Your income or household changed during the lease: what happens next

The short answer

Report the change the way your lease and any assistance paperwork tell you to, then get the effect in writing. Don’t assume a raise means you’ll be evicted. And don’t assume your rent is locked in for good.

What happens next depends on the program behind your unit. A tax credit unit with no subsidy usually has a set restricted rent. A unit with rental assistance, like a voucher, bases your share of the rent on your income. Those two follow different rules, and one unit can have both.

Find out every program on your unit

LIHTC compliance, a voucher and another subsidy can each have their own reporting or review rules. Ask management which programs apply and which parts of your lease cover changes to your household or income. An answer about “tax credit rules” alone may miss a second program, and one program’s rule doesn’t carry over to another.

List everyone you have to tell

You may need to tell a property manager and, separately, a housing agency. Find the reporting instructions in your lease and assistance paperwork. Telling us or any other locator doesn’t update either official record.

• Property manager: for the lease and the tax credit income review.
• Housing agency: if you have a voucher or other assistance it runs.
• Both: when someone moves in or out, ask each one what it needs and by when.

In a tax credit unit: recertification and the 140% rule

TDHCA’s tax credit training covers ongoing compliance and income reviews. Ask if you need an income recertification for this unit, and when.

What if your household’s income rises? Under the available unit rule, a unit can keep counting as a tax credit unit. The household must have qualified when it moved in, and the unit must stay rent restricted. Once income goes above 140% of the applicable income limit, the owner has to rent comparable available units in the same building to qualified households. That’s how your unit keeps counting. For deep rent skewed projects, the statute uses 170% in place of 140%.

These next available unit rules are about the owner’s duties to the program, not a blanket promise about every tenant’s rent or renewal. Property restrictions, other funding and the lease can all matter. Ask management what your raise means for your unit, in writing.

In a unit with rental assistance: your share can change

If you have a Housing Choice Voucher, your share of the rent is tied to your income. Under HUD’s voucher rules, you usually pay 30% of adjusted monthly income when the rent is at or below the payment standard. HUD’s voucher guidance explains the basics. The points below come from HUD’s updated income rules, and agencies are still moving over to them, so ask your agency which version it uses.

• You have to report changes in household members and income, and the housing agency sets what counts as on time.
• The agency has to do an interim review when it learns adjusted income will rise by 10% or more. Raises in earned income usually don’t count toward that test. The exception is when you had an interim decrease earlier in the same cycle.
• The agency may decline to review a decrease of less than 10% of annual adjusted income.
• A lower share from a decrease usually starts the first of the month after you report the change. If you report a raise late, the higher share can be applied back to an earlier date.

Project based assistance and other subsidies have their own rules, so ask the agency or owner for the policy that covers your unit. See our guide to project based Section 8 for how those programs differ.

If your income drops

Ask right away if the program allows or requires a review of your share of the rent, and what proof it needs. A fixed restricted rent with no subsidy doesn’t drop on its own when your pay does. Ask the provider when any change would take effect, and keep paying the billed rent until then rather than paying less based on a calculator.

If your income goes up or someone moves in

Ask what you need to report before the change, and if you need approval or an updated certification. Give accurate information and keep proof that you sent it. A new household member can bring their own income, student status and documents into the review.

Ask for these answers in writing

• What information do I have to report, and by when?
• Do I need an income recertification for this unit?
• What rule is this change based on?
• Will my rent or assistance change? When, and with how much notice?
• How do I question a calculation or decision?

Keep documents and deadlines together

Keep notices, the records you sent and the response. Don’t ignore a rent notice on the word of an online guide that promised nothing could change. If you get a termination notice or a charge you dispute, get qualified advice right away.

If the next bill is the problem right now, use TDHCA’s Help for Texans to find assistance providers. Then check intake and eligibility with them directly. Asking for help or recertification doesn’t give you permission to miss a payment, and it doesn’t extend a court deadline.

For the documents a review may ask for, see what documents you need. For how restricted rents are set, see how tax credit rent and income limits work. Other Texas help is listed on our housing assistance page.