In accordance with HUD Handbook 7465.1 Rev. 2, prior to placing a family on the waiting list, or admitting a family as a tenant, the JCHA must obtain a written application.  Application forms are available on the JCHA website (www.jcha.us) or can be picked up at the Central Office which is located at 400 U.S. Highway #1 (Marion Gardens), as well as all JCHA developments.  Forms will also be mailed to applicants in response to requests made by mail or by calling the Office of Applicant Selection at 201-706-4646 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.  All forms must be returned to 400 U.S. Highway #1 (Marion Gardens, Building #7), Jersey City, New Jersey 07306. Attention: Applicant Selection Department.   

In order for the JCHA to determine whether a family meets the conditions for admission, the written application must be signed by a responsible member of the family who will be the Head of Household and who is at least 18 years old and legally competent, and contain all the requested data and information.  Incomplete applications will be returned to the applicant with notations pointing out the missing information.  Formal dates of application receipt will only be given to complete applications.

• All applications are stamped with the date and time received.
• The Application Selection Clerk reviews all applications for completeness and checks against the JCHA's computer records for duplicate applications and for former JCHA residents who are indebted (moved out owing rent) to the JCHA.
• A preliminary review of the application determines the applicant's prospective elderly/family status, preference category, the required bedroom size and other eligibility criteria.
• A JCHA employee will assist all applicants with disabilities who require a reasonable accommodation in completing an application.  A reasonable accommodation might be in the form of reading and explaining material normally handed to an applicant to be read or filled out.  Or, applicants may furnish an interpreter who can explain the application process. 
• All complete applications, prior to determination of eligibility or ineligibility, are entered on a chronological basis to the Site Based wait List(s) selected by the applicant.  Such listing(s) is maintained on a computer and, at a minimum, includes the applicant's name, date of application, race, sex, family size, elderly or disabled/handicapped status, preference category, income and income source.
• Each applicant determined to be prospectively eligible will be notified in writing by the JCHA within approximately sixty (60) days of receipt of the application, of the determination and the approximate waiting time prior to a prospective offer of occupancy.  The applicant will also be notified of the date and time of placement on the waiting list and prospective preference.
• Any applicant determined to be ineligible is notified in writing by the JCHA within approximately sixty (60) days of receipt of the application, of the determination and the reasons for ineligibility.  The applicant is advised of his/her right, upon his/her request within a reasonable time, to an informal hearing on the determination in order to present additional information that should be considered.
• Applicants found ineligible are deleted from the active file.  These applicants are not denied, however, the opportunity to file a new application should the circumstances for which they were denied admission change.
• Any information relative to the acceptance or rejection of an applicant is documented and placed in the applicant's inactive file or destroyed in accordance with HUD regulations.