Landlords attend a one and a half hour Landlord Orientation hosted by FWHS to obtain all necessary paperwork and information to become a knowledgeable participant in Assisted Housing.

Clients have access to the property listing site, GoSection 8, at www.gosection8.com to see your properties.

You do not have to register for a Landlord Orientation. Orientation dates are always the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 9:00 a.m. (with the exception of December, when there is no orientation). Simply choose which orientation you wish to attend.

There is no cost to a potential landlord. This orientation is offered as an informational tool to benefit you and your potential tenant.

A participant, whether HCVP or S+C, will be in possession of paperwork provided by the agency that will verify their participation in FWHS Programs.

Programs similar to HCVP that serves only homeless and disabled individuals and families. All participants have Case Managers who make regular home visits to check on them and provide necessary supportive services. Landlords are given the name and number of the Case Manager to contact in the event of problems with the tenant.

It is the same as stated above for the HCV program.

RFTAs or Requests For Inspection (RFI) are faxed to the landlord by the Special Programs office. Special Programs participants are given an Approval Letter (rather than a Voucher) that gives the size unit for which they are approved and what the participant portion will be in an All Bills Paid unit. Special Programs participants cannot pay over the amount of our Payment Standard AND Rent Reasonable. Rental assistance payments will come separately from the HCVP payment, but on the same schedule/direct deposit procedure. Special Programs does maintain a separate property listing, updated monthly for participants and Case Managers.

A voucher participant is issued a “voucher” for rental payment subsidy by FWHS based on the number of family members in their home. The number of family members determines the bedroom size. The number of bedrooms determines the maximum Payment Standard.

Yes. However, this can only happen if:

• Your property is priced within the Payment Standard of the client’s voucher size,
  OR
• If it is authorized through FWHS. An internal calculation must be completed to determine if the client can financially afford to pay for a larger, more expensive unit.

***Please note that accepting additional money from a client that has not been authorized by FWHS is illegal. It is a federal offense and is prosecutable by the Attorney General’s Office. This is explained in detail during the Landlord Orientation.

Many factors affect the final rent amount approved by FWHS. The property must be compared to other similar properties in the area; Fair Market Rent (FMR), a guideline established by HUD of maximum fair rents by unit size, must be considered; and a Rent Reasonable study to determine the individual property’s value on the open market is conducted. In addition, if the tenant is paying the utilities, a Utility Allowance must be deducted from the FMR to establish a rent amount. The Landlord Orientation answers this question extensively.

In the Landlord Orientation, you will be provided an overview of what is necessary for your property to pass inspection. FWHS follows HUD Housing Quality Standards Guidelines as well as city and state rental property requirements to ensure that all accepted properties are safe, sanitary, and secure.

Inspections are never scheduled until the inspections department has received the HCVP Participant’s Request for Tenancy Approval (RFTA). Once a client has expressed an interest in your property and you have selected that client as a tenant, both of you must complete and submit the RFTA form. Once that form has been received, a FWHS inspector will contact you to schedule the inspection.

The Request for Tenancy Approval is only provided to the FWHS client. Landlords cannot obtain this form from anyone other than their prospective HCVP renter. (Please note: Special Programs clients will not receive an RFTA; it must be requested from the Special Programs office.)

The client can move in once the property passes inspection, if you have received the Move-In Approval form from the agency and the client’s current lease has expired.

Inspections are scheduled as soon as possible following the date you have put on the RFTA as to when the unit is ready for inspection (box 8 of the RFTA). This is, of course, assuming all of your paperwork has been received by the FWHS and you have been assigned a vendor number – it’s all up to you and your renter. Attending the Landlord Orientation and submitting all of the required paperwork prior to selecting a Housing Choice Voucher Participant definitely shortens the length of time it takes to get your inspection.

No payment will be made for a client until the property has been inspected and you as the property owner have received your move-in approval from the agency.

No. However, if you want to get ahead of the game, you may bring a copy of your ownership documentation and the process to set you up as a vendor can begin that day.

Acceptable ownership documentation:

• A copy of your Warranty Deed (this copy must have the seal/stamp on it from the courthouse in which it was filed to be acceptable), OR
• A copy of your Settlement Statement/HUD 1 (this copy must have the signature of the seller as well as your signature as the buyer to be acceptable).