What is a Unit Transfer?

A transfer is a process used by FRHA residents and management when housing circumstances change which may require that the resident to move from the current unit to another unit.
 
The objectives of the Fall River Housing Authority (FRHA) Transfer Policy include the following (in no particular order):
Applying for a Transfer
A tenant may initiate a transfer request at any time by completing a Transfer Request form. Transfer requests may be obtained at the Management Office where the Tenant resides

For Public Housing

UNIT TRANSFER CATEGORIES
A. CATEGORY #1: ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSFERS (MANDATORY)
B. The FRHA is occasionally required to initiate transfers that have not been requested by a resident. These transfers are required in order to free a unit(s) for an important operational or policy reason. Administrative Transfers will be assigned before any other transfer type and new admissions. Administrative transfers include the following categories:
 
1. Uninhabitable Unit. The current apartment has become uninhabitable and immediate relocation is required as a result of: a) Destruction by fire or other disaster; b) The existence of a major maintenance problem that presents a serious danger to health and safety that cannot be repaired in a reasonable period of time or while the apartment is occupied.
2. Demolition, Disposition, Revitalization or Rehabilitation. The unit is located in a building or section of building scheduled for capital improvement pursuant to a funded capital improvement program or other major rehabilitation effort. Transfers under this section may be temporary relocations (i.e., at a local hotel) to permit work required for a maintenance or repair problem that cannot be performed while the unit is occupied. Following completion of the maintenance or repairs, temporarily relocated families will be returned to the same unit so long as it is of the appropriate size.
3. Accessible Unit. The transfer is required to permit occupancy of an accessible unit or unit with adapted features by another resident or an applicant with a disability. A household occupying an accessible unit that does not require / no longer requires the Fall River Housing Authority 86 unit’s accessibility features must enter into a lease addendum certifying their acknowledgement of a potential Administrative Transfer under this section.
4. Refuge from Domestic Violence. Relocation is necessary due to the household’s current and on-going threat(s) because of domestic violence/sexual assault/dating violence/stalking which has been documented, investigated, and recommended by the Fall River Police Department or other sources deemed acceptable by the FRHA Director of Field Operations or designee.
5. Minimum Occupancy Requirements. When decreases in family size result in over[1]housing (See: Chapter 5.2A: Occupancy Standards) by two (2) or more bedrooms, FRHA may initiate a mandatory transfer to a smaller unit of appropriate size and type.
6. Eligibility Requirements for Development Type. In cases where the approved addition of a new household member(s) renders a family ineligible for their current development type, FRHA shall initiate a transfer to a unit of appropriate size and type in a development where current family composition satisfies the threshold eligibility requirements for occupancy.
CATEGORY #2: EMERGENCY TRANSFERS (MEDICAL, HEALTH & SAFETY)
Emergency transfers are transfers necessary to the health and/or safety of one or more Household members. Residents will be required to document any special needs such as floor location, bedroom size, or neighborhood during the transfer application process or before a housing offer is made. Every tenth (10th) available unit for each bedroom size shall be offered to the highest-ranking emergency transfer on the waiting list.
 
Approved emergency transfers will receive one housing offer. The following are criteria for Emergency Transfers:
1. Severe Medical Emergency – A household member has a serious, medically determinable, physical or mental condition that is aggravated by the present housing such that the condition is life-threatening and/or substantially improved only by relocation to another apartment.
2. Witness Protection – The household needs to be relocated because of a household member’s participation in a witness protection program or in order to avoid reprisal as a result of providing information to a law enforcement agency or participation in a witness protection program.
3. Reasonable Accommodation – The transfer requested is for a person with a disability who requires reasonable accommodation to address dire circumstances posing serious and direct threat to health, life or safety which can only be alleviated by relocation to a unit with certain physical features and they cannot be provided at the current unit without undue financial and administrative burden to the FRHA. Verification of the need for a transfer under this section will be required in accordance with the FRHA Reasonable Accommodation Policy.
4. Hate Crimes – Relocation is necessary due one or more household members being a documented victim of a hate crime, physical harassment, extreme or repeated vandalism to personal property and/or extreme and/or repeated verbal harassment, intimidation or coercion – as determined by the FRPD or other law enforcement entity – which places them in imminent danger and that cannot be expeditiously remedied in any other way. Admissions & Continued Occupancy Policy 87
5. Under-Housed by Two (2) or More Bedrooms – In cases where FRHA has approved the addition of new member(s) to an existing household and the resulting family size exceeds the Occupancy Standard for the current unit by two (2) or more bedrooms (See: 5.2A Occupancy Standards), relocation to a unit of appropriate size and type is necessary.
CATEGORY #3: REGULAR TRANSFERS (OCCUPANCY STANDARDS)
Regular Transfers are not mandatory for continued occupancy unless they exceed the two[1]person per bedroom/living room threshold. Every fifteenth (15th) available unit for each bedroom size shall be offered to the highest-ranking standard transfer on the waiting list. They include:
1. Under-housed – The household is under-housed by one (1) or two (2) bedrooms.
2. Over-housed – The household is over-housed by at least one (1) bedroom.
3. Incentives – Occasionally, FRHA will offer transfers to families in order to help meet deconcentration or occupancy goals.
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*Closed All Major Holidays
For More information. Contact Marie Souza