This article outlines how staff must verify and document income for Rent Well eCourse graduates to determine eligibility when a landlord applies for the Rent Guarantee Program (RGP). Proper income verification is required to confirm that the tenant meets the program’s eligibility threshold of 60% or less of Median Family Income (MFI) under the HOME/CBDG Guidelines used by OHCS. To qualify for RGP:

  • The total household income of all adults must be calculated
  • Income must be at or below 60% HOME/CBDG Income Guidelines at the time of certification 
  • Once income is certified during the course, it does not need to be updated/re-certified at the time of housing placement

Income Verification Hierarchy

Staff must always follow this hierarchy when verifying the income of the eCourse Graduates. This is not optional; this is how we ensure compliance and audit readiness.

1. Third-Party Verification (Gold Standard)

This is the highest and preferred level of documentation. Examples include:


2. Student Confirmation and/or Staff-Verified Updates (Silver Standard)

If third-party documentation is incomplete, outdated, or newly changed, then acceptable sources include:

  • Student (written) statements made during the eCourse
  • Updated income information shared with staff
  • Notes documented by staff based on direct communication with the student


3. Assessment/Student Information Form (SIF) Answers Only (Minimum Standard)

This is the minimum acceptable level of verification and should be used only when no other documentation is available. This includes:


Step-by-Step Process for Staff

The following is a step-by-step guide of which Rent Well staff members are responsible for specific parts of the income verification process.


Step 1: Gather Income Documentation and/or Verify the True Income Amount
Though students are providing basic information about their income at the time of enrollment, Rent Well also recognizes that things can change and new information can come to light. Additionally, as a requirement for a student's housing portfolio and eventual graduation, the Education Specialist staff members are already requesting that students gather these documents for their Housing Portfolios; the 3rd-party documentation should already be in the student's file by the time an RGP application is submitted.

There will be times when students have zero income or do not have (or are unwilling to provide) documentation. However, based on those conversations between the students and the Education Specialist, the student should either verify/reconfirm the information they already provided on the CSOD assessment or provide updated income information. 


Step 2: Income Verification 

If the students' income amounts differ from what was submitted on their CSOD assessment (found on their CSOD User Record Page), the Education Specialist must update the Student Record on their Asana Student Log under the Description section, including the Type of Income, the amount of income, the total income, and the Freshdesk Ticket # referencing this change.

Step 3: Determine Household Income and Save Documentation

The Education Specialist will take the highest level of income documentation provided to them and calculate the total household income percentage using the official Internal Calculator. This means 

  1. Add in Student's Name 
  2. Add the Income Start and End Date to get the Frequency of the Payment
  3. Update the Frequency of the Payment of the Income Type
  4. If the Income hasn't been for the whole year, add in the date the income began during the year 
  5. Under Amount #1, #2, #3, and #4, add in the (gross/total) amount for that pay period of the income type. This will then be averaged if there are multiple amounts for this type of income. The total for that row is the frequency multiplied by however many times that frequency occurs in a year. Complete this for every type of income the student has confirmed. 
  6. Add the graduation date of the student
  7. Add in the location of the student while they were taking the course
  8. The Yearly Gross Income is the automatic calculation of the Total of all Income Sources.  
  9.  Add in the Family Size
  10. The Monthly Average Income is the Yearly Gross Income automatically divided by 12 months.  
  11. The Median Family Income for the Fiscal Year is the auto calculation of the # of household members within the county at the time of graduation, which will autogenerate the HUD HOME/CBDG 100% Income Guidelines for this specific student. 
  12. The Graduates Percentage of MFI is based on their yearly income amount divided by the MFI number.  


The Education Specialist will then take a screenshot of the final information and save that to the student's file before submitting the student for graduation to the Services Supervisor, Program Coordinator, or Senior Manager.  


Step 4: Graduation Review and Updates to CSOD User Records if Needed 

The Education Specialist may eventually submit the student's file to the Services Supervisor, Program Coordinator, or Senior Manager for a graduation review/approval. During this time, in addition to checking the student's documents, the Services Supervisor, Program Coordinator, or Senior Manager will review the income verification documentation and check if the information is correct. If the calculations are incorrect, steps 2 and 3 will be completed again by the Services Supervisor, Program Coordinator, or Senior Manager.

If a change in income was created in Step 2, any notes from Asana will be updated in the CSOD User Record, such as the corrected income amount(s), any changes to CSOD Income types, and the Asana Description section will be added to the CSOD Notes section in the User's Record. This will be done by the Services Supervisor, Program Coordinator, or Senior Manager.  (EX: 4/29/26: TH changed the wages amount from $600/mon to $1200/mon based on received documentation [or conversation in tix # 000123]). Use these documents as the primary source of verifiable income for the RGP.


Step 5: RGP Registration

When a landlord attempts to register an RGP, the Program Coordinator, Community Supervisor, or Senior Manager will review the income verification documentation. If the information is incorrect, steps 2 and 3 will be repeated before approving or denying the RGP's eligibility. If the prior steps have been completed, the income check will go quickly at this time.