By Lookout Staff

November 30, 2011 -- Under a new law passed last week, Santa Monica property owners must pay the City's cost of insuring that income-qualified tenants occupy their affordable housing units.

The move comes after City officials found tenants who did not qualify occupying affordable housing units under City's Affordable Housing Production Program, which requires developers to build a certain number of units for lower-income tenants or pay the City an in-lieu fee.

The compliance monitoring fees approved by the City Council require the owners to pay a start-up fee of $170 per unit, a "re-occupancy" fee of $145 per unit when a new tenant moves into a vacated unit and an annual fee of $135 per unit.

The fees should cover the cost of the jobs performed by staff members, who are paid between $57 and $61 an hour to review and verify a tenant's household income and determine eligibility to occupy a unit under the program.

"Currently, property owners of AHPP units submit annual summary reports to City staff providing basic information concerning tenant data on income, rent and household count," according to the staff report presented to the council November 22.

"However, actual verification of household income eligibility requires a more staff-intensive process involving review and analysis of income tax forms, pay stubs, bank statements and other income-related documentation," staff wrote.

Last week's action comes after the council revised the program in March 2009 to require that occupants of new AHPP residences be selected from a City-administered list.

"The responsibility of qualifying eligible households shifted from developers to City staff, however, a fee was not instituted to address the costs associated with the additional responsibilities," staff said.

There are currently 844 units in 119 buildings created through the affordable housing program, with another 200 scheduled to be completed within the next two years, according to City officials.

Ownership units are also covered under the law, with a $190 start-up fee, a $150 re-sale fee and $30 annual fee.