Helping the Community

By choosing to participate in the Section 8 housing program you can make a difference in your community.  Whether your property is designated for a family, a senior citizen, or a physically-challenged couple – you’re helping to affect positive change in someone else’s life and future. 

Everyone deserves a safe, clean place to live.No matter if you are the landlord or the tenant, when you participate in the Section 8 housing voucher program – you represent the program.  Be a positive role model – for the program and the children involved.   

Update Tenant Information

Update Tenant Information.  It’s a good idea to update your tenant’s contact information each year.   You can time this with your lease renewal agreement (YTY) or at six month intervals with your month-to-month leases. 
·        Employer (both spouses):  Address and phone
·        Emergency Contacts:  Name and phone
·        Vehicles:  Type & license
·        Names/age of children under the age of 18: 
If the tenant is one of my Section 8 voucher-holders, I also confirm the name of their caseworker/supervisor at PHA along with their phone number and include that with the tenant information.This is also the perfect time to make sure that your rental agreement forms are current with state and federal laws.

Rent & Deposits

It’s the landlord’s responsibility to collect the security deposits and monthly rent from your Section 8 tenants.  The Housing Authority does not enforce tenant payments.  Send a rent bill each month and include a stamped self-addressed envelope.  Late payment should never be an issue if you have appropriate processes in place to select quality tenants and treat them with respect.  Tenant turnover costs money.  If you need help with your screening process and applications there are great resources on this site, www.GOsection8.com and www.hud.gov.

Don’t hesitate to post questions here – we get you an answer!

Welcoming your tenants

Sounds lame?  You’ve worked hard to get them – spent time and money preparing the property and searching for the perfect tenant – you’ve found them and you want to keep them.  No, they won’t be your best friends, but they will be clients and you want to establish a good working relationship with these people.One of the best ways to lay the ground work for a good tenant/landlord relationship is thoughtful and inexpensive – simply put together a “Welcome to Your New Home” letter.  No groans from those of you who own multi-family units, like I said, this is easy to do and inexpensive to produce.  Included in my letter is:·         New address
·         Emergency phone numbers: Mine, property manager
·         Date rent is due:  1^st of month, etc
·         Non-emergency phone number of police:
·         Trash pickup days, recyclable information, where to place containers for pickup
·         Neighborhood Schools & addresses – elementary, middle, high school; location of parks & playgrounds
·         Parking requirements (not on the lawn), etc
·         Laundry room usage/rules
·         Storage requirements
·         Closest medical clinic

Pet Rules – this can be a separate sheet with the pets’ name listed – include items such as pet food must be in closed plastic containers; litter boxes must be emptied into a plastic bag before disposing in trash can; fecal matter must be cleaned up and disposed of appropriately; leash laws (yours and the neighborhood); location of pet parks and nearest vet, etc

Lead-based paint

The fact that this remains a hot button issue is amazing. HUD requires that a home built prior to 1978 have no deteriorated or peeling paint on the inside and outside of the unit if the unit is occupied by children under the age of six (or a pregnant household member). The cost of removal and refinishing can be prohibitive but pales when compared to the cost of lawsuit or having a unit remain vacant because of noncompliance. Any landlord that knows or suspects his/her properties contain lead based paint and does nothing to remedy the situation is knowingly compromising the health of the children residing in the unit. Inexcusable!

It was previously thought that lead poisoning was caused primarily from the ingestion of paint chips containing lead, however current data suggest that: adults and children are poisoned by the inhalation of lead dust – when cracking and peeling paint is removed by dry scraping or other currently prohibited methods, lead dust is generated and young children come in contact with the lead dust, put their fingers in their mouth ingesting it. Children under the age of six are severely harmed by excessive levels of lead in the blood. Additional information can be found at the HUD site and on the following fact sheet

http://www.hud.gov/offices/lead/leadsaferule/1012fs.pdf

Properties that are exempted from the new Lead Safe Housing Rule include:

 Units with no deteriorating paint
 Units built after 1978
 Units not occupied by children under the age of six (or a pregnant household member)
 Units used exclusively for the elderly or disabled
 Zero-bedroom units
 Properties certified as lead-free by a certified lead inspector

Creepy Landlords

What makes a landlord creepy? Lots of things. Some folks have no business being landlords…feel free to add to the list…but no names, please.

1. The Peeper. We were newlyweds and rented the basement flat of a house in McLean, VA. I would catch the landlord’s adult sons peering in the windows – and not by accident - they would have to lie on their stomachs to get a view inside since we were in the basement! Naturally the landlady (who lived on the main level of the house) denied all.

2. Mr. Suspicion. Moved from FL to Palo Alto, CA with our 5 year old daughter. Owned a home in FL, but couldn’t afford to buy in Palo Alto so we rented. I asked the LL (who lived next door) if we could get a kitten for our daughter because she was lonely. NO. Okay. She made friends with a neighborhood cat who would come to visit and named it, as most little kids do. The LL heard her talking to the cat. He came over and accused us of getting a cat after he explicitly told us we could not. I explained that I respected his answer, did not get a cat – and how dare he accuse us.

3. It’s ALL Mine. Our LL decided that he was going to keep our $1500 security deposit because the 50 year old hardwood floor had a surface scratch and he needed to have the flooring refinished throughout the house as a result of this. He was accustomed to dealing with college students – we were not college students. We were landlords and professionally employed. The entire house was professionally cleaned after we vacated the premises. We got our entire security deposit back after threatening to red flag him to the city for property line violation.

4. Drop In. This is the landlord who simply shows up at the door under the pretense of making sure ‘everything’ is alright. Aside from annoying and intrusive, this is just plain weird.
 

Annual Inspection

If your property fails the annual inspection for Section 8 housing, the PHA usually gives the landlord 14-30 days to make the repairs, unless the “failure” is considered life threatening in which case Federal laws requires that repairs be made within 24 hours.
Generally it’s the landlord’s responsibility to maintain the property as outlined in the Section 8 housing guidelines; however the landlord may hold the tenant responsible for tenant-caused damages. If the landlord is holding the tenant responsible for the repairs, he must notify the tenant in writing and identify the repairs needed. A copy of this information should be provided to the Housing Authority. If the tenant fails to repair the tenant-caused damages within the specified time-frame, the tenant’s voucher may be rescinded.
If you fail to make adequate repairs on ‘failed’ items or haven’t completed the repairs within the time period given, you may end up having your payments withheld by the PHA. Once you have successfully completed all repairs, Housing Assistance Payments will resume, prorated from the date that your property passes its third and final inspection. Remember: the tenant is not responsible for the abated Housing Assistance Payment.

Where can I apply for Section 8 and how long will it take to get a voucher?

 http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/pha/contacts/index.cfm will take you to the HUD site that can provide you with Public Housing Authority contact information. If you need public assistance or want to apply for the Section 8 voucher program, this is the place to start.
 
 Once you’ve applied, the wait time will vary. The wait time can be up to three years long, and many PHAs stop taking applications for housing vouchers until the list opens up. You can check with your PHA about the wait time in your area. Don’t be discouraged – get your application in the queue.

Section 8 Rent Increases

Rent increases on Section 8 units are allowed after the initial 12-month lease. If you intend to increase the rent make sure that you give your tenant ample notice (in compliance with your State and local requirements) and send a copy to the local Housing Authority.
 
 There is no cap on the amount of rent increase; however the rent must be comparable to similar units within the area (www.GOSection8.com). Keep in mind that the tenant pays any rent increase on the voucher program and the tenants’ portion can’t exceed 40% of their monthly income.

Wood or tile or… ??

Okay, long-time tenants have left and it’s time to replace the flooring. Back when I was younger … I would carpet everything except the bathrooms, dining room, kitchen, entry way and laundry area. I always liked the idea of carpeting in the bedrooms. With all the new products available I’ve gotten hooked on laminate flooring for the bedrooms. It also works well in high traffic areas – it holds up almost as well as tile. I rarely install carpeting in the bedrooms anymore. The cost of cleaning it and replacing it is prohibitive. A little more money up front saves you a lot more in the long run. I now use laminate flooring or tile in all the rooms. Occasionally I still use vinyl flooring in the bathroom and laundry area and run a solid bead of caulking at the seams and base of the wall, toilet, and tub.
 
 I haven’t had much pushback from new tenants regarding the solid surface flooring – they just put area rugs down on the floor and get on with unpacking. Actually, I think they prefer it.