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Becoming a Landlord

How To Qualify

The landlord must agree to accept subsidy for their tenant, by entering into a Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract with the AHA.

Specifications

The dwelling unit must pass the program’s housing quality standards and be maintained up to those standards as long as the owner receives housing assistance payments. The rent requested must be reasonable and the landlord must not charge the tenant any amount other than what the AHA has determined to be the tenants’ portion of rent.

Inspection Process

Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program regulations at 24 CFR Part 982 set forth basic housing quality standards (HQS) which all units must meet before assistance can be paid on behalf of a family and at least annually throughout the term of the assisted tenancy. HQS define “standard housing” and establish the minimum criteria for the health and safety of program participants. Current HQS regulations consist of 13 key aspects of housing quality, performance requirements, and acceptability criteria to meet each performance requirement. HQS includes requirements for all housing types, including single and multi-family dwelling units, as well as manufactured homes.

Getting Paid

Once the AHA approves an eligible family’s housing unit, the family and/or landlord must notify AHA in writing when the family has moved in the unit. AHA will send the HAP contract documents to the landlord and request a copy of the lease agreement signed between the landlord and the family. The landlord and the AHA sign a HAP contract that runs for the same term as the lease. The deadline for AHA to receive and process new HAP contracts submitted to AHA is the 22nd of each month. New Contracts turned in after the 22nd will not have payments processed until after the second full month of occupancy. Please note a family can be in the unit for two full months of occupancy before HAP is paid. Example: A completed HAP contract received on January 23rd will not have a check processed until March. At that time, all payments will be made in full. Payments will be generated on the first of the month, following the execution of the HAP contract. After the landlord receives their first payment, HAP is paid monthly by the 5th of each month. In addition, the landlord is expected to provide the services agreed to as part of the lease signed with the tenant and the contract signed with the AHA.