What You Should Know About EIV

What You Should Know About EIV
A Guide for Applicants & Tenants of Public Housing & Section 8 Programs.

What is EIV? The Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) system is a web based computer system that contains employment and income information of individuals who participate in HUD rental assistance programs.

All Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) are required to use HUD's EIV system.

What information is in EIV and where does it come from? HUD obtains information about you from your local PHA, the Social Security Administration (SSA), and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
HHS provides HUD with wage and employment information as reported by employers; and unemployment compensation information as reported by the State workforce Agency (SWA). SSA provides HUD with death, Social Security (SS) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) information.

What is the EIV information used for? Primarily, the information is used by PHAs (and management agents hired by PHAs) for the following purposes to:

1. Confirm your name, date of birth (DOB), and Social Security Number(SSN) with SSA.
2. Verify your reported income sources and amounts.
3. Confirm your participation in only one HUD rental assistance program.
4. Confirm if you owe an outstanding debt to any PHA.
5. Confirm any negative status if you moved out of a subsidized unit (in the past) under the Public Housing or Section 8 program.
6. Follow up with you, other adult household members, or your listed emergency contact regarding deceased household members.

EIV will alert your PHA if you or anyone in your household has used a false SSN, failed to report complete and accurate income information, or is receiving rental assistance at another address. Remember, you may receive rental assistance at only one home! EIV will also alert PHAs if you owe an outstanding debt to any PHA (in any state or U.S. territory) and any negative status when you voluntarily or involuntarily moved out of a subsidized unit under the Public Housing or Section 8 program.

This information is used to determine your eligibility for rental assistance at the time of application.
What are my responsibilities? As at tenant (participant) of a HUD rental assistance program, you and each adult household member must disclose complete and accurate information to the PHA, including full name, SSN, and DOB; income information; and certify that your reported household composition (household members), income, and expense information is true to the best of your knowledge.

Remember, you must notify your PHA if a household member dies or moves out. You must also obtain the PHA's approval to allow additional family members or Friends to move in your home prior to them moving in.

What are the penalties for providing false information? Knowingly providing false, inaccurate, or incomplete information is FRAUD and a CRIME.

If you commit fraud, you and your family may be subject to any of the following penalties:

1. Eviction
2. Termination of assistance
3. Repayment of rent that you should have paid had you reported your income correctly
4. Prohibited from receiving future rental assistance for a period of up to 10 years
5. Prosecution by the local, state, or Federal prosecutor, which may result in you being fined up to $10,000 and/or serving time in jail.

Protect yourself by following HUD reporting requirements. When completing applications and reexaminations, you must include all sources of income you or any member of your household receives.

If you have any questions on whether money received should be counted as income or how your rent is determined, ask your PHA.

When changes occur in your household income, contact your PHA immediately to determine if this will affect your rental assistance.