Landlord Resource Library

Landlord Information

HOMEOWNERS – How to submit a unit for rental assistance:

LMHA encourages owners to offer rental units located outside areas of poverty or minority concentration. Nevertheless, it is the HCV (Section 8) participant who ultimately chooses the area in which he or she wishes to reside. Flexibility is key when it comes to working with our program. We have three full-time inspectors and we try to schedule each inspector as efficiently as possible by keeping him in a general area each day.

• Beginning with the Landlord who has a unit available for rent: The unit is in move-in condition and all the Landlord needs is a tenant.  The Landlord searches for and screens any prospective tenants interested in the rental unit. The Landlord may contact the HCV (Section 8) office to have the unit address, owner name, and contact number put on our availability list which we provide to participants looking for units when we issue vouchers.

• Once the Landlord decides to lease to a suitable HCV (Section 8) participant, the Request for Tenancy Approval (RFTA) packet must be completed by the Landlord and signed by both the tenant and the Landlord. The participant will have this form. The participant may not rent from a person related to any member of the household such as a mother, father, brother, sister, or grandparent.

• Once the Request for Tenancy Approval (RFTA) packet is completed, it is returned to the HCV (Section 8) office, along with an unexecuted copy of the lease.

• The HCV (Section 8) Occupancy Specialist assigned to the participant will conduct an affordability test when he or she receives the RFTA forms. The tenant may not pay more than 40% of his or her gross monthly income toward rent and utilities. If the unit does not meet affordability, the RFTA will be voided and the client will be mailed another copy so he or she can search for an affordable unit.

If you have any questions, please call Carol A. Langham at the HCV (Section 8) Office at (440) 288-7454.