If I am joining a household, will the PHA or owner of the government-assisted housing run a criminal background check on me?

Why do these rules about joining households exist?

These policies exist because PHAs and owners have an interest in knowing who is living in their units. They may want to review current information to assess how you may act as a tenant, whether you will obey the lease, and whether you pose a threat to other residents, the housing development, or their staff. The PHA or owner may also need to know who is residing in the unit to calculate the amount of rent owed and/or to determine the correct family size for the specific unit.

Most likely, yes. Most government-assisted housing programs, will check the members of a family every year, and some programs will require mid-year reporting as well. This process is called recertification. When the recertification process is happening, the PHA or owner will be checking all new household members to make sure they meet all of the eligibility criteria for move-in! Most PHAs and owners will check the criminal background of any NEW family members at this time. They could re-check the criminal background of current tenants at this time, but it’s unlikely.[1335] The criminal background check on any tenant could lead to the PHA or owner threatening to evict or end the assistance to an entire household.[1336] Again, this HOUSING CHAPTER does not go into eviction defense, but see PG. 1127 for a list of legal aid organizations that may be able to help you if you are facing an eviction.

BE PREPARED TO EXPLAIN WHY YOU SHOULD BE ACCEPTED INTO HOUSING, DESPITE YOUR RECORD.

Because the PHA or owner is likely to run a criminal background check on you, you should be prepared—if asked—to honestly disclose your criminal record and to demonstrate mitigating circumstances and evidence of your rehabilitation (see PG. 371). Consider giving the PHA or owner additional information about all the benefits of having you join the family and how your joining may positively affect the stability of the entire housing development. These benefits depend on the facts of your specific situation. For example, you might include information about your relationship with the family members currently living in the household, especially a positive relationship with any children or a supportive relationship between you and your spouse. Another example is your potential for increasing the income of the family members that are already living in the assisted housing unit, and therefore stabilizing the rent paid to the PHA or owner.

  1. 1335

    HUD, Public Housing Occupancy Guidebook, ¶ 12.2 (June 2003) (PHA may conduct criminal background check of current residents at the annual review “although this is not a HUD requirement”); cf. HUD, Occupancy Requirements Of Subsidized Multifamily Housing Programs, ¶¶ 7-4 (A)(7) (rev. November 2013) (owners may conduct criminal background checks at annual recertification). If the owner does require a background check on current tenants at recertification, the HUD rules for project-based HUD-assisted housing state that the owner must conduct the background check on all tenants. See HUD, Occupancy Requirements Of Subsidized Multifamily Housing Programs ¶ 7-4(A)(7); cf. HUD, Public Housing Occupancy Guidebook, ¶ 12.2 (June 2003) (PHA may conduct criminal background check at the annual review “although this is not a HUD requirement”). ↑

  2. 1336

    Defending a family from eviction is beyond the scope of this Guide. For more information regarding defending such evictions, see NHLP, HUD Housing Programs Tenants’ Rights, Chapter 14 (3d ed., 2004 and 2006-2007 Supp.); Lawrence R. McDonough & Mac McCreight, Wait a Minute: Slowing Down Criminal-Activity Eviction Cases to Find the Truth, 41 Clearinghouse Rev. 55 (May-June 2007). ↑