Overview

Landlord FAQ’s

• How do I become an approved landlord on the Housing Choice Voucher Program?

• • FWHA will need to confirm some basic information to approve you as a vendor. This typically includes confirming your identity, confirming the ownership of your unit(s), and ensuring you do not have delinquent property taxes.

• Do you have a designated point of contact for landlord customer service?

• • You can reach our Landlord Liaison at (260) 267-9304. Our business hours are 8am-5pm on Mondays-Thursdays and 8am-12pm on Fridays.

• How do I find prospective tenants with HCVP vouchers?

• • Many voucher-holding tenants check online listings on a regular basis. We encourage our landlords to list their units online as they would for any non-HCVP units (although you may add a note stating that you accept applications from HCVP tenants if you’d like). You may also list your unit on AffordableHousing.com or indianahousingnow.org if you’d like to advertise to HCVP tenants specifically.

• How much rent will I receive for my unit?

• • There are two steps to determining approved contract rent with an HCVP tenant: rent reasonableness and affordability. The rent reasonableness process involves comparing information about your target unit with comparable rentals in the area. We use the comparability system on AffordableHousing.com to ensure that rent reasonableness certifications are as accurate as possible. The affordability calculation includes a combination of a tenant’s voucher size, the prospective unit’s bedroom size, the estimated utility payments required by the tenant, and the tenant’s income. This ensures tenants are not spending more than 40% of their monthly income on a combination of utilities and their rent portion.

• What happens after a rent approval is completed?

• • We’ll have our inspections department contact you to schedule a Housing Quality Standards (HQS) inspection to ensure that the unit meets minimum health and safety standards. More information about HQS inspections can be found in Appendix C of our property owner participation manual (please see the landlord resources on our website for reference or call our landlord liaison for more information).

• Is voucher assistance for tenants limited to a certain amount of time?

• • Tenants are required to recertify their income and have their units inspected periodically to ensure continued compliance with their HCVP family obligations. They may continue their voucher assistance as long as they continue to meet these obligations. Tenants whose income increases to a level where they can pay the unit’s full contract rent without being financially burdened are given a 180-day grace period prior to their assistance formally terminating.

For more information, please call the landlord liaison at (260) 267-9304