Privacy Policy

1. Who we are and what this covers

Housing Programs Software is the business name of Clever Administration LLC, a California company. We build software for city, county and nonprofit housing programs. This policy explains what information we collect, why, and how it is handled on these websites and products:

• Websites: housingprogramssoftware.com, gohousingos.com, goapplicationos.com, goscopewriter.com and help.gohousingos.com.
• HousingOS, the desktop application housing agencies install on their own computers and servers.
• ApplicationOS, the online applicant portal at portal.goapplicationos.com, and the staff pages that go with it.
• Scope Writer, the online scope-of-work tool at app.goscopewriter.com.

Two different kinds of people read this policy, so we say which parts apply to whom.

• Agency staff work for a housing agency that licenses our products. The agency is our customer. The agency owns the program data it keeps in our products, and we handle that data only on the agency's instructions.
• Applicants and homeowners apply to a housing program through ApplicationOS, or have a property that an agency writes up in Scope Writer. Your information is collected on behalf of the agency you are dealing with. That agency decides how your information is used, consistent with its program rules and the law. For questions about your own application or file, contact the agency first.

We do not sell personal information, and we do not use it for advertising.

2. Our websites

Our websites are informational. They carry no advertising, no advertising trackers and no social-media tracking pixels. Our hosting provider keeps ordinary server logs (such as IP address, browser type and pages requested) for a short time to keep the sites running and secure.

If you contact us, we keep what you send us only to respond and to follow up on your inquiry.

• Demo requests and the Agency Needs Assessment on housingprogramssoftware.com are stored in our own cloud storage. We use your answers to prepare a demonstration or proposal for your agency and send you a confirmation by email.
• Scheduling uses a Google Calendar booking page. What you enter there is handled by Google under Google's privacy policy.
• Fonts. Some pages load typefaces from Google Fonts, which means your browser requests the font files from Google.

The help site at help.gohousingos.com has no accounts and no forms. Its search runs entirely in your browser.

3. HousingOS

HousingOS is installed on the agency's own computers, and the agency's program data lives in the agency's own database on its own servers or network. We do not host that data and do not have access to it.

HousingOS contacts our services for a few specific purposes:

• License checks. HousingOS periodically confirms the agency's license. Each check sends the agency's license key, the signed-in user's work email address and the HousingOS version number. We keep this to manage licensed seats, provide support and see which versions are in use.
• Updates. HousingOS downloads new versions from our cloud storage. No program data is sent.
• Income limits and similar reference data are downloaded from government sources such as HUD. No program data is sent.
• Document reading. When staff use the features that read pay stubs, bank statements and similar documents, the document is sent to our ApplicationOS service for processing as described in section 6, and the results come back to the agency's database.
• Microsoft 365. HousingOS can send email, create calendar entries and work with files through the agency's own Microsoft 365 account. This happens only after a staff member signs in to Microsoft, and the sign-in tokens are stored in the agency's own database, not with us.

If the agency sends us screenshots, files or a copy of a database so we can resolve a support request, we use them only for that request and delete them when it is resolved.

4. ApplicationOS

For applicants. When you apply to a housing program through ApplicationOS, the information and documents you submit are collected on behalf of the agency you are applying to. That agency owns your application.

• What we collect: the answers and documents you provide in your application; information about other members of your household that you enter; and your email address, which we use to send you sign-in codes and status updates. The agency may also add notes, determinations and correspondence to your file.
• Sign-in: there are no passwords. We email you a one-time code that expires in a few minutes, and your session on that device ends after a few hours.
• Uploads: every file you upload is checked to confirm it is really the type of file it claims to be, and is scanned for malware. A file that fails the scan may be held apart from your application and deleted after 30 days; you will be asked to upload a clean copy.
• Automated processing: documents you upload may be read by automated tools to organize their contents for agency staff (see section 6). Eligibility decisions are made by agency staff, not by software.
• Who can see it: staff at the agency you applied to, through their own accounts, and our staff only when needed to run, support or secure the service.
• How long: for as long as the agency keeps your application on file. Government housing programs usually have record-retention rules of their own. The agency may also publish its own privacy notice or disclosures inside the portal; where it does, that notice adds to this one.

For agency staff. We keep your name, work email address and role so you can sign in to the staff pages. Actions taken in the staff pages, such as opening, changing or deciding an application, are recorded in an audit log that belongs to your agency.

5. Scope Writer

Scope Writer is used by agency staff to write up the repair work a property needs. It is an online application that also works offline on a phone or tablet.

• Accounts: we keep your name, work email address and a salted hash of your password. Setting up or resetting a password uses a one-time code emailed to you. A sign-in stays good on a device for up to 90 days.
• Project information: an agency can send a project's header from HousingOS, typically the property address, the owner's name and phone number, and the program. Scope Writer uses it to label the scope and the finished document.
• Scopes and photos: the scope text you write, your library edits, and any photos you take of the property are stored for your agency. Photos are kept with the project and are not printed in the scope document.
• Documents: the Word document is produced on our servers from your scope and delivered to you. We do not keep a copy beyond what is needed to produce it.
• On your device: so the app works without a signal, it keeps your sign-in, the library, your scope list and the scopes you open in the browser's storage on that device. Signing out clears it. If the device is shared, sign out when you are done.
• Hands-on demo: visitors who try the demo give an email address so we can send a sign-in link. The link opens a visitor session for 24 hours. Anything written in the demo is sample material and may be cleared at any time.

Scopes, photos and library changes belong to the agency. A homeowner whose property has been written up should contact the agency with any questions about the file.

6. Automated document reading

Some features read documents so that staff do not have to type their contents by hand: for example, pulling the pay periods and amounts out of a pay stub or the deposits out of a bank statement. To do this we send the document to document-reading services operated by Microsoft (Azure AI Document Intelligence) and Anthropic (Claude). These providers process the document to return its contents and are bound by terms that do not allow them to use your documents to train their models or for any purpose of their own.

The output is a draft for staff to review. Staff can correct it, and eligibility and funding decisions are always made by people.

7. Email and text messages we send

• Service email: sign-in codes, application status updates, staff notices and confirmations. These are part of using the products and are sent only when something happens that you need to know about.
• Business email: if you asked for a demonstration, a proposal or information, we may follow up with you about it. We do not send newsletters or bulk marketing. To stop follow-ups, reply and say so, or write to the address in section 14.
• Text messages: if you text us at (720) 741-1984, check the texting box on our contact page, or ask us to text you, we send customer care messages (replies, support follow-ups, demonstration confirmations and service notices) to that number. Reply STOP to any message to opt out and HELP for help. Message and data rates may apply and frequency varies. We keep a record of your consent and your opt-out. SMS opt-in data and consent are not shared with any third parties or affiliates. No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Full details are in our Text Messaging Terms.

Service email is sent through Microsoft Azure Communication Services. We do not share your address with anyone else for email purposes.

8. Cookies and browser storage

We do not use advertising or analytics cookies. Our products use browser storage for the things that make them work:

• a sign-in token so you stay signed in on that device;
• settings such as which tab you were on or a draft you have not sent yet;
• in Scope Writer, the offline copy described in section 5;
• on housingprogramssoftware.com, a note that you completed the demo request form so the page can take you straight to the calendar for the next 30 days.

Clearing your browser's site data removes all of this.

9. Security and where data is kept

ApplicationOS, Scope Writer, our websites and our licensing service run on Microsoft Azure in data centers in the United States. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Each agency's data is kept in its own workspace, separated from every other agency's. Access by our staff is limited to what is needed to run, support and secure the service, and is logged.

HousingOS data stays on the agency's own systems, and its security is governed by the agency's own IT policies.

If we learn of a security incident that affects an agency's data, we will notify that agency without undue delay so it can meet its own notification obligations.

When an agency's subscription ends, we return or delete its data as its agreement with us provides.

10. Service providers

We use a small number of providers to run our services. Each one handles data only to provide its service to us.

• Microsoft Azure: hosting, databases, file storage, email delivery, malware scanning and document reading.
• Anthropic: document reading (section 6).
• Microsoft 365: our own company email and files.
• Google: calendar booking and web fonts on our websites.
• Twilio: delivery of the text messages described in section 7.

We may disclose information if the law requires it, or to protect the rights, safety or property of an agency, an applicant, ourselves or others. If our business is ever sold or merged, the data we hold would transfer to the new owner under this same policy.

11. Your choices and requests

Applicants and homeowners: to see, correct or ask about the deletion of the information in your application or property file, contact the agency you are dealing with. The agency owns the file and may be required by its funding rules to keep it for a set period. If you are not sure how to reach the agency, write to us and we will point you to the right office.

Agency staff: to update or remove a staff account, ask your agency's administrator or write to us.

Everyone: you can ask us what information we hold about you from our websites and business contacts, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. We will respond within 30 days, and we will not treat you differently for asking. Use the contact details in section 14.

12. Children

Our websites and products are intended for adults. An applicant may enter information about the children in their household because the program requires it; that information is part of the applicant's file and is handled as described in section 4. We do not knowingly collect information directly from anyone under 13.

13. Changes to this policy

When we change this policy we update the date at the top. If a change materially affects how agency data is handled, we tell our agency customers directly.

14. How to reach us

Housing Programs Software
Clever Administration LLC
26025 Newport Road, F505
Menifee, CA 92584

Email: inquiry@HousingProgramsSoftware.com
Phone: (714) 523-2033 ext. 204

Accessibility: we build our software and websites with WCAG and Section 508 principles in mind. If you encounter a barrier, let us know.