime registration in a State Sex Offender Registration Program. Provided however, if such lifetime registration requirement is removed, the underlying convictions will be assessed in accordance with subdivision (c) of this section.

(2) Convictions for the manufacture or production of methamphetamine on premises of assisted housing (including privately owned units occupied by Section 8 Voucher Program participants).

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 9 § 1627-7.2

Adopted New York State Register October 21, 2015/Volume XXXVII, Issue 42, eff.10/21/2015