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Housing Choice Voucher Program:
The tenant and the owner must complete a few simple tasks in order to participate in SHA’s Housing Choice Voucher Program. After the tenant is given a voucher and educated about how to use it, he or she begins the process of leasing a unit, which proceeds as follows: 1. Tenant finds a suitable unit It is the tenant’s responsibility to find a suitable unit and explain the program to prospective owners. To help voucher holders find housing, SHA maintains lists of units for rent in the Seattle area. Voucher holders can print these lists from our Web site or pick them up at PorchLight. Owners may submit or remove units from these lists online, by telephone or by fax. There is no charge for listing a unit. Owners must screen prospective tenants. Owners are strongly encouraged to conduct a thorough background check for all their tenants, assisted and otherwise, before entering into a lease agreement. Owners may ask SHA to supply the name and address of prospective tenants’ current and previous landlords to help with the screening process. Vouchers can expire. Tenants must begin the leasing process with an owner within 60 days of receiving the voucher, unless given an extension. SHA will only grant extensions upon written request from the tenant, submitted before the voucher expiration date. 2. Tenant gives the required documents to the owner. After the owner has screened and agreed to rent to the tenant, the tenant gives the owner a Request for Tenancy Approval form, a Lead-Based Paint Disclosure form, a W-9 form and a sample copy of the Housing Assistance Payments Contract. These forms are given to the tenant when he or she is issued a voucher. 3. Owner completes the documents and sends them to SHA. The owner should complete, sign and date these three forms as soon as possible. (The tenant signs and dates the Request for Tenancy Approval and Lead-Based Paint Disclosure forms too.) The owner must fax the completed forms to the New Move-In Team at 206-239-1760, or mail them to: Seattle Housing Authority Section 8
Program 4. SHA reviews the documents and approves the tenancy. Once we receive all required documents from the owner, we will check to make sure the information provided is complete and accurate. We will also make sure the unit’s proposed rent meets two tests: 1. Rent is affordable. During the first lease term, the tenant’s portion of rent plus utilities cannot exceed 40 percent of the tenant’s monthly income. Side agreements requiring the tenant to pay more than 40 percent of income are prohibited. 2. Rent is reasonable. Rent must be comparable to similar units in the same area. SHA decides if a rent is "reasonable" based on an inspection of the unit and market data about rent levels in Seattle. If the proposed rent does not meet both of these tests, the owner will be asked to negotiate a lower rent. The owner is never required to lower rent, but if he or she does not agree to a rent that meets both requirements noted above, then the tenant will have to find another unit. |
How to lease a unit