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Don't risk your chances for Federally assisted
housing by providing false, incomplete, or inaccurate information
on your application and recertification 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 Commiting 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 rental
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 government may have other laws and
penalties as well.
Purpose: When you sit
down with the person who fills out your application, you
should know what is expected of you. If you do not understand
something, say so. That person can answer your question or
find out what the answer is.
Completing the Application
When you give your answers to application
questions, you must include the following
information:
All sources of money
you and any member of your family receive (wages, welfare
payments, alimony, social security, pensions, etc.);
- Any money you receive
on behalf of your children (child support, social security,
etc.);
- Income from assets (interest from a
savings 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 bonus
or pay raise you expect to receive).
Assets
- All bank accounts, savings
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 2 years for less than its full value, such as your
home to your children.
Family/Household
Members
- The names of all 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 your housing agency. 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.
Recertification
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 the
following on recertification forms:
- All income changes,
such as any pay increases or benefits, change in 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 your family/household
members own and 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 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)
Reporting
Abuse If you are aware of anyone who has falsified an application,
or if anyone tries to persuade you to make false statements,
report them to the manager of your development or to Charleston-Kanawha
Housing at 304-348-6451, or
you can write: Charleston-Kanawha Housing, P.O. Box 86,Charleston,
WV 25321.
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