RIGHT TO ORGANIZE

HUD regulations provide you with certain rights. The first and foremost of these rights is your Right to Organize. These regulations provide you the right to organize free from management harrassment. HUD has also published the “Management Agent Handbook”. In Chapter 4, titled “Working with Residents” The handbook defines what actions taken by management against tenants is considered harrassment.Both the regulations and the handbook require owners & managers to recognize legitamate tenant unions, as defined in the regulations.

YOUR RIGHTS

You also have the right to live in decent, sanitary housing; the right to have repairs done in a timely manner; the right to be notified in writing, of any non emergency inspection or other entry into your apartment; the right to fair and equal 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 some circumstances, age.

DECENT SAFE & SANITARY HOUSING

You have a right to Decent, Safe and Sanitary Housing. You can read HUD's Quality Standards. In this document, the highlighted portion is HUD's definition of Decent, Safe, and Sanitary Housing.

The Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) is responsible for ensuring these quality standards. For more information about REAC, visit REAC's web site.
REAC has also created a brochure explaining the inspection scoring process.

RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES BROCHURE

NAHT helped HUD create a “Resident Rights & Responsibilities” Brochure, which HUD requires landlords to distribute to all HUD tenants each year. Get your copy here! We have them in nine languages.

• English
• Spanish
• French
• Haitian-Creole
• Russian
• Vietnamese
• Korean
• Chinese
• Amharic

RENT CALCULATION

You also have the right to have your rent calculated properly. In February, 2002, HUD distributed the Rent calcuation Fact sheet. Included in the fact sheet is a detailed explanation of how your rent is determined.

• John C. Weicher Memorandum
• Rent Calculation Fact sheet
• Project-Based Section 8 Rent Calculation Fact sheet
• Section 236 Rent Calculation Fact sheet
• Below Market Interest Rate (BMIR) Rent Calculation Fact sheet