Owner Information
**NEW* Landlord Newsletter
Becoming a Section 8 Landlord
Benefits of Becoming a Section 8 Landlord
Housing Quality Standards Inspection Checklist
Payment Standards
Direct Deposit
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BECOMING A SECTION 8 LANDLORD
Becoming a Section 8 landlord is easy. If you have, or will have an available apartment, simply click on the following link to enter your available apartment online.
This information will be added to the appropriate (# bedrooms) list. The list is then made available to all Section 8 Voucher-holders. If interested, the tenants will contact you. There is no charge to advertise your unit with Section 8. Currently, there are over 300 Section 8 Voucher-holders looking for apartments.
Once your property is rented, either to a Section 8 tenant or to a non-Section 8 tenant, please contact our office so that we can remove the unit from the list.
Screening of Section 8 tenants is the responsibility of the owner. The owner may use whatever screening procedures (references, credit checks, etc.) that he/she normally uses. If known, RHA will provide you with the names and phone numbers of the tenant's two most recent landlords.
If you agree to lease your unit to a Section 8 tenant, you and the tenant must complete and return preliminary paperwork. This includes a Request for Tenancy Approval and a Section 8 Tenancy Addendum. You must also return a blank (with respect to dates) copy of your lease. RHA will review this paperwork and schedule an inspection of the unit. (See link on "How are Section 8 Rents Determined?").
If the unit and the rent are approved, the owner and RHA execute a Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) Contract.
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BENEFITS OF BECOMING A SECTION 8 LANDLORD
Stable/timely payments. RHA's portion of the monthly rent is mailed directly to you on the first of the month.
Yearly inspection of the unit. RHA conducts annual HQS inspections. These inspections often alert owners to potential problems. In addition, the Section 8 Tenancy Addendum defines the tenant’s obligations, in terms of taking care of the unit. These annual inspections can identify if the tenant is not fullfilling these obligations and the potential consequences, including the loss of Section 8 eligibility.
Owner Newsletter. This quarterly publication keeps owners up to date on program changes, answers some commonly-asked questions and advertises up-coming training sessions for owners.
Additionally. It is simply good business to provide decent, affordable housing to families, while at the same time, having your rent guaranteed. You will be joining a network of over 2000 Section 8 landlords who are currently providing quality housing to over 5000 households.
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HOUSING QUALITY STANDARDS INSPECTION CHECKLIST
Below, you will find a list of the most common reasons a unit may fail a Housing Quality Standards (HQS) inspection. Please examine your unit carefully before RHA conducts the inspection. RHA may not enter into a HAP Contract with the owner if the unit fails the HQS inspection.
If you have any additional questions, please contact the Inspection Department at 697-6105 (Option #2).
Note: The list below should not be considered a complete list of the reasons for failure of an HQS inspection.
All ceilings, walls and floors must be free of defects and secure.
The entire unit (interior, exterior and common areas) must be free of cracking, scaling, peeling, chipping and loose paint. This is especially important for units built before 1978 that are, or will be, occupied by a family with a child under six years of age.
For any set of stairs (interior or exterior) with four or more consecutive risers, there must be a handrail that is securely attached.
The unit must be free of roaches, rodents and any other infestation.
The unit must be free of electrical hazards, including loose or exposed wiring, loose or damaged outlets, switches and fixtures, over-fused circuits, etc.
All light switches and outlets must have securely-attached covers.
For gas stoves, the oven and all stove-top burners must light from pilot.
Every room used for living must have either two working outlets or one working outlet and a permanently-installed light fixture.
Every room used for living must have at least one screened window, free of defects, for ventilation purposes.
All windows and doors must be secure when closed and must be weather tight.
All windows and doors that are accessible from the outside must have secure, working locks.
All openable windows must have a mechanism to secure them in place when opened.
All bathrooms must have an openable, screened window or a working exhaust fan for ventilation.
All drains must be free from leaks.
If an apartment is entirely on a second floor, there must be two safe methods of egress from the unit.
Third floor or attic occupancy must be accompanied by a Certificate of Occupancy from the governing jurisdiction.
Every room used for living must have an adequate heat source.
All hot water tanks must have a pressure relief valve and an overflow pipe which extends down to 2"-6" from the floor.
All flue pipes from the furnace and hot water tank must be properly installed (e.g., angle) and properly sealed at the chimney.
All gutters and downspouts must be properly connected and secured.
The unit must be free from any accumulation of garbage or debris, both interior and exterior.
Owners of multi-family units must provide adequate refuse-disposal facilities (i.e., trashcans with covers, garbage chutes or dumpsters with lids).
A working smoke detector - either hard wired or battery-operated -must be installed on every level of the unit and inside of sleeping rooms. If any member of the family is hearing-impaired, a hearing-impaired smoke detector must be installed.
PAYMENT STANDARDS (8/30/10)
| Bedrooms |
Regular (FMR) |
Exception Rents |
| 0 |
594 |
653 |
| 1 |
657 |
723 |
| 2 |
803 |
883 |
| 3 |
964 |
1060 |
| 4 |
1021 |
1123 |
| 5 |
1174 |
1291 |
| 6 |
1291 |
1460 |
|