You, as a resident, have rights and responsibilities that help make your HUD-assisted housing a better home for you and your family.

This brochure is being distributed to you because HUD has provided some form of assistance or subsidy for this apartment building. As part of its dedication to maintaining the best possible living environment for all residents, your HUD field office encourages and supports:

• Communication between residents, management agents,
  and property owners.
• Prompt consideration and resolution of valid resident
  complaints by owners and managers.
• Residents organizing and participating in the decisions
  regarding the apartment building that affect the well-being
  of their home.

Along with your owner/management agent, you play an important role in making your place of residence-the unit, the grounds, and other common areas-a better place to live and in creating a community you can be proud of.

The brochure briefly lists some of your most important rights and responsibilities to help you get the most out of your home.

As a resident in HUD's multifamily housing, you should be aware of your rights.
Rights
Involving Your Apartment

• The right to live in decent, safe, and sanitary housing.
• The right to have repairs performed in a timely manner, upon request, and to have a quality maintenance program run by management.
• The right to be given reasonable notice, in writing, of any non-emergency inspection or other entry into your apartment.

Rights
Involving Resident Organization

• The right to organize as residents without obstruction, harassment, or
  retaliation from property owners or management.
• The right to post materials in common areas informing other residents
  of their rights and of opportunities to involve themselves in their project.
• The right, which may be subject to a reasonable, HUD approved fee, to use
  appropriate common space or meeting facilities to organize or to consider
  any issue affecting the condition of management of the property.
• The right to be recognized by property owners and managers as having a
  voice in residential community affairs.

Rights
Involving Nondiscrimination

The right to equal and fair treatment and use of your building's services and facilities, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, disability, familial status (children under 18), national origin (ethnicity or language), or age.


As a resident of a HUD assisted project, you also have certain responsibilities to ensure that your building remains a suitable home for you and your neighbors. By signing your lease, you and the owner/management company have entered into a legal, enforceable contract. You and the owner/management company are responsible for complying with your lease, house rules, and local laws governing your property. If you have any questions about your lease or do not have a copy of it, contact your management agent or your local HUD field office.

Responsibilities
to Your Property Owner or Management Agent

• Complying with the rules and guidelines that govern your lease.
• Paying the correct amount of rent on a timely basis each month.
• Providing accurate information to the owner at the certification or
  rectification interview to determine your eligibility for assistance,
  and consenting to the release of information by a third party to
  allow for verification.

Responsibilities
to the Project and to Your Fellow Residents

• Conducting yourself in a manner that will not disturb your neighbors.
• Not engaging in criminal activity in the unit, common area, or grounds.
• Keeping your unit clean and not littering the grounds or common areas.
• Disposing of garbage and waste in a proper manner.
• Complying with local codes that affect the health or safety of the
  residence.
• Maintaining your apartment and common areas in the same general
  physical condition as when you moved in.
• Reporting any defects in building systems, fixtures, appliances, or
  other parts of the unit, the grounds, or related facilities to the management.

Residents in HUD assisted multifamily housing play an important role in decisions that affect their project. Different HUD programs provide for specific resident rights. You have the right to know under what HUD program your building is assisted. To find out if your apartment building is covered under any of the following categories, contact your management agent.

If your building has a mortgage loan under Section 202, or assisted under Section 236, 221(d)(3)/BMIR, Rent Supplement Program or the Section 8 Loan Management Set Aside Program following conversion of the project from Rent Supplement Program Assistance, you have the right to participate in or be notified of, and comment on the following:

• An increase in the maximum permissible rent.
• Conversion of a project from project-paid utilities to tenant-paid utilities
  or a reduction in tenant utility allowance.
• Conversion of residential units in a multifamily housing project to a
  non-residential use or to condominiums, or the transfer of the project
  to a cooperative housing mortgagor corporation or association.
• Partial release of mortgage security.
• Capital improvements that represent a substantial addition to the
  project.
• Non-renewal of a Project Base Section 8 Contract.

If your building is subsidized under the Section 202 or 811 program of the National Housing Act, you have the right to be notified of, and to comment on, a request to HUD for consent to the prepayment of a loan.

If your building has a project-based Section 8 contract that is expiring or being terminated and will not be renewed, you have a right to a one year "portable" Section 8 certificate that you may use in any building with rents in the allowable range. You also have the right to Opportunity Counseling, where you can learn about housing options available to you.

If you live in a building that is owned by HUD and is being sold, you have the right to be notified of, and comment on, HUD's plans for disposing of the building. If you form, or have formed, a resident organization, you and your fellow tenants may negotiate with HUD to purchase the building to establish cooperative housing or resident owned rental units.

Secretary Andrew M. Cuomo

If you need help or more information, you may contact:

• Your property manager
• The project manager in the Multifamily Hub or your local Program Center
• The housing counseling agency in your community (for assistance, call
  the HUD Housing Counseling Service Locator at 1-800-569-4287)
• HUD's National Multifamily Clearinghouse at 1-800-685-8470 to report
  maintenance or management concerns.
• Office of Inspector General - (OIG Hot Line) at 1-800-347-3735 or in the
  Washington, D.C. area, 202-708-4200 to report Fraud, Waste and Mismanagement.
• World Wide Web - http://www.hud.gov
  • HUD Storefront Office - http://www.hud.gov/storefront/
  • Community Builders - http://www.hud.gov/combuild.html
  • Fair Housing - http://www.hud.gov/fhe/fheo.html
  • Resident Rights and Responsibilities Brochure - http://www/hud.gov/fha/fharent.html

If you believe that you have been discriminated against, or would like information on what constitutes housing discrimination, call 1-800-669-9777, or call your local HUD Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.

Your local government tenant/landlord affairs office, legal services office, and tenant organizations may also provide you with information on additional rights you have under local or state law.

The brochure about your rights and responsibilities as a resident of HUD assisted multifamily housing is also available in Braille and the following languages, English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, French, Russian, Vietnamese, Korean, Creole, Portuguese, and Ethiopian, Contact your local HUD Field Office or HUD's National Multifamily Housing Clearinghouse at 1-800-685-8470.