Housing

Renovation Program

Renovation is provided to people who reside within the Housing Departments service area which is the colony and the reservation. The Renovation Program may be used to provide assistance to low income tribal member families for minor to major repairs in their homes. Eligible applicants may receive a loan up to $1,500 to make emergency repairs to appliances, plumbing, electrical, and water damage to flooring. Tribal Employees who are participating in the Payback Program will sign a payroll deduction form that will allow the monthly repayment installments to be deducted directly from their wages or salary. Successful applicants will be required to repay the loan in $75.00 per month installments.

Elders Home Protection Program

Elders and near Elders who qualify under this program will be provided insurance for their home at no cost. You must be a homeowner, not a homebuyer and eligibility requirements are outlined within the policy. The insurance provided by the Housing Department is through Amerind Risk Management and this insurance is only for the home itself. Insurance coverage for personal belongings is not included.

Elders and Disabled Accessibility Program

The purpose of this program is to provide assistance to the elderly/disabled for repairs and rehabilitation of existing homes of low income elderly/disabled persons to ensure access to their homes and barrier free bath facilities; and to insure safe and sanitary conditions and better living environment. The program can’t be used for items that would be considered a luxury. This program will cover costs up to $3000.00 annually as a grant to the individual for items such as handicap ramps, bathroom grab bars, or widening of doors for wheelchair access. An applicant must provide certification from a medical professional that there is a need for an accessible route or alterations to dwelling unit. Essential features needed for accessibility may include but are not limited to entrances, toilet rooms, barrier free shower system.

Emergency Rental Assistance

The Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribe Housing Department has developed and approved an Emergency Rental Assistance Policy and application to provide financial assistance and housing stability to eligible households. This program can assist with rent, rental arrears, utilities, and home energy costs, relocation expenses, rental fees, internet service, and reasonable late fees on rent or utilities. All documentation requested must be provided and eligibility will be determined by the Housing Department staff under the criteria outlined in the policy.

• Emergency Rental Assistance Policy
• Emergency Rental Assistance Application

The Housing Department is trying to maximize our dollar for repairs and renovations by creating a partnership with USDA. They do have a loan program and also a grant program for home repairs. Applications and eligibility requirements are available in the Housing Department or can be mailed by request. We strongly encourage you to apply for USDA along with our own Housing Department applications to get more home repairs done. If you should need more specific information on USDA programs you can contact Diane Arviso who is their Single Family Housing Specialist at (775) 423-7541 ext. 100. USDA has a few programs that can assist you with home repairs needed for better living conditions, but they have other programs that can assist in the process of getting home loans for those that wish to pursue buying a house.

Housing Assistance Applications

For an application, click here. You can also call or stop by the office for an application. Make sure to submit all your current information regarding identity, tribal enrollment, and income. Background checks are also necessary to determine eligibility.

The current waiting list for our Low Rent and Homeowner Programs is growing and for those that have applied, make sure your files are complete and updated every time there is a change. If we cannot notify you by the address you have provided then you may be removed from the list. If there are no changes in your household or income then please be mindful that you must update your application every 6 months even you have no changes to remain on the list.

If you have a past debt that has not been paid you will not be eligible to reside in a Low Rental/Homeownership or placed on our waiting list. Please make arrangements to pay-off any past due debts owed to the Housing Department.

To minimize the paperwork for annual re-certifications they will be divided throughout the year between Low Rent and Homebuyers. So, if you get a notice to re-certify and you have just done so, this is the reason why. Once you have re-certified this year you will not get another notice to re-certify again for another year. Keep in mind, this does not mean that you don’t need to notify the Housing Department of any changes that occur with your income, employment, or household composition throughout the year. If any changes do occur, please make the Housing Department aware as soon as possible. There are forms at the office to fill out if you lose your job, have a change in income, or a change in your household composition. If you cannot pick these up at the office, they can be mailed to you upon request.

We have a number of homes that are being renovated and the anticipated date for completion is scheduled for the end of April.

Please keep your accounts current. If you know you are delinquent please take it upon yourselves to come into the office and do a payback agreement or pay off your past due balance. This is going to be monitored more closely, and we will be sending out notices of delinquencies more frequently. If you do not bring your account current and make no attempts to do so you will be subject to termination and eviction.

Low Rent Tenants:

As a reminder, being in a Low Rent Unit you is not allowed to have any kind of animals. If you do keep or acquire any animals while in a Low Rental you may be terminated from your lease. The Housing Department will be monitoring our Low Rent Units for animals and other non-compliance issues throughout the year.

Inspections are being scheduled for all of our Low Rent Units to make sure things are kept in compliance and to minimize maintenance issues. The Housing Department is still currently working on deficiencies in our Low Rental units. Notices were mailed out this month on the dates and times for Low Rent inspections. Please keep your scheduled appointment if at all possible. If not, you may call and reschedule and we are only going to allow tenants to reschedule one time. Re-certifications will take place the same time as the Low Rental Inspections.

Inspections on all of the homes were done this past year and you have been given a copy of the inspection sheet. Make sure to correct the deficiencies on the inspection if you are a homebuyer. This is your responsibility to do so unless it is an appliance under warranty. In this case, please call the Housing Department to get this corrected. The Housing Department will be scheduling inspections in October.

All Tenants – Propane Tanks:

Please keep your propane tanks filled! This is very important, especially because no propane can cause pipes to leak and some of the homes need the propane to run their appliances such as stoves, and water heaters. It is also a requirement for everyone currently in a lease with the Housing Department to maintain their utilities-which includes propane.

New Applications

New Applicants are required to submit a number of documents in order to be considered eligible for our programs.   Here are a few of the requirements established:

• Preference is given to enrolled members of FPST
• You must be considered income eligible ( we verify this through the application process)
• You must be at least 18 years old
• You must pass a background check
• You must be in good standing and not owe any past debts to Housing or Utility Companies
• You must fill out an Application for Admission in its entirety, along with any supporting documentation
• Note: Once you have put an Application in, it must be updated every 6 months.  If not, you risk being taken off the list and will have to start the process all over again.

Current Housing Committee

The Housing Department Committee consists of 5 people: Chairman- Denea Moyle-Zulz (presides over the meetings), Vice Chairman- Margo Dyer, Secretary- Rochanne Downs (keeps records of proceedings, conducts poll voting as necessary, and transcribes minutes), and Members- Juanita George and Tanzi Kancler (advise, consult, and vote with the other Committee Members on various decisions pertaining to the Housing Department). They preside over the monthly meetings and make recommendations and/or approvals of important matters involving the Housing Department.

Every month there are Regular Housing Committee Meetings that are usually held the 3rd Tuesday of the month. Occasionally they are rescheduled for a later date but this is the normal schedule for the meetings. Tribal members are encouraged to attend and listen in on the meetings, or ask questions and voice concerns. The agendas will be posted at the Tribal Administration building and at the Housing Department for the Regular Committee Meetings.

Annual Indian Housing Plan (IHP)

There are several services that the Housing Department provides to our tenants and they vary according to the Housing Departments budget, your lease agreements, age, and income.  Some of the services provided include:

• Housing ( we currently have a waiting list)
• Elderly  & Disabled Accessibility Assistance
• Elder Home Protection Assistance
• Maintenance requests
• Payment or Payback Agreements

Currently we are working on renovating vacant homes.  There are homes in the Colony which are experiencing foundation failures and that issue must be resolved before any rehabilitation is completed on the vacant units at the Colony.  There are also a handful of homes on the reservation that will be renovated in the future and eventually become rentable.