Community Service and Self-Sufficiency Requirement

Home Community Service and Self-Sufficiency Requirement

As a participant of the Public Housing Program, non-exempt adults over 18 years old are required to perform eight (8) hours a month of community service and/or self-sufficiency activities. Individuals exempt from this requirement include those adults who are:

  • 62 years of age or older
  • Blind or disabled
  • Primary caregivers to someone 62 years or older, blind, or disabled
  • Engaged in work activities (including training programs)
  • Exempt from CALWORKS or any Welfare-to-Work program
  • Participating in Welfare-to-Work program and in compliance with the requirements of such program

Those not exempt from this requirement must submit proof of participating in 8 hours a month community service. Examples of acceptable community service activities include:

  • Youth programs, including preschool programs, child care, and after-school programs
  • Local elementary school activities such as PTO/PTA 
  • Participation on the Resident Advisory Council (RAC) and the activities they sponsor
  • On-going volunteering with any community based non-profit organization (may include faith-based institutions), except for proselytizing and political campaigns
  • Participating in job training programs

As a requirement of your participation in the Public Housing program, you must submit the Monthly Community Service Requirement Compliance Form below and return it to your site Management.

Interim Rent Adjustment

If your household experiences a change in income or family composition in between Annual reviews, you may request an Interim review to adjust your rent. You are obligated to report any changes to your household within 10 business days. You can request an Interim for the following reasons:

  • Loss of income
  • Removal of household member
  • Addition of household member
  • Change in immigration status

You must complete the forms below and submit them along with any documentation verifying the change in your income or family composition. The types of verification documents required for your Interim review will be similar to that of an Annual review. 

Once you submitted the Interim packet to site Management, you may be contacted if there are any questions or need for any additional proof of the changes reported.

A public housing unit is not an inheritable right and cannot be “passed-on” to family members. If the Head or Co-Head of the household chooses to exit the program, they cannot appoint a replacement for them to assign or pass on the unit to remaining family members. The head of household or co-head designation cannot be changed once the family has been certified for eligibility and has signed a lease. While a family can add members following admission to the public housing program, they cannot add “co-heads” once they have been admitted.

Inspections

HACLA is required to inspect your apartment at least once a year. The purpose of the inspection is to ensure that your apartment is in good condition. There are three (3) types of inspections:

  • Housekeeping inspections are performed by HACLA staff to ensure that residents are maintaining their unit in a clean, safe, and sanitary condition.
  • REAC inspections are part of HUD’s annual review of HACLA’s operations in which a random sample of units are inspected.
  • UPCS inspections are performed by HACLA’s third party vendor in which your unit will be examined and defects and/or housekeeping issues will be recorded.

You will be notified at least two days prior to the inspection. It is not necessary for you to be present during inspections.

Please refer to Exhibit B of the Rental Agreement for housekeeping standards.

It is important that you maintain the unit in the condition that you first moved in.