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IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR LANDLORDS
What is the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program?
Section 8 is a free-choice approach to assisted
housing. The family may choose any type dwelling unit as long as it meets
certain requirements for rent limits, rent reasonableness and Housing Quality
Standards (HQS). The landlord retains private property rights, including
management, tenant selection and maintenance. The U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD) determines the rules and regulations for the Section 8
Program.
Responsibilities of the Oklahoma City Housing Authority
 | Verify and review family composition and income to
determine eligibility; |
| Explain the rules of the program to the family and
owner/landlord; |
| Issue a Voucher to the family; |
| Perform HQS inspection to ensure unit meets minimum
standards (initially, annually
and interim); |
| Sign contract with owner/landlord on behalf of the family
when the selected unit
meets HQS requirements; |
| Make housing assistance payments to the owner/landlord in
a timely manner; |
| Ensure owner/landlord and family continue to comply with
program rules; |
| Provide family and owner/landlord with prompt, courteous,
accurate and
professional service. |
Responsibilities of the Family
| Provide OCHA with complete and accurate information; |
| Comply with the Family Obligations listed on the Voucher; |
| Cooperate in attending all appointments scheduled by OCHA; |
| Locate a unit that is suitable for the family, meets HQS
requirements, and meets
rent reasonable requirements (as determined by OCHA
when compared to similar unassisted units in immediate vicinity) |
| Keep the unit safe and sanitary; |
| Comply with the terms of the lease with the owner/landlord; |
| Notify OCHA of any changes in income or family composition
within 30 days of
change; |
| Cooperate with the owner/landlord by informing him/her of
any necessary repairs
in writing; |
| Notify OCHA of any known program violations. |
Responsibilities of the Owner/Landlord
| Comply with fair housing laws and equal opportunity
requirements; |
| Comply with the terms of the Housing Assistance Payments
Contract
(Form HUD-52641), |
| Ensure the unit continues to meet HQS requirements; |
| Cooperate with the tenant by responding promptly to request
for needed repairs; |
| Notify OCHA of any program violations; |
| Enforce the lease, collect the rent due, any security
deposit and charges for
damages to unit by the family; |
| Screen families for suitability as renters; |
| Provisions on modification to a dwelling unit occupied or
to be occupied by a
disabled person. (OCHA can help with referrals to
agencies that make funds
available for modifications to units for disabled
persons.) |
| Notify OCHA in writing of any address or telephone number
change; and |
| Notify OCHA in writing of changes in ownership (selling
property) or agents. |
You as the owner/landlord, determine whether to require a Security
Deposit and the amount of the deposit. If you do collect a deposit, the
amount collected may not be in excess of private market practice, or in excess
of amounts charged by you to unassisted tenants.
How to Become a Participating Landlord
When a family has been determined eligible for
assistance, they will receive a Voucher (Form HUD-52646). Then they begin their
search for a suitable unit. You may post your vacant unit with OCHA by
submitting in writing your name, bedroom size, address and accessibility for
disabled persons to:
Oklahoma City Housing Authority
Attention: Inspections
1700 Northeast Fourth Street
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73117-3800 |
or |
by e-mail to: leasing@ochanet.org |
or |
by facsimile:
(405) 605-3256 |
We also recommend you post your vacancy in the local
papers and advertise "Section 8 accepted". OCHA will not steer
families to specific owners or rental units, but we do furnish families with a
listing of owners with available units.
Step 1 – A family contacts
you with a Voucher for Section 8 Rental Assistance in hand. Ask to see
the Voucher and check the expiration date, (found in upper right hand
corner). If the date
is current the applicant is eligible for
assistance.
Step 2 - Owner/landlord
screens the family for suitability as a renter. The OCHA only verifies family
income and composition. The OCHA knows that the owner has
approved a family for tenancy
when we receive the Request for Tenancy
Approval (Form HUD-52517) and the lease. The
owner/landlord may submit your own lease to OCHA
or you may use OCHA's Dwelling Lease (Form
OCHA 34). Whichever, HUD
requires certain language in any lease signed by a Section 8 Rental
Assistance participant. Therefore, OCHA must approve the lease.
The following items HUD requires in a lease:
| The lease must comply with state and local laws; |
| The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Contract
(Form HUD-52641) begins on the
first day of the term of the lease
and ends on the last day of the term of the lease; |
| The initial term of the lease must be for at
least one year; and |
| The lease must specify what utilities and
appliances are to be supplied by the owner/landlord and what
utilities and appliances are to be supplied by the family. |
Step 3 - After
owner/landlord approves the family, the family and landlord fill out the
Request for Tenancy Approval (Form HUD-52517) the family should have in
hand. It must be completed in
entirety and signed. The Request for
Tenancy Approval and the lease (if applicable) must be
returned to OCHA
immediately. We will review the signed Request for Tenancy Approval
and determine if the rent is affordable based on the family's income and
if the rent is reasonable when compared to units in the private market (Rent
Reasonableness). In some instances a landlord may be asked to
provide documents showing the rent is comparable to other unassisted
units.
HUD publishes a Fair Market Rent (FMR) yearly.
Log on to
HUD www.hudclips.org
for HUD regulations and forms
The family portion of rent is calculated as…
| The greater of 30% of monthly adjusted income, |
| or 10% of monthly unadjusted gross income, or |
| a minimum rent of $25.00, whichever is greater |
minus any applicable utility
allowance plus any amount that Gross Rent exceeds the applicable
payment standard.
The family portion of rent plus any applicable
utility allowance equals the Total Tenant Payment. The family
cannot rent a unit if their Total Tenant Payment exceeds 40% of
their monthly-adjusted income if rent is above payment standard. If the
unit is not determined
affordable or the unit does not meet Rent
Reasonableness requirements you and the family will
be notified in writing.
Step 4 - Once Step 3 has
been completed and the unit is determined affordable and meets Rent Reasonableness requirements, owner/landlord and tenant will receive a
telephone call notifying
of the inspection date and time. The landlord
and the tenant must be present at the time of
inspection.
During an inspection, the inspector cannot accept
the packet if:
| A change in income or family size has occurred
since voucher was issued; |
| The voucher has expired and the family has not
requested and been granted an
extension; |
| There is incorrect information such as lease
dates and/or rent amounts; |
| The Inspector determines the rent is unreasonable. (The
Inspector has the
authority to determine at the time of inspection the rent requested is unreasonable
based on unit condition and size.) |
If the unit does not meet HQS requirements,
owner/landlord will receive a list of repairs and a certain amount of
time to make the repairs before re-inspection.
If the unit passes inspection, the family may move in
to the unit. OCHA will enter into a HAP Contract with the
owner/landlord, and the family will enter into a lease with the
owner/landlord. After the contract and lease have been executed, OCHA
will begin payments to the owner/landlord for OCHA's portion of the rent
effective the date the unit passes inspection. OCHA will prorate the
first month's contract rent payment and make all other payments in a
timely manner.
LEAD BASE PAINT
The Oklahoma City Housing Authority is required to be in compliance
with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Regulations on Notification,
Evaluation and Reduction of Lead-Based Paint that became effective
September 15, 2000.
The Regulations require a visual
assessment must be performed for deteriorated paint in dwelling units
built before 1978 and occupied by families with children less than 6
years of age.
Our Housing Inspectors will conduct
visual assessments (when required) on your property including common
areas, on-site play areas and equipment to determine if deteriorated paint
exists during initial, annual and other inspections.
If deteriorated paint above the de
minimus levels is found, certain requirements must be followed.
Deteriorated paint must be stabilized in accordance with EPA and
HUD regulations.
Deteriorated paint
means any interior or exterior paint or other coating that is peeling,
chipping, chalking or crackling; or any paint or exterior surface or
fixture that is otherwise damaged or separated from the substrate.
De minimus levels are:
| 20 square feet on exterior surfaces |
| 2 square feet on any one interior room |
| 10 percent of the total surface area on an interior
or exterior type of component with a small area. (Examples: window
sills, baseboards and trim.) |
Stabilization
means repairing any physical defect in the substrate of a painted surface
that is causing deterioration of the surface before treating the surface. Examples
of defective substrate include dry rot, rust, moisture-related
defects, crumbling plaster and missing siding or other components that are
not securely fastened.
Before applying new paint,
all loose paint or other loose material must be removed from the surface
to be treated.
Acceptable methods for preparing the surface
to be treated include wet scraping, wet sanding and power sanding
performed in conjunction with a HEPA filter. Dry sanding or scraping is
only permitted for electrical safety reasons.
Paint Stabilization includes
the application of a new protective coating or paint. All protective
coatings and paint must be applied in accordance with the manufacturer’s
recommendations. If the deteriorated paint area exceeds the de minimus
levels set by HUD, safe work practices must be followed and a clearance
examination must be performed.
Safe work practices
include protecting the family from contamination during stabilization,
preparation of work site, specialized cleaning activities and notifying
the family that stabilization activities will be undertaken and the
results of the clearance examination.
Clearance examinations
are conducted to determine that stabilization activities are complete. The
clearance process includes a visual assessment and collection and analysis
of environmental samples. Clearance must be performed by a person
certified by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality on
Lead-Based Paint Inspections or Risk Assessments.
If a clearance examination is required,
a copy must be provided to OCHA at the time of re-inspection. If
your property has been inspected by a Certified Lead-Base Paint Inspector
and found to be lead-free you may provide a copy of the inspection report
to OCHA and the above requirements will not apply.
You are encouraged to obtain copies of
the regulation by contacting:
WHEN WILL I RECEIVE MY CHECK?
Monthly HAP checks are paid once per
month. Checks are mailed within the first five (5) calendar days
of the month. HAP payments will continue as long as the family continues to
meet eligibility requirements and the unit continues to meet HQS
requirements. The family is responsible to pay the difference between
OCHA's payment amount and the total contract rent. The family portion of
rent is paid directly to the owner. Owner may not charge the family
in excess of the family's portion of rent.
Need more information?
Click here to email
questions or comments. leasing@ochanet.org
Or call (405) 605-3264
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