Upfront income verification
CMHA is participating with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to improve the accuracy of
earned income and other benefits information for Public Housing and Section 8 assisted families.
Why is UIV necessary?
CMHA and HUD have been concerned about the accuracy of housing benefits. To assure better accuracy, HUD has been
given authority to develop and operate a data match system that will report to local Housing Authorities income by
household member from the Ohio State Wage Information Collection Agencies (SWICA) and the Social Security
Administration. This means CMHA will get reports on earned income, Social Security and Supplemental Security benefits
coming to all members in your household.
What must I do?
When the time comes for your appointment to report your income and family composition, you should report all
earned income and benefits for all family members. You will be asked to sign a form
HUD 9886 -- Authorization for Release of Information and Privacy Act Notice. You are required to sign this form
by federal law if you want to maintain your eligibility for federally assisted housing
By signing this form, you are giving HUD and CMHA permission to verify your household's income in order to
ensure your eligibility for assisted housing benefits.
Your caseworker will access available information about earned income and/or benefits that has been collected by
Ohio and the Social Security Administration. You may be asked to provide additional information about your sources
of income if there are discrepancies between the information that you have reported and the information obtained by HUD
and CMHA.
What may happen if there is conflicting information?
You will be given an opportunity to dispute or provide additional information to correct HUD's records in the
event of data errors. Your caseworker is required to set a deadline for your response
If CMHA determines that there has been a deliberate attempt to hide income, the family may be evicted from
Public Housing or be terminated from the Section 8 Program and referred to law enforcement for prosecution. Prior to
any final action, the family may appeal CMHA's decision to a hearing officer.
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