The housing choice voucher (HCV) program is the federal government's primary program for assisting very low-income families, the elderly, and persons with disabilities to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market. Since housing assistance is provided on behalf of the HCV tenant, participants are able to find their own housing, including single-family homes, townhouses and apartments. Housing choice vouchers are administered locally by public housing agencies (PHAs) that receive federal funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to administer the HCV program. This means that the tenant, landlord and PHA all have obligations and responsibilities under the HCV program.
Our Focus on Landlords
The Ann Arbor Housing Commission Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program offers great benefits to landlords and property owners. HCV allows for owners to receive Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) on behalf of participating tenants. More information can be found in the HUD HCV Landlord Guidebook .
Landlords who would like to rent to voucher holders should contact us. We will provide you details on the local process and the method for posting your vacant units.
How to Become a HCV Landlord
The role of the landlord in the HCV program is to lease decent, safe, and sanitary housing to a tenant at a reasonable rent. The housing unit must pass the program’s housing quality standards (HQS) and be maintained up to those standards as long as the owner receives housing assistance payments (HAPs). To learn more, watch the full briefing video here.
Advantages:
- Stable rental income
- Timely payments
- Direct deposit
- Adequate applicant pool
- Biennial inspections
- Free tenant rental history (subject to approval)
- List your Property: AffordableHousing.com
Forms
Landlord Portal
Landlord can use our RentCafe portal to monitor HQS inspection, housing assistance payments, communicate with case managers, and access various forms. Manage your account with our
Landlord Portal.
Payment Standards
The PHA determines a payment standard that is the amount generally needed to rent a reasonably priced unit within the housing commission's jurisdiction and that is used to calculate the amount of assistance a family will receive. The payment standard is the most the Housing Commission can pay to help a family with rent.
- AAHC Payment Standards are approved at 90%-110% of Fair Market Rents, as Published in the Federal Register on August 31, 2018
- The revised FMRs will be effective on October 1, 2021 (unless HUD receives a request for reevaluation of specific area FMRs).
Landlord Incentives
Our initiative seeks to encourage landlords to participate in the Housing choice voucher (HCV) program. The landlord incentives combined with dedication to reducing processes or making them easier to navigate helps to align the HCV Program more closely with the private market, decreasing a potential trade-off for landlords in selecting voucher families over market-rate tenants.
In addition, we offer staff who are trained to answering landlord questions, housing assistance payment (HAP) direct deposit, rapid initial HQS inspections, reduced lease-up delays leading to lost rental income, support services for participants, subsidy comparable to the market, and a portal where owners can manage their payments and unit inspections.
The goal of this activity is to increase the number of participating owners, expand housing opportunities for participants by increasing the number of available units, and retain landlord's participation in the HCV program. We hope that you take advantage of this opportunity.
Program Incentives:
Payment Standards- Small Area Fair Market Rents (SAFMR):
Our subsidy payment standards are competitive for moderately priced housing by neighborhood, so landlords are less likely to encounter issues with their rents being unaffordable for HCV voucher families. Our competitively priced SAFMR subsidy standards are generally higher than non-designated areas. Rental units located in 48103, 48104, 48105, and 48109 qualify for SAFMR subsidy standard.
Vacancy Loss Payments:
Vacancy loss payments are offer to tenant-based and project-based voucher programs. Tenant-based landlords may receive an additional payment equal to one-month contract rent for re-leasing a unit to a voucher holder after a previous voucher holder has vacated the unit. Project-based landlords may receive an two additional payments.
Damage Claim Payments:
Damage Claim payments are offered to tenant-based and project-based voucher programs. Tenant-based and project-based landlords may receive compensation when the tenant leaves the unit damaged. Payments for damages may not exceed the lower of the two month contract rent or the cost of damage, less the security deposit.
Alternative Inspection Schedule (HCV):
AAHC will inspect assisted units of eligible households once every three years. When a deficiency is identified the responsible party may provide proof the repair has been made, such as photos, labor, or service receipts, etc.
Signing And Loyal Bonus Payments
Landlords that are new to AAHC will receive a $1,000 signing bonus. Current landlords may submit a request for $1,000 loyalty bonus once every twelve months. The landlord must have units occupied by AAHC voucher participants under HAP contract.
Security Deposits, Application and Holding Fees, Past due Utilities:
AAHC will provide security deposit, application and holding fees, and utility deposit/re-activation fees for HCV households to lease with landlords who participant in the program.
Support Services for Participants:
AAHC offers additional services for program participants, such as money management education, homebuyer education, homeownership assistance payments, and other resources to reduce or eliminate barriers that interrupt self-sufficiency.
Contact Us to learn more about the HCV program,
list your vacant unit, or submit an incentive request at
[email protected].
