Highlands Residential Services has amended its house rules policy, part of which will change how the housing authority calculates tenant rent rates.
Executive Director Chris Cassetty said in the past, when a tenant’s income changed, the housing authority would have to recalculate the rate immediately. Cassetty said new HUD regulations will not change the rent until the next renewal.
“It’s a rule that benefits the tenant more,” Cassetty said. “If their income goes up a little, they don’t necessarily have to start immediately paying more rent, and frankly, it’s a rule that makes it a little on our employees because we are not working up as many files in between their annual recert.”
Cassetty said the change applies to income changes between $250 to $350 per month.. Cassetty said he believes HUD changed its regulations regarding rent rate calculations to make it fairer to the tenants.
Cassetty said other house rule changes address issues that interfered with mowing.
“Our house rules have always had some sections in there about how tenants need to keep their yards clean, where our mowing crew can come in and mow, and have had some regulations about not allowing free-standing pools, and that kind of thing,” Cassetty said. “We just added to that a little bit. We added that they can’t have bounce houses and just clarified it some.”
Cassetty said issues with interference with mowing have come up a time or two.
“It’s not that we don’t want the tenants having fun or having good things, but you know, we have got to be able to do our jobs and get the yards mowed and that kind of thing as well.”
Cassetty said the tenant selection plan has also been amended with the same changes.
