Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program

P.O. Box 2085
                                                                                                                                            #5 Applegate Drive                                                                                                                                                      Springdale, AR 72765                                                                                                                                      Phone: 479-751-0560
                                                                                                                                         Fax: 479-756-8059
                                                                                                                                    TTY/TDD 800-285-1131
                                                                                                           
            The Springdale Housing Authority is always looking for local property landlords to participate in the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program. The process to become a Section 8 landlord is simple, only requiring a few forms to be filled out which can be done via fax or email. Some of the advantages of the Section 8 HCV program include guaranteed payment of the HUD portion of the rent on a monthly basis and assisting lower income families obtain safe, clean, affordable housing in our area. Below are some commonly asked questions about the Section 8 program.
 
Attn:  Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program Potential and Participating Landlords:
 
Here are some reminders and FAQs about the S8 HCV program:
 

• Rental increase requests for all Section 8 clients must be submitted 60 days in advance of the rental increase effective date.
• Rental increase requests must be submitted to the housing authority via fax, email, or regular mail.
• Rental increase requests must contain the client’s name, address, current rental amount, proposed rental amount, and date the new rent goes into effect.
• Rental increase requests must be submitted to the Housing Authority at the same time you send the request to the tenant.
• The maximum amount allowed for a rental increase request is 10% of the current rent amount. Anything over 10% is considered too high of an increase, as the clients of the Section 8 program are lower income clients.
• The housing authority does NOT pay deposits of any kind. The program pays only rental amounts that have been calculated at the time of move-in.
• The housing authority does not pay damages caused by Section 8 clients during their occupancy or upon move out. The client is responsible for all payments relating to damage to the unit.
• The housing authority needs to be informed immediately of any and all eviction proceedings. Copies of the eviction notices, court proceedings, and all other pertinent eviction notices and paperwork need to be sent to the housing authority via fax, email, or regular mail.
• Any correspondence from the client to the landlord regarding family composition change needs to be copied to the housing authority. This is primarily the responsibility of the client, but it is pertinent to inquire if the client has informed the housing authority of the family composition change as this can affect the amount of the rental payment
• The RFTA (Request for Tenancy Approval) form is the form that is to be filled out by the landlord and submitted to the housing authority. This is the form we use, along with the client’s current income, to calculate if the proposed unit and rental price will qualify. We have no way of knowing if the unit will qualify before we receive this form from the landlord. Please make sure to fill this form out accurately and completely so we can make a determination as quickly as possible to expedite the move in process.
• One of the requirements before move in is an HQS inspection of the proposed unit. Please make sure all utilities are on in the unit as we are required to check lighting, heat, air conditioning, and water sources. All smoke detectors have to be functional. If a smoke detector is not working, the unit fails inspection at that point and the inspection will be delayed until the issue has been resolved. All provided appliances need to be in good working order. All sinks and toilets will be checked for leaks.
• HUD has a new directive for S8 landlords in reference to carbon monoxide detectors. “Beginning December 27^th, 2022 all landlords participating in the S8 HCV program will be required to have a carbon monoxide detector installed in the unit if the unit utilizes natural gas fueled appliances. If your unit has all electric appliances, this notice will not apply to your properties. We are including a copy of the HUD notice which explains the decision and contains useful information on the health hazards of natural gas exposure. Please make sure your unit has a functioning carbon monoxide before December 27^th, 2022 as we will begin testing the carbon monoxide detector during the yearly S8 HCV inspections starting December 1^st, 2022. If the CO detector is non-functional, or is missing, the unit will fail inspection.  Please call if you have any questions concerning this notice.”
• These previously stated items need to be checked and confirmed functional BEFORE the housing authority inspector arrives in order to expedite the inspection and move- in process.
• We are seeing an inordinate amount of very large rent increases across the board. Please try and remember that S8 clients are on a low-income program and a large, sometimes hundreds of dollars rent increase is very difficult for them to adjust to financially.

 
If you have any additional questions about the Section 8 program or guidelines, please feel free to contact the Springdale Housing Authority. We are constantly seeking new landlords to partner with for the Section 8 program. We also appreciate all of our Section 8 landlords working with the housing authority to provide our clients safe and affordable housing. Thank you for your time and attention.
 
                                                                                                                                               
Shannon Hill-Assistant Director
 
Springdale Housing Authority
 
Phone# 479-751-0560

 shill@springdaleha.org