Repayment Agreements: What are they and what is the process of being in a repayment agreement

What is a repayment agreement?

If you or a member of your household fail to report income to our agency, this may lead to a 'repayment agreement'. What this means is Metro has overpaid housing assistance payments on your behalf due to the unreported income or changes in your household composition that would have affected your tenant share. New or increased income MUST be reported within 15 business days if:

• Your household is zero income
• You reported a decrease in income
• Addition of a new member who is receiving income

When reporting income, you must provide verification of the income, the family certification form with the change of income reported next to the member, and the MTW Release and Privacy Act form in order to avoid a repayment agreement.

If there is unreported income, you will receive a letter for a virtual conference regarding the unreported income.

Example of a Repayment Agreement Case Conference Letter:

During the case conference, we will examine if this income was required to be reported, if it was you will be presented with three options regarding the repayment agreement:

• Option 1: Repay the total owed amount within 30 days
• Option 2: Enter into a repayment agreement
• Option 3: Refuse the repayment agreement and face termination.

If you already have an existing repayment agreement or completed one in the last five years, you must repay the new amount within 30 days or face program termination.

By signing the repayment agreement, you are agreeing to pay the amount listed on the agreement and will not miss more than three consecutive payments. Failure to pay the agreement will be considering defaulting on the agreement and you will face program termination.

Example of a Repayment Agreement: MRVP

Example of a Repayment Agreement: MTW/Section 8

Will being in a repayment agreement affect my voucher in any way?

Being in a repayment agreement will affect your eligibility for relocation if you are in default on a repayment agreement you will not be able to move. For Section 8 clients only, you cannot port out of the state while in a repayment agreement, even if you have not missed any payments. You will need to pay off the amount before porting out of the state. For Section 8 and MRVP, you can not move within the state if you have missed three consecutive payments until you are up to date with payments.

I reported the income and gave it to agency on time

If there is proof the income was reported and verification provided and the agency failed to include this in your tenant share, an interim will be run for the increase and there will not be a repayment agreement as this is an agency error.

Where do I make payments?

All payments can be mailed and made to our accounting department:

Metro Housing Boston

1411 Tremont Street

Boston, MA 02120

Attention: Accounting