Starting Monday, March 16 all Housing Authority offices will be closed to the public until further notice. This is in response to the Governor's emergency declaration for government agencies to take proactive measures to decrease the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. We will keep you advised of when the offices will reopen via this website. If you need to contact the Housing Authority during the time we are closed to the public, please call (425) 258-9222. Your call will be returned as soon as possible.

Moving to Work

Moving to Work

About MTW

Moving to Work (MTW) is a demonstration program for housing authorities through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  MTW agencies design and test innovative, locally developed strategies that aim to use Federal dollars more efficiently, help residents find employment and become self-sufficient, and increase housing choices for low-income families.

There are 39 MTW housing authorities around the country.  Congress has authorized 100 additional housing authorities to be a part of the demonstration.  They will be selected through a competitive application process.  Each of the selected housing authorities will be testing specific types of program changes to see which ones best meet the goals of MTW.

Everett Housing Authority (EHA) is preparing its application to be part of the MTW demonstration.  Participating in MTW would enhance EHA’s ability to accomplish its strategic goals and better serve the Everett community with the flexibilities available to MTW agencies.

If HUD selects EHA for the MTW demonstration program, the agency will be part of the Rent Reform group, which is testing out a new way of determining rents paid by participants in the Section 8 program.  EHA will also be implementing other changes to its programs.  Some of these changes might include streamlining processes or creating new programs to meet the needs of the community.

EHA is preparing an application to HUD.  Applications are due in early January.  The draft application will be made available for public review and comment later this year.  When it is available, it will be posted on this page.

 

Rent Reform Information

Under Rent Reform, some households who receive a tenant-based or project-based voucher from EHA or live in EHA project-based voucher housing will have their rent calculated under a new rent policy, called Tiered Rent.  Others will stay under the current rent policy.  ​

Only non-elderly (under age 62), non-disabled households will be eligible for the new rent policy.  That means if the head, co-head, spouse, or sole member of the household is disabled and/or age 62 or older at the time the new policy is implemented, they are not eligible to receive the new rent policy.

The goals of the new rent policy are to see if the changes encourage households to increase their earnings and reduce how much time EHA staff spend on income reviews.  If EHA is selected to be part of MTW, a researcher will conduct a study on the outcomes of EHA’s new rent policy.

EHA will randomly selected half of eligible households to pay rent under the new rent policy for 6 years.  The other half of eligible households will continue to pay rent based on the current rules. 

If EHA is accepted into MTW, the new rent policy will not go into effect for 1-2 years (until 2022 or 2023).  EHA will provide notice to participants who are selected to participate in the new rent policy well in advance of any changes in their rent calculation.

Some of the key features of the new rent policy would be:

  • Income reviews will be done only every 3 years, instead of annually
  • Households on the new rent policy are placed in a rent tier based on their gross income in the first year
  • If their income goes up during the 3 years between reviews, they will not need to complete an income review with EHA to update their rent payment and can save or spend the additional money they earn
  • If their income goes down during the 3 years between reviews, households may qualify for a hardship rent reduction for up to 12 months, plus possible extensions

 

Public Review and Comment

EHA is committed to effective and inclusive engagement with our residents, stakeholders, and community. We want to hear from you about our MTW application and plan.  

Participants and residents have two upcoming opportunities to learn more about MTW and share your feedback:

Resident/Participant Meeting 1: October 21, 2020 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

Resident/Participant Meeting 2: November 2, 2020 from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM

Click to join Zoom meeting online:     Zoom Link

Call in by phone:                                 (253) 215-8782

Zoom Meeting ID:                               764 842 3009

Passcode:                                            EHA

 

More information coming soon on other opportunities to give feedback on EHA’s MTW application and plan.