Who Is Involved in the Hearing

For an Informal Hearing, the people involved will be:

Part 1: Hearing Officer

The Hearing Officer conducts the Informal Hearing and makes a decision to either uphold, modify, or overturn the Public Housing Agency’s action.

The Hearing Officer may not be the person who made the decision to terminate or change your voucher and cannot be the person who approved that decision. The Hearing Officer cannot be someone who works directly for the person who made the decision or the person who approved the decision.

Someone else in the PHA that had nothing to do with the decision, such as the PHA’s attorney, or someone who works in another housing program within the PHA, may serve as the Hearing Officer. Many times, persons in the community such as a retired judge, attorney, or program specialist from another PHA will be recruited to be the Hearing Officer.

Part 2: PHA Representative

Usually, the person representing the Public Housing Agency will be the caseworker who made the decision or the caseworker’s supervisor.

Part 3: Participant’s Representative

Most of the time, it will be yourself unless you have another representative you want to speak for you — such as a social worker, attorney, or relative.

Part 4: Impartial Observer

Some Public Housing Agencies ask other personnel to sit in for the Informal Hearing as a silent observer and/or a note taker.

Part 5: Security Personnel

Some Public Housing Agencies also will have a security guard present, especially if past exchanges have become contentious between the participant and PHA personnel.