Don’t risk your chances for Federally-assisted housing by providing false, incomplete or inaccurate information on your application forms.
Purpose
This is to inform you that there is certain information you must provide when applying for assisted housing. There are penalties that apply if you knowingly omit information or give false information.
Penalties for Committing Fraud
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) places a high priority on preventing fraud. If your application or recertification forms contain false or incomplete information, you may be:
- Evicted from your apartment or house;
- Required to repay all overpaid assistance you received;
- Fined up to $10,000;
- Imprisoned for up to 5 years; and/or
- Prohibited from receiving future assistance.
Your State and local governments may have other laws and penalties as well.
Completing Application
When you give your answers to application questions, you must include the following information:
Income
All sources of money you and any “adult” member of your family/household receive (wages, welfare payments, alimony, social security, pensions, etc);
- Any money you receive on behalf of your children (child support, social security for the children, etc);
- Income from assets (interest from a savings account, checking account, credit union, or certificate of deposit dividends from stocks, etc);
- Earnings from a second job or part-time job;
- Any anticipated income such as a bonus or pay raise you expect to receive.
Assets
- All bank accounts, saving bonds, certificates of deposit, stocks, real estate, etc, that are owned by you and any adult member of your family/household who will be living with you.
- Any business or asset you sold in the last two years for less than its full value, such as your home to your children.
Family/Household Members
The names of all of the people (adults and children) who will actually be living with you, whether or not they are related to you.
Signing the Application
- Do not sign any form unless you have read it, understand it and are sure everything is complete and accurate.
- When you sign the application and certification forms, you are claiming that they are complete to the best of your knowledge and belief. You are committing fraud if you sign a form knowing that it contains false or misleading information.
- Information you give on your application will be verified by the Housing Authority. In addition, HUD may do computer matches of the income you report with various Federal, State or private agencies to verify that it is correct.
Recertifications
You must provide updated information at least once a year. Some Programs require that you report any changes in income or family/household composition immediately. Be sure to ask when you must recertify. You must report on recertification forms:
- All income changes, such as pay increases or benefits, change of job, loss of job, loss of benefits, etc, for all adult family/household members;
- Any family/household member who has moved in or out;
- All assets that you or any family/household member own or any asset That was sold in the last 2 years for less than its full value.
Beware of Fraud
You should be aware of the following fraud schemes:
- Do not pay any money to file an application.
- Do not pay any money to move up on the waiting list.
- Do not pay for anything not covered by your lease.
- Get a receipt for any money you pay.
- Get a written explanation if you are required to pay any money other than rent (such as maintenance charges).