Residents
We are more than just a key for our residents. We are excited to go beyond being your landlord and to offer our residents a variety of resources to help you meet and exceed your goals. Whether that be finding community in youth programs or in senior housing, having access to a state-of-the-art computer center so you can complete your educational or professional goals, or finding joy in a hobby such as gardening.
For a full menu of the resources People First has available for our residents, please visit the Resident Program section of our website.
Alleged Criminal Activity
Resident Concern Report
Frequently Asked Questions
If you receive a Notice of Petition and you believe your rent is paid or you will pay it before the end of the month, you should call to verify that we received the rent or that we have a copy of your rent receipt which will be used to withdraw your petition.
If you receive a Notice of Petition and you can’t pay the rent, you should come to court to try and make an agreement with us to pay over time. However, you must be able to pay the current month’s rent (which is the rent for the month of the court date), and we will make an agreement to either pay all the rent due by the end of the month or an agreement for payments over a short period of time not to exceed six months.
There is no cost to the resident.
Yes.
It is at the discretion of the Housing Authority to decide on an individual basis who is eligible to have an agreement. Agreements will generally be made for anyone who has had a good rent paying history and due to unforeseen circumstances is behind in their rent. We will not make agreements for anyone who has defaulted on an agreement in the past.
People First calculates the maximum amount of affordable housing assistance allowable. The maximum housing assistance is generally the lesser of the payment standard minus 30% of the family’s monthly adjusted income or the gross rent for the unit minus 30% of monthly adjusted income.
If you decide to participate in the program be prepared to furnish proof of legal ownership of the unit. This is one of HUD’s requirements for the program.
We will begin making payments to you after the tenancy has been approved and the Housing Assistance Contract has been signed. We will mail a payment on or about the first of each month and will continue to make payments as long as the following conditions are met:
- The unit meets Housing Quality Standards
- The tenant is eligible for assistance
- The tenant resides in the unit
- The owner is in compliance with the contract
Family Payments to Owner:
The family is responsible for paying the difference between the housing authority’s payment amount and the total rent to the owner for the unit. It is the owner’s responsibility to collect any portion of the rent payable by the family.
Section 8 Caseworkers evaluate rent reasonableness of the housing unit. The proposed rent will be compared to the rent for other units on the market of similar size, features, and amenities.
Although there are no HUD “ceilings” on the rents charged in the Voucher Program, rents must still be reasonable and comparable to those charged for similar unassisted units. The housing authority bases the determination of reasonableness and comparability on rental market information.
After the initial term of the lease, the owner may increase the rent with 60-day notice to the family and the housing authority. The proposed increase must be reasonable. Remember, your lease must allow for rent increases after the initial term. Any increase cannot make the rent greater than that charged for comparable unassisted units.
The owner may collect a security deposit. People First has the discretion to prohibit security deposits that are in excess of either private market practice or the security deposits for the owner’s unassisted units.
During the term of the lease, the owner may terminate tenancy only for:
- Serious or repeated violations of the terms and conditions of the lease, including, but not limited to, failure to pay rent or other amounts due under the lease
- Violations of federal, state, or local law that impose obligation on the tenant in connection with the use or occupancy of the unit or premises.
Other good causes, such as the following:
- Failure by the family to accept the offer of a new or revised lease; and
- Family history of disturbances of neighbors, destruction of property, or living or housekeeping habits resulting in damage to the unit or premises.
The owner’s desire to use the unit for personal or family use or for non-residential purposes. Business or economic reasons, such as sale of the property, renovation of the unit, or a desire to lease the unit at a higher rent.
The owner may not terminate for “good cause” during the initial term of the lease unless the cause is something that the family did or failed to do. At the end of the initial term or at the end of any successive definite term, the owner may terminate the lease without cause.
You should treat your tenants as you would any other renter, and enforce your lease. Your cooperation is essential to the housing authority being able to serve you and any family you may select as a renter. Please notify us if the tenant has violated their lease and make sure to give us a copy of any notification you give to the tenant or any notices given to you by the court.
Family Rent to Owner: The amount payable monthly by a family as rent to an owner in a Section 8 Program.
Gross Rent: The sum of the rent to the owner plus any utility allowance. If there are no tenant-paid utilities the gross rent equals the rent to the owner.
Head of Household: The person who assumes legal and financial responsibility for a household and is listed on the housing application as its head.
Housing Assistance Payment (HAP): The monthly assistance payment by the housing authority.
Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) Contract: A written agreement between a housing authority and an owner for the purpose of providing housing assistance payments to the owner on behalf of an eligible family.
Housing Quality Standards (HQS): The HUD minimum quality standards for housing assisted under the Section 8 Program.
Premises: The building or complex in which a unit is located, including common areas and grounds.
Reasonable Rent: A rent to owner that is not more than either:
- The rent charged for comparable units in the private unassisted market.
- The rent charged by the owner for a comparable unassisted unit in the building or on the premises.
Rent to Owner: The monthly rent payable to the owner under the lease. Rent to owner includes payment for any services, maintenance, and utilities to be provided by the owner in accordance with the lease.
Maintenance is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week including all holidays. People First’s maintenance staff has regular business hours of Monday through Friday, 7am to 4pm. For routine and emergencies, you must call 315-735-5246. People First’s phone line will be answered through an answering service. You must give the answering service your name, apartment number phone number and be prepared to receive a call back from one of our on-call personnel. Once you receive the call back, you will be given instructions to possibly abate the current emergency, i.e. shut off a sink valve in the case of a bad leak and you will be issued an expected time for response by our on-call personnel.
Our maintenance department works hard to complete all work requests in the shortest time available. Emergency work requests are completed the same day they are requested.
Yes, each vehicle belonging to your household and parked on People First property must have a parking permit sticker placed appropriately on the vehicle. You can get parking stickers through your property management office.
The short answer is yes. The parking lots are maintained by your development’s maintenance staff. The more help you can be to them by moving your vehicle during a snowstorm, the better job they can do with removing the snow. Again, that’s why having the appropriate parking sticker on your car is so important. The plow operator can identify a vehicle that needs to be moved through the parking sticker process.
Yes, some breeds of dogs are allowed in senior housing and for those needing service animals due to documented medical needs. Dogs are not to exceed 40 pounds at time of maturity. All dogs must be spayed or neutered. Dog breeds including Rottweilers, Doberman Pinschers, Chows, German Shepherds, and Pit Bulls, or combinations thereof, are not permitted.
Residents may own one cat or one dog per dwelling unit, except that Pit Bulls, Dobermans, Chows, Rottweilers, and other dangerous animals are not allowed.
Rent is due on the first 5 business days of the month. Rent is delinquent if received after the 5th of the month. A late fee of $25.00 is applied to your account on the 6th of the month.
The Department of Social Services sends a voucher showing who is receiving monthly payments around the 1st of the month. However, the check from Social Services historically comes after the 5th of the month. Late fees will be removed from your account when the payment is received last from Social Services.
If you live in a low-income housing unit, you must report all income changes as soon as possible.
If you have had a decrease in your income due to unemployment, you must report that change as soon as possible to get an adjustment for the following month. In order to finish an adjustment for someone who has started to receive unemployment, we will need to get third party verification that you are receiving unemployment. NYS Department of Labor will no longer provide written verification upon our request. You will need to go to www.labor.state.ny.us and follow the unemployment links to Check Payment History. Print out the payment history and bring it to our office to finish processing your rental adjustment.
Report to the site manager.
Report the information to the site manager and the Utica Police Department.
Contact your site manager.
There are certain preferences to take in consideration such as emergencies and accessibility needs.
If your household composition has changed since you were first moved in (for example, a child has moved out and you are now in a 2 bedroom), you may have to move to an appropriate bedroom size unit depending upon your family size.
Tenant-based vouchers increase affordable housing choices for very low-income families. Families with a tenant-based voucher choose and lease safe, decent, and affordable privately-owned rental housing.
Very low-income families (i.e. families with incomes below 50% of area median income) and a few specific categories of families with incomes up to 80% of the area median income. These include families that are already assisted under the 1937 U.S. Housing Act, such as families physically displaced by affordable housing demolition and owners opting out of project-based Section 8 housing assistance payments (HAP) contracts. (HUD determines median income levels for each area annually).
Families apply to be placed on the waiting list. When an eligible family comes to the top of the PHA’s housing choice voucher waiting list, the PHA issues a housing choice voucher to the family.
It is the responsibility of a family to find a unit that meets their needs. If the family finds a unit that meets the housing quality standards, the rent is reasonable, and the unit meets other program requirements, the PHA executes a HAP contract with the property owner. This contract authorizes the PHA to make subsidy payments on behalf of the family. If the family moves out of the unit, the contract with the owner ends and the family can move with continued assistance to another unit.
The PHA pays the owner the difference between 30% of adjusted family income and a PHA determined payment standard or the gross rent for the unit, whichever is lower. The family may choose a unit with a higher rent than the payment standard and pay the owner the difference.