Sign in to Fortress OSWhat is EIV (Enterprise Income Verification) ?
EIV, the Enterprise Income Verification system, is HUD's database of tenant employment and income data drawn from federal wage and benefit records. Owners and housing authorities are required to use it as a third-party verification source at recertification and to find subsidy errors.
24 CFR 5.233 mandates EIV use, so no owner policy can opt out of it. The rule covers public housing, Housing Choice Vouchers, project-based Section 8, Moderate Rehabilitation, and Section 202 and 811 properties. Processing entities must use the system in its entirety during annual and streamlined reexaminations.
The regulation spells out the consequences. Failure to use EIV in its entirety may result in sanctions or the assessment of disallowed costs tied to an incorrect subsidy or rent calculation. A signed form HUD-9887 consent has to be on file before an EIV report can be used as third-party verification.
EIV reports what federal records show, which is not always what the household reported. The reports flag income discrepancies, identity mismatches, deceased tenants, and households receiving assistance at more than one address. Site staff have to resolve each one and write down what they found, because that record is what an auditor asks for.
EIV data is protected. It carries strict rules on who may view it, how long it may sit in a file, and how it is destroyed. A property that leaves EIV printouts in the wrong file has a privacy problem on top of a compliance one.
Example
An annual recertification lists $28,000 in wages. The EIV income report shows $34,000 from an employer the household did not disclose. The site has to resolve the difference with third-party verification, correct the certification, and document what happened. If the higher figure is right, the household underpaid rent and a repayment agreement follows.
Why EIV matters
EIV is where undisclosed income surfaces, and working the reports is not optional. Skipping them is a documented cause of disallowed costs, and unresolved discrepancies do not clear on their own. They pile up until an auditor reads them as a pattern of unverified files.
Related terms
- Section 8Section 8 is the federal rental assistance program that pays part of a household's rent to a private owner.
- TRACSTRACS, the Tenant Rental Assistance Certification System, is the HUD system that receives tenant certifications and subsidy payment requests for Multifamily housing programs.
- HOTMAHOTMA, the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016, is a federal law that changes how HUD programs count income and assets.
How Fortress handles it
Sources
- 24 CFR § 5.233 - Mandated use of HUD's Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) System
- HUD - Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) System
- HUD Handbook 4350.3 REV-1 - Occupancy Requirements of Subsidized Multifamily Housing Programs
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