Landlords who receive a check from our office and need to change your address. Please give us as much information as you can: your full name, the name of your Section 8 tenant, the address of the rental unit under contract, and of course your complete new mailing address and telephone number. This request must be submitted in writing.
Find out what happened to your check. Begin by calling the Housing Authority's Section 8 Department to make sure that the check went out and that the file is still active. If your check is lost it must be cancelled and reissued. You will be charged a $25 stop payment fee that our bank charges us. This fee will be deducted from the reissued check. Remember all printed checks are mailed the first business day of each month. Allow enough time for the check to reach you through the U.S. Postal Service. Direct deposit is now available and is strongly encouraged. Please contact the Housing Authority office for more information.
To request a rent increase. After the first year of your lease with your tenant, if you have a lease with a tenant who has a Section 8 Voucher, you must submit a request for a rent increase to the Housing Authority, in writing, 60 days prior to the anniversary date of the lease. You will also be responsible for certifying that the requested rent is reasonable in the current rent market. Send your request to the Housing Authority to the attention of the Section 8 department. Rent increases are not guaranteed and are only permitted once a year.
May an owner sell a property while it is under contract with the Housing Authority? Yes, an owner may sell the property while it has a Section 8 tenant under contract.
How often does the Housing Authority inspect the units? The rental units are inspected prior to a contract being signed and at least annually thereafter. Initial inspection of the unit are only conducted once a Request for Tenancy Approval is turned in by the prospective tenant. If the inspection fails, the landlord will have 30 days to make repairs before a reinspection will be done. The landlord will be notified of all deficiencies found by the inspector along with the reinspection date. Please see our Inspection Checklist for more information.
Benefits for a participating landlord. The Housing Authority portion of the rent is mailed on the first business day of each month. The Section 8 program allows you to fill a vacancy in a rental unit with a tenant who, by being on the program, gives you greater assurance of being able to afford the unit. We also offer and encourage all landlords to participate in direct deposit.
What does the landlord need to do? The landlord must attract a family that has already been determined as eligible and has been issued a Voucher by the Housing Authority. The landlord is responsible to screen the family for suitability as a tenant, just as they would any prospective tenant. If the landlord decides to rent to the family, a Request for Tenancy Approval (RFTA) is completed and submitted to the Housing Authority along with verification of ownership and lease. Eligible families are given the RFTA at the time they are issued a Voucher. The Housing Authority schedules an inspection of the rental unit within 15 days of receiving the RFTA. If the unit meets Housing Quality Standards and the rent amount is approvable by standards set by HUD, the contract is signed by the Housing Authority, the Section 8 participant and the landlord. The landlord is expected to collect a security deposit and the family's share of the rent. The landlord is expected to maintain the property's overall condition and see that the basic plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling systems, etc. are functioning properly. Should the family violate the terms of the lease or fail to pay the rent, the landlord needs to notify the Housing Authority so that they may take proper action and the landlord would then go through proper eviction procedures.
What does the family need to do? The participating family is responsible to pay the rent and the utilities for which they are obligated under the lease. They are also responsible to follow all the terms of the lease. Serious or repeated lease violations can result in the termination of housing assistance under the federal regulations. If the family damages the rental unit beyond normal wear and tear, they are responsible to pay for the damages. The landlord must collect these damage amounts through the local court system.
The rent limits. The Section 8 Fair Market Rents are published in the Federal Register each year. The rent amounts include all utilities. If the tenant will be paying all or some of the utilities, the rent amount should be reduced by $75 - $125 for a 1 and 2 bedroom and $150-$200 for 3 and 4 bedroom units from the figures below when searching for a suitable unit.
Section 8 Chart - November 2010
0 Bedroom $559
1 Bedroom $614
2 Bedroom $735
3 Bedroom $913
4 Bedroom $985