Public Housing Notice: 2007-01
Memorandum
To: All Local Housing Authority Executive Directors, All Non-Profit
Housing Agencies administering Massachusetts Rental Voucher Programs
From: Carole E. Collins, Director, Bureau of Housing Management
Subject: Wage Match for State Housing Program Tenants
Date: January 24, 2007
On June 29, 2004 we issued Public Housing Notice 2004-05, which announced the
availability of a web based system for conducting a Wage Match for state housing
program tenants, including tenants in conventional housing, MRVP and AHVP, to
local housing authorities (LHAs). All Massachusetts housing authorities
and non-profit agencies that administer state-funded housing programs must
participate in this Wage Match program. The pertinent law and regulations
can be found at M.G.L. c. 62E, M.G.L. c. 66A, 760 CMR 6.00 and 801 CMR 3.00.
As part of an Interdepartmental Service Agreement (ISA) between the
Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) and the Massachusetts Department of
Housing and Community Development (DHCD), DHCD is authorized to receive wage
reporting information from DOR pursuant to M.G.L. c. 62E, § 3. The wage
match system information is exchanged via the statewide network. LHAs will
transmit data via the internet Wage Match System, which is accessed through the
housing authority DHCD Housing Applications web page. We will then transmit the
data to DOR. DOR will then match the data against its wage reporting
files, provide information to DHCD, and in turn DHCD will forward the
information to the applicable LHA. We anticipate that responses will be
received back at an LHA within five days. LHAs will review the wage
reporting information to determine whether income reported by tenants for
determining rent is correct.
We are required, on a periodic basis, to provide information about the wage
match system. Further, we must ensure that LHA’s and Non-Profits are informed of
the confidentiality requirements and penalties for non-compliance.
For Whom is Wage Match Conducted and Notification Process
LHAs shall conduct a wage match for every adult member (aged 18 and over) of the
tenant household residing in state housing programs. Tenants must be
informed about the wage match program and must authorize the use of their Social
Security numbers for the program. Tenants are required by the lease to
provide their social security number, and to authorize use of their social
security number by the housing authority for verification of income and assets
through DOR’s wage reporting system. However, there is no requirement that
applicants or tenants have a social security number to be eligible or housed.
Please send the attached letter and authorization form to all households.
The letter explains the program and asks adult tenants to furnish their Social
Security numbers. You must personalize this letter before sending it.
The letter should be placed on housing authority letterhead. Also, the name of
the authority, the due date, and the return address must be added to the
authorization form. You must retain these authorization forms.
Confidentiality and Controls
Because LHAs and Non-Profits, through this system, have access to “personal
data” as defined by M.G.L. c. 66A, LHAs and Non-Profits must ensure the
confidentiality of information requested and received through the wage match
system. As such, LHAs are subject to and must comply with all applicable
laws and regulations relating to confidentiality and privacy, including but not
limited to M.G.L. c. 62E, M.G. L. c. 66A, 760 CMR 4.00 and 801 CMR 3.00.
The Executive Director is responsible for ensuring the security and
confidentiality of the wage reporting information entrusted to his or her LHA or
Non-Profit and to ensure that all employees who have access to wage reporting
information understand the severe penalties associated with any misuse of this
information. Wage reporting information may only be accessed or viewed by
an authorized employee of your LHA or Non-Profit and must directly relate to his
or her assigned case. No other employee or person under your LHA’s or
on-Profit’s control, or on your premises, may inspect, disclose or browse the
wage reporting information for any purpose.
Any unauthorized disclosure of wage reporting information will result in the
immediate termination of your LHA’s or Non-Profit’s authorization to receive
such information. As a holder of personal data, an unauthorized disclosure
of wage reporting information may subject your LHA or Non-Profit to the payment
of monetary damages. In addition, an unauthorized release of wage
reporting information may subject your employees to a fine.
Each LHA and Non-Profit shall adopt its own set of guidelines for handling wage
match information, which shall include, at a minimum, the following:
(1) a list of employees who will be authorized to request and
receive information provided through the Wage Match system
(2) a written statement which sets forth the safeguards to
ensure the protection of the privacy and confidentiality of the wage reporting
information, including, but not limited to, access to computers, printed
materials, and storing of information
(3) procedures to ensure that the use of wage reporting
information is only to verify the income and assets of households in the
LHA’s state housing programs
(4) a statement that the LHA will notify DHCD immediately,
both orally and in writing, if any wage reporting information is improperly used
or accessed. The LHA will cooperate with DHCD to enjoin or prevent misuse
of, regain possession of, and otherwise protect the data.
Procedures for Handling Cases of Income Discrepancy
The information obtained from DOR is to be compared with income information
reported by tenants for rent determination to see if there are any significant
discrepancies. Significant in this case is defined as a difference between
a household’s income, based on information from DOR and that reported by the
tenant or voucher holder, of ten percent or more. Cases of discrepancy
will be identified in the manner described below.
A. Identifying Cases of Income Discrepancy
The LHA or Non-Profit will compare income and asset information reported by
members of a tenant household with wage reporting information provided by DOR.
The LHA will use its best judgment to identify cases where there is a
discrepancy of ten percent or greater. This ten percent figure triggers a
rent re-determination under 760 CMR 6.00 and 760 CMR 49.00.
When the LHA or Non-Profit believes a tenant probably has income that exceeds
this ten percent threshold, the LHA or Non-Profit will ask the tenant to explain
the difference at meetings with housing authority or non-profit staff.
B. Meetings/Hearing Process
The LHA or Non-Profit shall provide the tenant with an opportunity to explain
the discrepancy.
1. The tenant will be requested in writing to
attend a meeting at the housing agency. The letter must state the purpose
of the meeting and contain the information from DOR that will be discussed.
The letter will ask the tenant to call the housing agency to arrange for a
mutually agreeable time.
2. If the tenant does not contact the LHA or
Non-Profit, the housing agency will make a reasonable effort to set up the
meeting. If no meeting has been arranged with the tenant after three weeks
from the date of the notification letter, the housing agency will proceed to
notify the tenant of his or her right to request a Grievance Hearing [See Step
5].
3. At the meeting, the housing agency director or
his or her designee will discuss the information obtained from DOR concerning
the tenant’s wages and how it might affect the tenant’s rent or voucher amount,
or might be grounds for the tenant’s eviction or termination.
The tenant will be given three weeks from the date of this meeting to provide
income information, documentation, or other evidence that shows why the wage
reporting information received from DOR is incorrect. The LHA or
Non-Profit will evaluate all information provided by the tenant.
4. The LHA or Non-Profit will then send a letter
notifying the tenant of the action it will take, if any. If adverse action
will be taken (i.e., increased rent, termination, or eviction), the housing
agency will ask the tenant to attend an additional meeting. The letter
will state clearly how the tenant is to schedule this meeting and the deadline
for doing so. This meeting should be held within three weeks of the date
of the letter. Any adverse action the LHA or Non-Profit plans to take
shall commence following this meeting, if one is held, or at the end of the
three-week period, if the tenant does not schedule or attend a meeting.
5. Tenants who feel aggrieved because of adverse
action taken by an LHA or Non-Profit are entitled to a grievance hearing
according to procedures outlined in 760 CMR 6.08 for state housing tenants
and 760 CMR 49.10 for voucher holders (which refers to the process outlined in
760 CMR 6.08).
Reporting Adverse Actions to DHCD
LHAs and Non-Profits must report to DHCD any adverse actions they take for each
tenant, such as evictions or termination proceedings, rent increases, or rent
repayment arrangements. These cases should be reported on the attached
form. It is not necessary to report cases that are investigated but are
cleared.
Executive Director/Board Approval
Your signature below will indicate that you have read and thoroughly understand
the contents of this notice. Please have the Executive Director, as well as the
Chairman of your Board of Commissioners sign on the appropriate lines below,
after Board approval, and forward a copy to your Housing Management Specialist.
For more information about the wage match system, please call Bruce Siegel of
the Bureau of Housing Management at (617) 573-1235.
_____________________________________
Executive Director
_____________________________________
Chairman, Board of Commissioners
_____________________________________
Date
ATTACHMENTS: Income/Asset/Tax Match
Authorization
Sample Notice to Tenants
Income/Asset/Tax Match Authorization
All adult members of the household must sign this form
I have read the attached letter and authorize the use of my Social Security
number for the purpose described.
Please return this form no later than __________________. If there are
more than four adults in your household, please continue on the back of this
form.
Head of Household
Social Security Number:
____________________________
Name (please print):
____________________________
Signature:
____________________________
Other adult (aged 18 and over) household members
1. Social Security Number:
____________________________
Name (please print):
____________________________
Signature:
____________________________
2. Social Security Number:
____________________________
Name (please print):
____________________________
Signature:
____________________________
3. Social Security Number:
____________________________
Name (please print):
____________________________
Signature:
____________________________
4. Social Security Number:
____________________________
Name (please print):
____________________________
Signature:
____________________________
5. Social Security Number:
____________________________
Name (please print):
____________________________
Signature:
____________________________
6. Social Security Number:
____________________________
Name (please print):
____________________________
Signature:
____________________________
7. Social Security Number:
____________________________
Name (please print):
____________________________
Signature:
____________________________
8. Social Security Number:
____________________________
Name (please print):
____________________________
Signature:
____________________________
Dear Massachusetts Public Housing Tenant Head of Household or Household Member:
Dear Massachusetts Rental Voucher Participant Head of Household or Household
Member:
Under state law, each head of household and adult household member (age 18 and
over) residing in state-aided public housing is required to participate in the
Massachusetts Wage Reporting System. The purpose is to verify the income
of households. This will be done by matching the income and assets
reported by each head of household and adult household member (age 18 and older)
of each household with wages reported by employers to the Massachusetts
Department of Revenue.
Therefore, we are requiring you at this time to provide your social security
number (SSN). Many households signed such a release several years ago.
We are asking all tenants to sign the release again to allow for the most
current information to be provided. This will update the release already
on file so that all current members of the household eighteen years of age and
older may be included. New residents and those households who failed to
comply during the last wage reporting match are asked to submit an original
release to the Authority. The SSNs and the names of the head of household
and all adult members of the household will be forwarded by this housing agency
to the state agency, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD),
which administers the state-aided public housing programs. DHCD will
forward this information to the Department of Revenue. The information you
have reported to us concerning your income and assets will be matched with wage
reporting information reported by employers to the Department of Revenue.
The Department of Revenue will provide DHCD with information from its records as
to your reported wages and the reported wages of other members of your
household, and DHCD will inform this housing agency of this information.
If there is a
“mismatch” between the information provided to us by the household and the
information provided by the Department of Revenue, we will contact the head of
household. We will meet and work with the head of household whose
information is in question to try to resolve the “mismatch”. However, if
the “mismatch” cannot be resolved, and we determine that the household has
incorrectly underreported wages, we may take one or more of the following
actions: adjust the household’s current rent: seek repayment of
rental underpayments incorrectly made by the household, and/or terminate the
household’s tenancy. If we take any of these actions, the head of
household has the right to dispute our decision through this Agency’s grievance
procedures and in court.
Any
“mismatch” which cannot be resolved could also result in referral to DHCD.
Information concerning you and your household may also be referred to the
District Attorney, Attorney General, or other appropriate law enforcement
officials, which may result in further investigation, action, and/or criminal
prosecution.
Before you sign this form, it is important that you know the following
additional information:
1. In accordance with state law (chapter 43 of the Acts of 1997,
section 174; 760 CMR 6.05 (3)), it is mandatory that each head of household and
adult household member (age 18 and over) disclose to us his or her social
security number. Failure by a head of household or any adult (age 18 or
over) household member to provide this Agency with a social security number is
grounds for termination of the household’s tenancy.
2. We will use and hold your social security number and the
information obtained from the Department of Revenue and DHCD in our records only
for the purposes described above unless we get your consent to use it for any
additional purposes.
3. We will keep the wage reporting information confidential.
Only employees of this Agency and the other agencies or entities described above
may see this wage reporting information or keep it in their records for the
purposes described above. These other agencies or offices will also keep
the information confidential. If we receive a legal order to release the
information to anyone else, we will notify you.
4. If you ask, you or your authorized representative have a right to
inspect and copy information collected about you.
5. If you ask, we will answer your questions about how we keep and
use this information.
6. You may object to the accuracy, completeness, pertinence,
timeliness, relevance, use or dissemination of information we hold about you.
If you object, we will investigate your objection and will either correct a
problem or make your objection part of the file. If you are
dissatisfied, we will further inform you of any additional opportunity for
appeal.
Sincerely,
_______________________
LHA
_______________________
Date
Attachment