7901.1 [RESERVED]

7901.2 Informal hearings are provided for public housing applicants.

7901.3 An “applicant” is someone who has applied for admission to the public housing program, but is not yet a tenant in the program.

7901.4 Informal hearings provide applicants with the opportunity to review the reasons for denial of admission and to present evidence to refute the grounds for denial.

7901.5 DCHA will only offer informal hearings to applicants for the purpose of disputing adverse decisions regarding denial of admission.

7901.6 DCHA must give an applicant notice of a decision denying eligibility for admission within ten (10) business days in accordance with Chapter 63.

7901.7 The notice in § 7901.6 must contain a brief statement of the reasons for DCHA’s decision and must also state that the applicant may request an informal hearing to dispute the decision. The notice must describe how to obtain the informal hearing.

7901.8 DCHA’s Notice of Denial will include information about required or requested remote informal hearings.

7901.9 If the applicant fails to request an informal hearing timely, the Notice of Denial shall be the final decision of DCHA.

7901.10 The applicant may appeal the final decision under the rules and procedures under the District Administrative Procedures Act, District Code § 2–510(a).

7901.11 When denying eligibility for admission, DCHA will provide the family a notice of VAWA rights (form HUD-5380) as well as the HUD VAWA self-certification form (form HUD-5382) in accordance with the Violence against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022, and as outlined in §§ 8107.4–8107.10. The notice and self-certification form must accompany the written notification of the denial of eligibility determination.

7901.12 Prior to notification of denial based on information obtained from criminal or sex offender registration records, the family will be given the opportunity to dispute the information in those records which would be the basis of the denial.

7901.13 The procedures for requesting and scheduling an informal hearing for an applicant

are as follows:

(a) A request for an informal hearing must be made in writing and delivered to DCHA either in person, by email or first-class mail, by the close of the business day, no later than fifteen (15) business days from the date of DCHA's notification of denial of admission;

(b) DCHA must schedule and send written notice of the informal hearing within fifteen (15) business days of the family's request;

(c) If the informal hearing is conducted remotely, at the time the notice is sent to the family, the family will be informed:

(1) Regarding the processes involved in a remote informal hearing;

(2) That DCHA shall provide technical assistance prior to and during the informal hearing, if needed; and

(3) That if the family or any individual witness has any technological, resource, or accessibility barriers preventing them from fully accessing the remote informal hearing, the family may inform DCHA and DCHA will assist the family in either resolving the issues or allow the family to participate in an in-person informal hearing, as appropriate;

(d) The informal hearing will be conducted by a person other than the one who made or approved the decision under review, or a subordinate of this person;

(e) The applicant will be provided an opportunity to present written or oral objections to the decision of DCHA; and

(f) The person conducting the informal hearing will make a recommendation to DCHA, but DCHA is responsible for making the final decision as to whether admission should be granted or denied.

7901.14 The following applies to remote hearings:

(a) DCHA has the sole discretion to require that informal hearings be conducted remotely;

(b) In addition, DCHA may conduct an informal hearing remotely upon request of the applicant as a reasonable accommodation for a person with a disability, if an applicant does not have childcare or transportation that would enable them to attend the informal

hearing, or if the applicant believes an in-person informal hearing would create an undue health risk. DCHA considers other reasonable requests for a remote informal hearing on a case-by-case basis;

(c) As with in-person informal hearings, the platform for conducting remote informal hearings will be accessible to persons with disabilities and the informal hearing must be conducted in accordance with Section 504 and accessibility requirements;

(d) As with in-person hearings, LEP requirements also apply to remote informal hearings, including the use of interpretation services and document translation. See Chapter 61 for a more thorough discussion of accessibility and LEP requirements, all of which apply in the context of remote informal hearings;

(e) DCHA will conduct remote informal hearings via a video conferencing platform, when available;

(f) If, after attempting to resolve any barriers, applicants are unable to adequately access the video conferencing platform at any point, or upon applicant request, the informal hearing will be conducted by telephone conferencing call-in;

(g) If the family is unable to adequately access the telephone conferencing call-in at any point, the remote informal hearing will be postponed, and an in-person alternative shall be provided promptly within a reasonable time;

(h) At least five (5) business days prior to scheduling the remote hearing, DCHA will provide the family with login information or conferencing call-in information and an electronic copy of all materials being presented via first class mail and/or email.

(i) The notice in § 7901.14(h) will advise the family of technological requirements for the hearing and request the family notify DCHA of any known barriers. DCHA will resolve any barriers using the guidance in Section 6 of Notice PIH 2020-32, including offering the family the opportunity to attend an in-person hearing;

(j) If the informal hearing is to be conducted remotely, DCHA requires the family to provide any documents directly relevant

to the informal hearing at least twenty-four (24) hours before the scheduled hearing through the mail, via email, or text. DCHA will scan and email copies of these documents to DCHA representative and to the person conducting the informal hearing the same day. DCHA will provide the family with any documents directly relevant to the informal hearing at least 24 hours before the scheduled hearing;

(k) Documents will be shared electronically whenever possible;

(l) DCHA will follow up the email with a phone call or email to the applicant at least one (1) business day prior to the remote informal hearing to ensure that the applicant received all information and is able to access the video conferencing or call-in platform; and

(m) DCHA will ensure that all electronic information stored or transmitted with respect to the informal hearing is secure, including protecting “personally identifiable information (PII),” and meets the requirements for accessibility for persons with disabilities and persons with LEP.

7901.15 The following applies to DCHA’s final decision for public housing applicant hearings:

(a) DCHA will notify the applicant of DCHA’s final decision, including a brief statement of the reasons for the final decision;

(b) In rendering a decision, DCHA will evaluate the following matters:

(1) Whether or not the grounds for denial were stated factually in the notice;

(2) The validity of grounds for denial of admission. If the grounds for denial are not specified in the regulations or in this ACOP, then the decision to deny assistance is overturned. See Chapter 62 for a detailed discussion of the grounds for applicant denial;

(3) The validity of the evidence. DCHA will evaluate whether the facts presented prove the grounds for denial of admission. If the facts prove that there are grounds for denial, and the denial is required by HUD, DCHA will uphold the decision to deny admission; and

(4) If the facts prove the grounds for denial, and the denial is discretionary, DCHA will consider the recommendation of the person conducting the informal hearing in making the final decision whether to deny admission;

(c) DCHA will notify the applicant of the final decision, including a statement explaining the reason(s) for the decision. The notice is mailed, within fifteen (15) business days of the informal hearing, to the applicant and their representative, if any;

(d) If the informal hearing decision overturns the denial, processing for admission will resume;

(e) The family fails to appear for their informal hearing, the denial of admission will stand, and the family will be notified; and

(f) If the applicant fails to request an informal hearing timely, the Notice of Denial will be the final decision of DCHA. The applicant may appeal the final decision under the rules and procedures under the D.C. Administrative Procedures Act, D.C. Code § 2–510(a) (2022).

7901.16 Persons with disabilities may request reasonable accommodations in order to participate in the informal hearing process and DCHA will consider accommodations. DCHA will also consider reasonable accommodation requests pertaining to the reasons for denial if related to the person’s disability. See Chapter 61 of this Title for more detail pertaining to reasonable accommodation requests.

SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 73 DCR 007351 (May 15, 2026).