Lora Carney Section 8 Support Programming Liaison Ext

 What is an Adjustment?  When is an Adjustment needed?  What certification types will get an adjustment question?  When are adjustments automatic and when are they manual?

 An adjustment is a retroactive change in the HAP and/or URP amount already paid.  This could be due to: Late processing by the PHA Failure by the tenant to report a change timely Move In or Move Out Reinstatement of Rental Assistance due to a hearing

 Adjustments are generated at the end of the Certification Finalization Wizard when the effective date of the certification is in the current month of Section 8 or earlier than the current month in Section 8. Adjustments are created for:  New Move Ins  Port Move Ins  Annuals  Interims  Other Change of Units

 Creation of adjustments in ORC is Optional. The User can answer No to the adjustment question and enter adjustments manually in Section 8.  Adjustments created automatically are based on the ORC parameters of whether you prorate based on actual days or 30 days in the month. This parameter is found in ORC Setup under the Special Functions Tab.

 Reopening a previously completed certification does not remove adjustments previously completed. Choosing to create adjustments upon re-finalizing will generate more adjustments.  Get in the habit of checking adjustments in the Section 8 module when certifications are completed.

New Move Ins and Port Move Ins are new tenants to your program. The program creates adjustments based on the Certification Effective Date and the Current Month in Section 8.

Certification Effective Date is 3/1/2012 Current Month in Section 8 is April 2012 The Wizard Created two adjustments for Each VMS Month of March and April.

Scroll the Adjustment Bar over to see the UML adj. UML adjustments are only created on HAP adjustments. You will never have a Tenant that receives a URP adjustment and does not also receive HAP.

In most cases Annuals are completed in advance of the effective date, but in the case of moves or late re-certifications, an adjustment may be needed. These adjustments which don’t involve a move will create the adjustment based on the: prior HAP/URP amount in effect new effective date of the certification and current month in Section 8.

Prior Now See Previous and Current HAP/URP New Current Month in Section 8 Module is April 2012

Annuals, interims and Other Change of Unit can involve a Unit Change or Move. These adjustments do not adjust from prior HAP/URP to current because there is a potential landlord change involved. These adjustments will create the adjustment based on the: new effective date of the certification and current month in Section 8.

Move Adjustment Option 1 Housing Agency Allows the Tenant to remain Leased while looking for a new unit. They continue to pay HAP/URP until the tenant nears the end of the process and is ready to lease up in the new unit. At that time the user puts the HAP/URP on hold in Section 8 until the Unit change is processed. Using this method continues to count the UML and expense for the tenant for VMS each month they are on hold.

While the tenant’s HAP/URP is on hold, during Initialization the system will move any expense in the To Be Paid boxes to the adjustment line for the prior VMS month. These are referred to as Balance Forward Adjustments. Balance Forward Adjustments cannot be deleted. They can only be adjusted out. They cannot be deleted because even though the tenant was on hold their UML and HAP expense is still reported to VMS. When the unit change is processed in ORC, any amount that is in the To Be Paid for the current month that is liable to the previous landlord is moved to the adjustment line in Section 8. This adjustment can be deleted up until the next Initialization takes place.

Payment Info Tab before Move is Processed in ORC

No UML adjustments are needed, tenant was on hold.

The Feb and March Adjustments to Shalimar Gardens cannot be deleted.

Move Adjustment Option 2 Housing Agency Requires the Tenant to complete a Lease Cancellation Notice giving the landlord and HA notice of when they will be moving out of their current unit. The HA issues a voucher using the Searching Function in Section 8 Tenant and Landlord. No new HAP/URP is generated with Initialization while the tenant is in Searching mode and the UML and Expense is excluded from VMS reporting. No holds are necessary in Section 8. Using this method the user will have no balance forward adjustments, however adjustments can still be paid if necessary.

Tenants in Searching Mode are Excluded from the VMS Gather

Certifications for End of Participations and Port Move Outs prompt an adjustment question and the user is able to enter the adjustment but the system does not automatically calculate the adjustment. This is because those adjustments could span multiple months and over multiple certifications. Also Housing Authorities have different policies regarding taking back overpayments regarding move outs.

1. Determine Number of Days to Prorate Number of Days in the Month minus the Date of Move In/Move Out plus 1 = Number of Days 2. Determine Daily Rate HAP/URP Monthly Amount divided by ORC Policy of Actual Days or 30 days = Daily Rate rounded to 2 decimal points 3. Calculate Adjustment Daily Rate multiplied by the Number of Days = Adjustment Amount.

Section 8 adjustments are manually entered adjustments with the exception of Abatements. Section 8 adjustments can be accessed from the landlord, tenant or check processing menu. Section 8 adjustments can be created for both Active and Inactive tenants for HAP and URP. All adjustments regardless of where they are created directly affect your VMS reporting and must be associated with the correct VMS month.

Click the + to add adjustments

A VMS Only Adjustment Is Used Whenever You Need to Adjust the VMS Month But a Check Is not Necessary.

When adding Adjustments From the Tenant, the Description Will always Default to Tenant name But can be Modified.

The Total Adjustment Can be either Positive or Negative and Is the full Amount to Adjust. The Monthly Adjustment can be used anytime you wish to break the Total adjustment into monthly installments.

The Ledger Account Project Defaults to The ledger Project from The Payment Info tab but The user can Click the drop Down to choose Another project if needed.

The VMS Date Is very important For accurate VMS reporting. Each adjustment Entered needs To be broken Down by VMS Month so That the expense And UML can Be associated With the correct VMS Month.

A VMS UML Adjustment is Needed Whenever The unit month Leased needs To be adjusted, Mostly used in the case of Move Ins And Move outs.

The Exclude From VMS Check box Can be used Anytime You do not Want an Adjustment To affect Your VMS Reporting. An example Might be a Tax Levy.

An adjustment Generated From the Tenant Payment Info Tab will Always default To the Tenant’s Current Landlord, however By clicking the Get Landlord button, the user is able To select any Active landlord.

Clicking Get Landlord brings up the Browse Landlord Menu

Since each Adjustment Needs to be Associated To the correct VMS Month, The Repeat Wizard can Be checked To make data Entry faster.

Adjustments in the Adjustment Next Check Box Are Always payable to the Current Landlord

Adding a Second Adjustment payable to another Landlord does not affect the Adjustment Next Check Box Now I will see a warning and the landlord that is not the current landlord is highlighted. To See a Payment Detail report to the current Landlord

To View Who Entered an Adjustment, Move the Scroll bar to the Right

The Adjustment Wizards accessed from the Landlord Button and Check Processing function the same as accessing from the Tenant Tab, with a couple of exceptions. The Adjustment Wizard Accessed from The landlord gives the user the option to select an Inactive Tenant and gives the user the option to enter an adjustment that is not tied to any tenant. An Adjustment that is not tied to a tenant can never be associated to the VMS gather automatically.

The Tenant URP Adjustment Report is Accessed from the Reports Menu, Tenant Tab. The User has the option to include or exclude URP Adjustments on Hold. The URP Adjustment Report is only viewable for Open URP Adjustments.

The HAP Check Adjustment Report has more options. The Report can be ran for All Dates or a Date Range. The Report Order is by either Landlord Last name or Tax ID. The Report Status can be All, Complete or Open. The User has the Option to Include or Exclude Adjustments on Hold.

The Future Amount Represents any Amount in which there is not sufficient HAP to recoup.

Total To Be Paid is the Amount paying out on the next Check Run

The abatement feature is used to track Landlords/Tenants who are in an abated status. When a landlord or tenant is abated they have failed to meet HQS obligations and are not entitled to HAP or URP payments for the duration of the abated period. To Access the Abatement Feature: Click on Tools from any tenant tab in Section 8

Enter the Start Date of the Abatement and an Optional Reason for the Abatement. The user has the option to start the Abatement for the first day of the following month if that is your HA’s policy. Click Start.

Click Finish or Back to Edit.

Three things happened: An Information Bar Appeared at the Top of the Screen that is viewable from all Tenant Tabs and in ORC. An Abatement Start Date is Notated An Adjustment was created to Recoup HAP

To Check the Abatement calculation manually: The abatement proration is based on the policy in ORC setup indicating whether your adjustment calculation is based on 30 days or Actual days. In this case the policy in ORC is set to prorate based on 30 days. The regular HAP amount already paid for April was $546. The Landlord was abated on 4/15/2012 Number of Actual Days in Month = Days in April minus date Abatement Began plus 1 = Number of Days to Abate = 16 HAP divided by Policy Setting, 30 days = Daily Rate $546 divided by 30 = $18.20 $18.20 x 16 days = $ Rounded down = $291

The Adjustments created should equal your manual calculation. Please remember to round the daily rate to two decimal places before multiplying by the number of days to abate.

Once the HAP or URP is abated: No new HAPs or URP’s will be generated with initialization until the abatement is ended. The Abatement Information Bar remains highlighted on all tenant screens and in ORC until the abatement is ended. An abatement record can not be deleted, it can only be ended. However the adjustment records can be deleted.

Abatement Report Can be found in the Section 8 Reports Initialization Tab Abatement Report The report can be run for all dates or a date range By Abatement Type, ALL, HAP or URP. By Abatement Status, All, Open or Complete And can be Sorted by Landlord name, Tenant name or Start Date.

Enter the Date HAP Payments Have Resumed.

Click Start and Finish to End the Abatement

To Calculate the Abatement Ending Adjustment Manually The regular HAP amount paid for April was $546 The amount we recouped for April when we started the Abatement was $291. The Abatement has ended and HAP Payments Resumed on 4/18/2012. Number of Actual Days in Month = Days in April minus date Abatement Resumed plus 1= Number of Days to Repay to the Landlord = 13 HAP divided by Policy Setting, 30 days = Daily Rate $546 divided by 30 = $18.20 $18.20 x 13 = $ Rounded up = $237

The Adjustments created should equal your manual calculation. Please remember to round the daily rate to two decimal places before multiplying by the number of days to abate. The Abatement Status Bar is now gone and Abatement Start Date is blank.