Common use of Office Requirements and Required Hours Clause in Contracts

Office Requirements and Required Hours. The Contractor must maintain a business office open to the public in one of the two counties with the largest number of vouchers allocated to the Contractor within a Prosperity Region. The business office must be open to the public for a minimum of 20 hours per week during normal business hours. The business office must be open to receive and return phone calls 40 hours per week during normal business hours. The Contractor must be available to Authority staff by cell phone a minimum of four (4) hours per day Monday through Friday. Proposed business office locations, and any subsequent office location changes, are to be submitted for Authority review and approval. The Authority reserves the right to approve business office locations and public meeting spaces. The Authority will consider exceptions to the business office location requirements based on the following criteria: 1) Contractor has a current office within the Prosperity Region and is bound by a long-term lease; or 2) The county the Contractor is requesting for its office location has a voucher allocation that is close in number to the counties with its two largest voucher allocations; or 3) If the Contractor has one or two counties in an adjacent Prosperity Region, an additional office may not be required; or 4) Other circumstances as approved by the Authority. 5) A business office is defined as: a) An office open to the public for a minimum of 20 business hours per week in which the Contractor and/or Contractor’s staff is readily accessible by phone and to walk-in traffic; b) Staffed by personnel knowledgeable about the HCV Program; c) Includes a private meeting space; d) Complies with all applicable American with Disabilities Act requirements, including but not limited to those identified in PIH Notice 2003-31; e) Complies with all applicable federal, state and local requirements by authorities with jurisdiction; and f) Residential business offices must meet all of the above criteria as well as contain an office entrance separate from the private residence and meet all local home business zoning requirements. A local zoning official must verify in writing that the office meets home business zoning requirements. 6) The original participant files must be housed in one or more of the Contractor’s business offices. a) All original participant files must be stored in fire proof cabinets (Underwriters Laboratories - UL rated file cabinets) and/or the Contractor must have a fire suppression system in place; b) Selected office must be compliant with requirements outlined in Exhibit E; c) Contractors operating in multiple Prosperity Regions may designate one central business office to maintain all original participant files; and d) Business offices not containing files must be staffed with personnel knowledgeable about the HCV Program, and have technology suitable to access the participant file at the central office. 7) The Contractor is required to arrange public meeting space in all counties in which vouchers are awarded and no business office is maintained. Appropriate public meeting spaces could include, but are not limited to: libraries, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) offices, or Michigan Works! offices. a) The public meeting location must be available to meet Applicants, Participants, Landlords, and Authority staff by appointment in a timely manner and must include a private meeting space. b) The Contractor must submit the location, to include physical address, for each public meeting space by March 1, 2019 for the Authority’s review and approval and promptly notify the Authority of any subsequent changes. 8) The Authority and the Contractor will acknowledge that the establishment, confirmation and approval of office hours are required to address HUD’s concerns that those administering the Program shall be accessible to Applicants, Participants, Landlords, and Authority Staff. The Authority reserves the right to approve business office locations and public meeting spaces.