What is a “live-in aide?”
A live-in aide is a person who resides with one or more elderly, near elderly, or disabled persons, and who is essential to the care and well-being of that individual. The live-in aide is not obligated to support the person and would not be living in the unit except to provide the required services.[1348]
A live-in aide is NOT a household member. If you are a live-in aide, your income will be excluded from calculating the rent for the assisted unit. However, the family that lives in the unit could request an extra bedroom for the live-in aide and then be required to pay the standard amount for the larger bedroom size.
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24 C.F.R. § 5.403. ↑
Can I be someone’s live-in aide in government-assisted housing if I have criminal record?
Maybe. If you have a criminal record, you may be able to reside in a government-assisted housing unit as a live-in aide, but you will need to be screened (see next question).
Depending on the policies of the PHA or owner, the criminal background check conducted for a live-in aide may be less strict than the one used for admitting a new tenant because a live-in aide is not considered a true household member.
Will the PHA or owner screen me for my criminal background if I am someone’s live-in aide?
Yes. The PHA and owner can screen you for issues related to your being present in the assisted unit. Most PHAs and owners will screen live-in aides for their criminal background using the same or similar criteria as they use for admissions (read PG. 361 for the criminal record-related bans in federal government-housing, including which ones are required versus which ones are allowed).[1349]
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HUD, Occupancy Requirements Of Subsidized Multifamily Housing Programs ¶¶ 4-7(B)(6); 7-10 (rev. November 2013) (stating that owner must apply screening criteria for criminal activity to persons added to the lease, including a live-in aide). ↑
Will the PHA or owner screen me for my credit history if I am someone’s live-in aide?
No. The PHA or owner should not screen you for your credit history if you are a live-in aide. Your credit history has nothing to do with the family’s ability to pay for the unit—so you should not be screened for credit.[1350]
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Cal. Fair Credit Reporting Act, Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1785.1-1785.6. ↑
I was excluded from being someone’s live-in aide based on my criminal record. What can I do?
The person requiring aide should ask for a review hearing. Go to PG. 364 to learn how (s)he can challenge this denial of you as his/her live-in aide. There may be situations in which the disabled or elderly resident needing the care has great difficulty finding a live-in aide, or that you meet some unique need of that individual requiring care. In such situations, the disabled/elderly individual needing the live-in aide may request a reasonable accommodation for a disability by asking the PHA or owner to waive its strict screening criteria, and allow the person with the criminal record to reside in the unit as a live-in aide due to the special function he or she plays in the tenant’s life.
What makes a request for a reasonable accommodation successful?
Whether the request for reasonable accommodation is successful will depend upon the facts and an interpretation of reasonable accommodation rules, discussed in Appendix E, PG. 419.
I am a live-in aide in a government-assisted unit, but the person who I was caring for has left the unit. Do I have a right to stay?
No. If you are a live-in aide, you have NO RIGHT to continue living in the assisted unit if the tenant needing the assistance leaves.[1351]
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Cal. Fair Credit Reporting Act, Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1785.1-1785.6. ↑