Housing Choice Voucher Program
The Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP) is a tenant-based housing assistance program for very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private housing market. Landlords and tenants must qualify to participate in the HCVP program and comply with program guidelines and requirements.
The housing voucher program offers better living conditions at affordable rent payments, freedom of choice in selecting rental units from the open market, and incentives to landlords and property owners to rent to voucher approved families.
The HCVP program is administered at the federal level by the U.S. Department of Urban Development (HUD). At the local level, the program is administered by numerous state, regional, and local housing agencies, known collectively as Public Housing Agencies (PHAs).
Eligibility for a housing voucher is determined by the PHA based on the family’s total annual gross income and family size. Eligibility is limited to U.S. citizens and specified categories of non-citizens who have eligible immigration status. Once family eligibility has been established, the family is placed on a waiting list of approved families and notified when a housing voucher becomes available. Eligibility and approval do not guarantee funding assistance. There is no automatic entitlement benefit. Program funding limitations govern the number of available housing vouchers for the local PHA area.
Once a rental unit has been selected by the participating family and the owner/landlord has agreed to rent the unit in accordance with HCVP rules and requirements, a “Request for Tenancy Approval” (RFTA) form must be completed by the landlord and submitted by the participant family to the PHA for processing. The RFTA lists the property address, anticipated lease start date, proposed rent, and whether utilities are included. The PHA will determine whether the monthly rent amount is reasonable and consistent with market rents for similar units in the area.
Upon approval of the RFTA, a Housing Quality Standards (HQS) inspection is conducted on the rental unit to ensure the unit meets HUD quality standards for decent, safe, and sanitary housing. If the selected rental unit fails to meet HQS requirements, the landlord is notified in writing and given a timeframe to complete needed repairs. The unit is then re-inspected and approval given if the unit passes inspection. The landlord will be required to maintain required habitability standards for the duration of the tenancy. If the unit fails inspection for the second time, the family will be asked to select a different rental unit.
Many of the inspection requirements are basic health and safety standards required by most state habitability statutes and city/ county building codes. Habitability standards may include inspections of:
Sanitary Facilities
Food Preparation Area
Refuse/Garbage Disposal
Living Spaces
Door and Window Security
HVAC
Electricity and Wiring
Building and Roof Structure and Materials
Interior Air Quality
Ventilation
Water Supply
Plumbing Pipes and Fixtures
Lead-Based Paint
Exit Routes
Environmental Hazards
Evidence of Pest Infestations
Smoke Detectors
If the unit passes the housing quality inspection, the PHA enters into a one year contract with the participating landlord for direct payment of the monthly housing subsidy. The participating family and the participating landlord enter into a lease agreement of the rental unit for a term of one year. The lease agreement and the housing assistance contract are effective the day the unit passes inspection and the family takes possession of the rental unit.
The housing subsidy is paid directly to the landlord by the local PHA who administers HCVP funding on behalf of the participating family. The family is responsible to pay the difference between the actual rent charged by the landlord and the amount subsidized by the voucher program. HCVP families generally pay no more than 30% of their monthly-adjusted income towards the rent and utilities.
The participating landlord must follow his standard tenant screening and selection process when qualifying HCVP assisted applicants for tenancy. The landlord must comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws including fair housing and consumer protections in tenant screenings. While the federal Fair Housing Act does not prohibit discrimination based on source of income or public assistance status, some states and municipalities have enacted fair housing laws that ban housing discrimination based on these characteristics. Due diligence is required to determine the anti-discrimination protections that apply for the location of the rental property.
The landlord can require a security deposit from the applicant family as specified in the lease agreement terms and conditions. There can be no difference in the amount of the security deposit requested from an assisted family than the security deposit requested from a non-assisted family. The landlord should review applicable state landlord tenant statutes to determine security deposit requirements.
The PHA monitors the family’s eligibility through the contract term and requires the family to provide notification and documentation of changes in family status and income. The family is required to pay the landlord’s required security deposit for the rental unit, their share of the monthly rental amount, and comply with all terms of the written lease agreement with the landlord including tenant responsibility to take good care and proper maintenance of the rental unit.
The subsidized rental unit must be the family’s only place of residence and cannot be sub-leased nor assigned. In addition, the participant family must not own any interest in the rental unit.
Criminal activity, including fraud, bribery or any corrupt or violent act, or drug related activity by any family members are cause for termination of the voucher assistance.
Participant families may not receive housing assistance if they are also receiving another housing subsidy for the same unit, different unit or any other duplicative services under federal, state or local housing assistance programs.
HUD regulations for the voucher program permit the PHA to terminate assistance to participants if any household member or guest does not abide by the program rules and requirements.
A landlord is required to make reasonable modifications to the unit to make it more accessible. However, any such modifications will be at the participating family’s expense. The family may also be required to restore the rental unit to its original condition when they vacate the unit.
The lease agreement signed by the landlord and the participant family should be clear that damages to the rental unit beyond normal wear and tear are the participant family’s responsibility for payment. Such damages may be recovered from the tenant’s security deposit held by the landlord.
If there are lease violations by the participant family, the landlord has the right to enforce the lease agreement and take appropriate actions against the participant family. Landlords should make themselves aware of all applicable laws including local regulations before taking action. It is advisable to conduct all communications with tenants in written form with a copy sent to the local PHA.
If the participant family fails to pay their portion of the rental amount in a timely manner per their lease agreement, the family is in violation of the lease terms. This failure to comply with terms and conditions of the lease and housing program requirements may jeopardize the family’s current and future assistance for housing voucher subsidies.
Material violations of the lease agreement may lead to eviction proceedings against the participant family. While the housing agency provides the rental subsidy for the family, the agency is not responsible for the family’s behavior. Non-compliance of lease terms and conditions may necessitate landlord actions to correct deficiencies. The landlord in any action taken to remedy a situation would be advised to send copies of any tenant correspondence, notices, summons, etc. to the appropriate contact in the local housing agency. The housing agency must be kept informed of any issues regarding family compliance for rules, regulations, and lease terms.
The local PHA has no legal authority to act for either the landlord or tenant in remedy actions. The agency does not have the authority or the ability to remove a tenant. The landlord selected the tenant per the landlord’s selection criteria, policies, and procedures. The landlord must be the party to take action if the situation must be remedied with an eviction proceeding. Eviction is the only legal remedy to remove a tenant who is non-compliant with the terms of the lease agreement and refuses to leave the rental property on a voluntary basis.