Q & A: Income Limits

Question:  I have a tenant in my PRAC building that moved in two years ago and, of course, met our income requirements.  She is now dating a gentleman and they are considering having him move in to her apartment.  I just sat down with them and with his income together with hers it would put them over our income limit.  My manager thinks it is okay that his income plus hers goes over, because when she signed her lease she qualified.  What do you think?  ~ Linda in NJ

Answer:  Your manager is correct.  Income Limits only apply at initial Move-In.  Once a tenant has moved in, his/her income can go up or down; s/he may add someone to the unit as in your scenario.  What changes is the amount of rent the household pays.  In a PRAC site, it is possible that a household would pay a rent amount higher than the PRAC rent, due to an income increase, and that’s perfectly OK.