Recertification
Recertification is how a household's rent is set again each year from what they now earn. An annual recertification is opened per household with an effective date, and the package schedule counts back from that date to send notices.
Stages
| Stage | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Not started | Opened, but the first notice has not gone out |
| Notice sent | The household has been told, and can begin |
| In progress | The household has started answering |
| Waiting on resident | The office has asked for something and is waiting |
| Submitted | The head of household completed the certification |
| Ready for review | Everything required is in, and staff can start |
| Discrepancy | Staff marked a difference that has to be resolved |
| Approved | Staff approved the worksheet |
| Rent notice sent | The rent notice email went out |
| Complete | The effective date has passed and the new rent applies |
What the household does
On the applicant app, the household:
- Confirms who lives in the unit.
- Answers the package's questions, with follow-ups and document requests appearing as the rules fire.
- Uploads the documents each income row requires.
- The head of household completes the certification.
Anyone in the household can answer and upload. Only the head of household, or a helper with the "fill and sign" scope, can complete the certification.
What staff do
Staff compare the declared income to last year's and to third-party figures (EIV). Where the numbers do not agree, they mark a discrepancy, which moves the recertification to the Discrepancy stage and tells the household what to resolve.
The review screen shows "Filled by" on every answer given by a helper, so a reviewer can see who said what and on whose behalf.
The rent worksheet
The worksheet is the calculation, laid out so a reviewer can check each step:
| Line | Shows |
|---|---|
| Gross income | Every income row, summed |
| Each deduction | One line per deduction the program allows, using the current amounts |
| Adjusted income | Gross income less deductions |
| 30% of adjusted income | Candidate rent |
| 10% of gross income | Candidate rent |
| Minimum rent | Candidate rent, federal public housing |
| Project base rent | Candidate rent, Connecticut state moderate rental |
| Resulting rent | The candidate the program's rule picks |
| Current versus proposed | The household's rent today, next to the result |
Approving
Approving a recertification:
- updates the household's rent from the effective date,
- sets next year's due date, and
- emails the rent notice to the household.
Interim recertification
A 10% change in a household's income between annual recertifications triggers an interim one. It uses the program's interim income change package rather than the annual one, and otherwise runs through the same stages and the same worksheet.