Selma Housing owns one development and manages another one. Both are full.

“With the economic times, we are now getting more applications,” said executive director Allen Hayes. “It is the first time we’ve been at 100-percent occupancy in so many years. I can’t even remember the last time.” In the past year, Selma Housing has taken 131 applications, accepting 56 and rejecting 39. The rest went on a waiting list.

The application process takes two to three weeks, Hayes said. Housing Authority staff interview applicants to learn their residential history and household income. Rent is based on the applicant’s monthly income. If that information passes muster, the applicant gives the Housing Authority permission to run background, criminal and credit checks.

Also, the Housing Authority interviews the applicant’s past landlords. “If the applicant owes money, they are denied unless they can bring a receipt,” Hayes said. “If they owe the Town of Selma a light bill, they have got to pay it before we take their application.”

The Housing Authority closely follows the regulations of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Hayes said. Applications from sex offenders and people with prior with drug charges are rejected out of hand. Tenants caught with drugs are given 24 hours to get out. Tenants who do not pay their bills have 14 days to move out. All other offenses generally come with a 30-day eviction notice.

All complaints, arrests and other activities are documented in the tenant’s records at the Housing Authority. “Most of our problems come from the outside,” Hayes said. “It’s not our residents. I think our residents understand from day one that they are responsible and that the action of their guests can get a tenant evicted.”