Q: How can I make suggestions to improve my community?

Every day, the Affordable Housing Online team gets questions about important affordable housing issues. Our Ask A Housing Expert blog highlights a question that can help a great number of low-income renters.

Today's blog is from Housing Policy Specialist Robin Lovelace. Robin has 23 years of experience as a housing authority administrator in Indiana.

Since 1994, HUD has been funding Resident Councils so that Public Housing Agency (PHA) residents can be active participants in the management and policy-making of their community. They help make decisions, and come up with strategies to improve the quality of life for PHA residents.

These Resident Councils are where you can promote your ideas to make a change for the good and improve your quality of life and those of your neighbors. This is where your voice can be heard.

Our team got a question from Alfred H. this week, who wanted to know what he can do to make his voice heard:

"I keep complaining about the bad condition of our picnic area, but nothing is being done about it. What more can I do?"

Affordable Housing Online user Alfred H.

In these situations, sometimes the best course of action is to take the lead yourself, by becoming a member of your Resident Council. If you’re interested in becoming a Resident Council Board Member, here’s all the information you need to know:

Who can be a Resident Council Board Member?

Resident Councils are for Public Housing, Housing Choice Voucher, Project-Based Voucher (PBV), Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA), and Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) residents.

Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher residents who live in an apartment complex can have a resident council too, if 20% (or more) of the tenants in the apartment complex are using Housing Choice Vouchers to pay their rent.

Also, resident councils can be organized in Public Housing, PBV, PBRA and RAD converted apartment complexes.

The voting membership for a Resident Council must consist of heads of households and other residents at least 18 years of age or older, and whose name appears on a lease for the unit in the Public Housing or Housing Choice Voucher program that the resident council represents. At a minimum, the governing board should consist of five elected board members. [Source: 24 CFR § 964.115(c)]

Resident Council Members are charged with the following:

• Represent the interests of all the tenants.
• Provide a process by which tenants can make complaints to management, and make every effort to ensure the complaints will be heard and addressed.
• Educate and inform tenants of the nature of grievances and other issues that the tenant council will undertake.
• Keep tenants informed on the progress of projects and remedying grievances.
• Be a trusted voice in residential community affairs to the management.

Resident Councils can accomplish a lot for their neighbors: 

Allowable activities for which resident council funds can be used include:

• Child care
• Early childhood development
• Parent involvement
• Volunteer services
• Parenting skills
• Tutorial services
• Before and after school programs
• Senior programs
• Training programs on health, nutrition and safety
• Child abuse and neglect prevention

As an example of what can be accomplished, a project taken on by a resident council in Oakland, CA involved hosting late night rec sessions which include basketball games, exercise classes, yoga, guest speakers, and other events for teenagers and young adults. The goal was to keep their young people occupied late at night with beneficial activities.  

Unallowable activities include: 

Unallowable expenses include any activities prohibited by laws related to fair housing and non-discrimination. In addition, the government prohibits the use of federal resident council funds for the following:

• Purchase of alcoholic beverages
• Paying for entertainment, where the dedicated purpose of the event falls under the following categories:
  • Amusement (trips to theme parks, county fairs, etc...)
  • Diversions (theatre, movies, sports events, etc...)
  • Social activities (parties, bowling nights, etc...)
• Any directly associated costs for the events in the categories above, such as:
  • Tickets to shows or sports events
  • Meals
  • Lodging
  • Rentals
  • Transportation
  • Gratuities
• Organized fundraising costs, including:
  • Financial campaigns
  • Solicitation of gifts and bequests
  • Similar expenses incurred to raise capital or obtain contributions, regardless of the purpose for which the funds will be used

There are no rules or regulations prohibiting a resident council from seeking other funding for activities, it’s just that HUD funds cannot be used to do it. Also, there are no rules against partnering with:

• Organizations such as local Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCA/YWCA, Boy/Girl Scouts, Campfire and Big Brother/Big Sisters, etc…
• Youth education and sports programs
• Drug use and violence prevention program
• Financial literacy and credit counseling organizations

HUD also encourages resident councils to apply for grants such as the Resident Opportunity and Self Sufficiency (ROSS) Program grant, to fund their projects.

How do I run for a seat on the Resident Council?

Contact a current Resident Council member, or contact management at the PHA to get information on the process to run for a seat on the resident council. 

Tenants who will be able to vote for resident council members are the same as the requirements for someone who runs for membership on a resident council.

Here is how you can step in and make a change: 

1. Run for a seat on the resident council. 
2. Be prepared to talk about your concerns at meetings.
3. Propose the right kind of projects that will have a lasting effect on your life and the lives of your neighbors.
4. Be ready to listen to your neighbors' concerns.
5. Be open to suggestions or compromises.
6. Do your homework and get examples of similar successful projects.
7. Be ready to work hard.

If you’re ready to make a change, then do it! Find out what you need to do to be elected to your Resident Council. And when you win that election, dig in and start making your community a better place. Even if you don’t win, attend meetings and don’t be reluctant to bring up your ideas. Let your voice be heard.

For more information read the following: 

• Use of Tenant Participation Funds.docx (hud.gov)
• Rental Assistance Demonstration – Final Implementation, Revision 4