Lora Carney
Section 8
Support
Programming Liaison
877-359-5492
Ext. 1229
lora@tenmast.com
 What
is an Adjustment?
 When is
an Adjustment needed?
 What
certification types will get an adjustment
question?
 When are
adjustments automatic and when are
they manual?
 An
adjustment is a retroactive change in the HAP
and/or URP amount already paid.
 This




could be due to:
Late processing by the PHA
Failure by the tenant to report a change timely
Move In or Move Out
Reinstatement of Rental Assistance due to a hearing

Adjustments are generated at the end of the Certification
Finalization Wizard when the effective date of the
certification is in the current month of Section 8 or
earlier than the current month in Section 8.
Adjustments are created for:





New Move Ins
Port Move Ins
Annuals
Interims
Other Change of Units

Creation of adjustments in ORC is Optional. The User
can answer No to the adjustment question and enter
adjustments manually in Section 8.

Adjustments created automatically are based on the
ORC parameters of whether you prorate based on
actual days or 30 days in the month. This parameter is
found in ORC Setup under the Special Functions Tab.
 Reopening a
previously completed certification
does not remove adjustments previously
completed. Choosing to create adjustments upon
re-finalizing will generate more adjustments.
 Get in
the habit of checking adjustments in the
Section 8 module when certifications are
completed.
New Move Ins and Port Move Ins are new tenants to
your program. The program creates adjustments
based on the Certification Effective Date and the
Current Month in Section 8.
Certification
Effective Date is
3/1/2012
Current Month in Section 8 is April 2012
The Wizard Created two adjustments for
Each VMS Month of March and April.
UML adjustments are only created on HAP adjustments. You will never
have a Tenant that receives a URP adjustment and does not also receive
HAP.
Scroll the Adjustment Bar over to see the UML adj.
In most cases Annuals are completed in advance of
the effective date, but in the case of moves or late
re-certifications, an adjustment may be needed.
These adjustments which don’t involve a move will
create the adjustment based on the:
prior HAP/URP amount in effect
new effective date of the certification
and current month in Section 8.
Current Month in Section 8 Module is April 2012
Now See Previous and Current HAP/URP
Annuals, interims and Other Change of Unit can
involve a Unit Change or Move. These adjustments
do not adjust from prior HAP/URP to current
because there is a potential landlord change
involved.
These adjustments will create the adjustment based
on the:
new effective date of the certification
and current month in Section 8.
Move Adjustment Option 1
Housing Agency Allows the Tenant to remain Leased
while looking for a new unit. They continue to pay
HAP/URP until the tenant nears the end of the
process and is ready to lease up in the new unit. At
that time the user puts the HAP/URP on hold in
Section 8 until the Unit change is processed.
Using this method continues to count the UML and
expense for the tenant for VMS each month they
are on hold.
While the tenant’s HAP/URP is on hold, during
Initialization the system will move any expense in the To
Be Paid boxes to the adjustment line for the prior VMS
month. These are referred to as Balance Forward
Adjustments.
Balance Forward Adjustments cannot be deleted. They
can only be adjusted out. They cannot be deleted
because even though the tenant was on hold their UML
and HAP expense is still reported to VMS.
When the unit change is processed in ORC, any amount
that is in the To Be Paid for the current month that is
liable to the previous landlord is moved to the
adjustment line in Section 8. This adjustment can be
deleted up until the next Initialization takes place.
Payment Info Tab before Move is Processed in ORC
No UML adjustments are needed, tenant was on hold.
The Feb and March Adjustments to Shalimar Gardens cannot be deleted.
Move Adjustment Option 2
Housing Agency Requires the Tenant to complete a Lease
Cancellation Notice giving the landlord and HA notice of when
they will be moving out of their current unit. The HA issues a
voucher using the Searching Function in Section 8 Tenant and
Landlord. No new HAP/URP is generated with Initialization
while the tenant is in Searching mode and the UML and
Expense is excluded from VMS reporting.
No holds are necessary in Section 8.
Using this method the user will have no balance forward
adjustments, however adjustments can still be paid if
necessary.
Tenants in Searching Mode are Excluded from the VMS Gather
Certifications for End of Participations and Port
Move Outs prompt an adjustment question and the
user is able to enter the adjustment but the system
does not automatically calculate the adjustment.
This is because those adjustments could span multiple
months and over multiple certifications.
Also Housing Authorities have different policies
regarding taking back overpayments regarding move
outs.
1. Determine Number of Days to Prorate
Number of Days in the Month minus the Date of Move
In/Move Out plus 1 = Number of Days
2. Determine Daily Rate
HAP/URP Monthly Amount divided by ORC Policy of Actual
Days or 30 days = Daily Rate rounded to 2 decimal points
3. Calculate Adjustment
Daily Rate multiplied by the Number of Days = Adjustment
Amount.
Section 8 adjustments are manually entered
adjustments with the exception of Abatements.
Section 8 adjustments can be accessed from the
landlord, tenant or check processing menu.
Section 8 adjustments can be created for both
Active and Inactive tenants for HAP and URP.
All adjustments regardless of where they are created
directly affect your VMS reporting and must be
associated with the correct VMS month.
Click the + to add adjustments
A VMS Only
Adjustment
Is Used
Whenever
You Need to
Adjust the
VMS Month
But a Check
Is not
Necessary.
When adding
Adjustments
From the
Tenant, the
Description
Will always
Default to
Tenant name
But can be
Modified.
The Total
Adjustment
Can be either
Positive or
Negative and
Is the full
Amount to
Adjust. The
Monthly
Adjustment
can be used
anytime you
wish to break
the Total
adjustment
into monthly
installments.
The Ledger
Account
Project
Defaults to
The ledger
Project from
The Payment
Info tab but
The user can
Click the
drop
Down to
choose
Another
project if
needed.
The VMS Date
Is very
important
For accurate
VMS reporting.
Each
adjustment
Entered needs
To be broken
Down by
VMS Month so
That the
expense
And UML can
Be associated
With the
correct
VMS Month.
A VMS UML
Adjustment
is
Needed
Whenever
The unit
month
Leased needs
To be
adjusted,
Mostly used
in the case of
Move Ins
And
Move outs.
The Exclude
From VMS
Check box
Can be used
Anytime
You do not
Want an
Adjustment
To affect
Your VMS
Reporting.
An example
Might be a
Tax Levy.
An adjustment
Generated
From the
Tenant
Payment Info
Tab will
Always default
To the Tenant’s
Current
Landlord,
however
By clicking the
Get Landlord
button, the
user is able
To select any
Active landlord.
Clicking Get Landlord brings up the Browse Landlord Menu
Since each
Adjustment
Needs to be
Associated
To the correct
VMS Month,
The Repeat
Wizard can
Be checked
To make data
Entry faster.
Adjustments in the Adjustment Next Check Box Are Always payable to the
Current Landlord
Adding a Second Adjustment payable to another Landlord does
not affect the Adjustment Next Check Box
To See a Payment Detail report to the current Landlord
Now I will see a warning and the landlord that is not the current landlord is
highlighted.
To View Who Entered an Adjustment, Move the Scroll bar to the Right
The Adjustment Wizards accessed from the
Landlord Button and Check Processing function
the same as accessing from the Tenant Tab, with
a couple of exceptions.
The Adjustment Wizard Accessed from The
landlord gives the user the option to select an
Inactive Tenant and gives the user the option to
enter an adjustment that is not tied to any
tenant.
An Adjustment that is not tied to a
tenant can never be associated to the VMS gather
automatically.
The Tenant URP Adjustment
Report is Accessed from the
Reports Menu, Tenant Tab.
The User has the option to include
or exclude URP Adjustments on
Hold.
The URP Adjustment Report is
only viewable for Open URP
Adjustments.
The HAP Check Adjustment Report has more options.
The Report can be ran for All Dates or a Date Range.
The Report Order is by either Landlord Last name or Tax ID.
The Report Status can be All, Complete or Open.
The User has the Option to Include or Exclude Adjustments on Hold.
The Future Amount Represents any Amount in which there is not sufficient HAP to recoup.
Total To Be Paid is the Amount paying out on the next Check Run
The abatement feature is used to track Landlords/Tenants
who are in an abated status. When a landlord or tenant is abated they
have failed to meet HQS obligations and are not entitled to HAP or URP
payments for the duration of the abated period.
To Access the Abatement Feature:
Click on Tools from any tenant tab in Section 8
Enter the Start Date of the Abatement and an Optional Reason for the
Abatement. The user has the option to start the Abatement for the first day
of the following month if that is your HA’s policy. Click Start.
Click Finish or Back to Edit.
Three things happened:
An Information Bar Appeared at the Top of the Screen that is viewable
from all Tenant Tabs and in ORC.
An Abatement Start Date is Notated
An Adjustment was created to Recoup HAP
To Check the Abatement calculation manually:
The abatement proration is based on the policy in ORC setup indicating
whether your adjustment calculation is based on 30 days or Actual days.
In this case the policy in ORC is set to prorate based on 30 days.
The regular HAP amount already paid for April was $546.
The Landlord was abated on 4/15/2012
Number of Actual Days in Month = 30
30 Days in April minus date Abatement Began plus 1 = Number of Days
to Abate.
30 -15+1 = 16
HAP divided by Policy Setting, 30 days = Daily Rate
$546 divided by 30 = $18.20
$18.20 x 16 days = $291.20
Rounded down = $291
The Adjustments created should equal your manual calculation.
Please remember to round the daily rate to two decimal places before
multiplying by the number of days to abate.
Once the HAP or URP is abated:
No new HAPs or URP’s will be generated with
initialization until the abatement is ended.
The Abatement Information Bar remains highlighted
on all tenant screens and in ORC until the
abatement is ended.
An abatement record can not be deleted, it can only
be ended. However the adjustment records can be
deleted.
Abatement Report
Can be found in the Section 8 Reports
Initialization Tab
Abatement Report
The report can be run for all dates or a date range
By Abatement Type, ALL, HAP or URP.
By Abatement Status, All, Open or Complete
And can be Sorted by Landlord name, Tenant name or Start Date.
Enter the Date HAP Payments Have Resumed.
Click Start and Finish to End the Abatement
To Calculate the Abatement Ending Adjustment Manually
The regular HAP amount paid for April was $546
The amount we recouped for April when we started the Abatement was
$291.
The Abatement has ended and HAP Payments Resumed on 4/18/2012.
Number of Actual Days in Month = 30
30 Days in April minus date Abatement Resumed plus 1= Number of
Days to Repay to the Landlord
30-18+1 = 13
HAP divided by Policy Setting, 30 days = Daily Rate
$546 divided by 30 = $18.20
$18.20 x 13 = $236.60
Rounded up = $237
The Adjustments created should equal your manual calculation.
Please remember to round the daily rate to two decimal places
before multiplying by the number of days to abate.
The Abatement Status Bar is now gone and Abatement Start Date is blank.