2014 Landlord Symposium Questions and Answers

818 South Flores Street | San Antonio, Texas 78204 | 210-477-6262 | www.saha.org

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2014 LANDLORD SYMPOSIUM Q&A’s

QUESTION

1. If I lost a lease violation in eviction court, yet the tenant has 5 lease violations and property damage, what can I do?

2. If you know a tenant has an unauthorized occupant (like a boyfriend) what to do? Waste of time to take them to court, they need proof impossible to provide.

ANSWER

1. An eviction judgment is not necessary for SAHA to begin the termination process. Program participants are obligated to not commit any serious or repeated violations of the lease. If a participant violates the lease, it is the landlord’s responsibility to enforce the lease and submit all evidence of the lease violation, along with any notice(s) of the lease violation provided to the family, to the participant’s caseworker. If you do not know name or contact information of the participant’s caseworker, please call (210) 477-6262.

2. Enforce the lease and submit to SAHA any notice(s) of the lease violation that you provide to the family. SAHA can begin the termination process if we receive evidence of the lease violation—an eviction is not always necessary. You may also notify our Fraud Investigator of the alleged fraud, by visiting the “Report Fraud/Complaints” page of SAHA.org, or by emailing us at [email protected].

QUESTION

Who would we send 3 day to if resident has not paid? ANSWER

Please submit all copies of all documentation provided to the participant, to the participant’s caseworker. If you do not know name or contact information of the participant’s caseworker, please call (210) 477-6262. QUESTIONS

1. If a resident has 0 portion & full rent is paid by SAHA what actions can landlord take to get utility balances?

2. Is the fraud dept. growing in order to help eliminate fraud cases?

3. What actions can be taken when residents receive multiple lease violations (drugs, violence, unauthorized occupy? Etc.)


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ANSWERS

1. SAHA strongly suggest referring to the Property Code Title 8, Chapter 92 Residential Tenancies, Sec. 92.008. Interruption of Utilities before taking any action your tenant.

2. The fraud department is not growing, but SAHA is making every effort to streamline the fraud/complaint reporting process. For example, SAHA recently implemented the Lighthouse complaint system, which allows individuals to anonymously report fraud or personnel complaints to SAHA on the web or by telephone. Each complaint is, then, logged and tracked. All complaints must be closed within a reasonable time period. You may also report fraud by emailing [email protected].

3. Program participants are obligated to not commit any serious or repeated violations of the lease. If a participant violates the lease, it is the landlord’s responsibility to enforce the lease and submit all evidence of the lease violation, along with any notice(s) of the lease violation provided to the family, to the participant’s caseworker. The method of enforcing the lease for participants on the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program is no different than your residents not receiving rental assistance. If you do not know name or contact information of the participant’s caseworker, please call (210) 477-6262.

QUESTIONS

1. Is the St. Mary’s School of Justice (for resident’s rights) available to landlords?

2. Does SAHA need to be aware of all tenant violations in writing? ANSWERS

1. SAHA suggest contacting St. Mary’s School of Justice directly at 210 431-2596 or visit their website: http://texaslawhelp.org/organization/st-marys-university-school-of-law-center-for/housing/landlord-tenant-1?ref=wSvwj

2. Preferably, yes. Program participants are obligated to not commit any serious or repeated violations of the lease. If a participant violates the lease, it is the landlord’s responsibility to enforce the lease and submit all evidence of the lease violation, along with any notice(s) of the lease violation provided to the family, to the participant’s caseworker. If you do not know name or contact information of the participant’s caseworker, please call (210) 477-6262. If the landlord verbally reports a lease violation, but does not provide any documentation of the violation, SAHA will treat the verbal notice as a complaint. All complaints must be verified by SAHA before any action can be taken against the participant.

Please keep in mind that, when SAHA proposes to terminate a participant’s assistance, the participant is entitled to an informal hearing. In the hearing, all evidence will be taken into consideration. If SAHA does not present sufficient evidence of the lease violation, the hearing officer may overturn SAHA’s decision to terminate the participant’s assistance.


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QUESTION

Why renew for multiple years without landlords approval? ANSWER

Although SAHA determines the participant’s eligibility to receive rental assistance for multiple years, the landlord does not have to renew the lease beyond its initial term. Conducting biennial and triennial recertifications reduces program cost, and poses a physical burden for elderly and disabled participants making the travel to SAHA annually. QUESTION

How does SAHA enforce unauthorized tenants living at house? ANSWER

Program participants are obligated to not commit any serious or repeated violations of the lease. If SAHA receives sufficient evidence demonstrating that the participant committed a serious or repeated lease violation, SAHA will propose termination of the participant’s housing assistance. As an alternative action, SAHA may require the participant to provide evidence that the unauthorized occupant no longer resides in the unit, in order for the participant to remain eligible for the program. If you find an unauthorized occupant residing in a participant’s unit, it is the landlord’s responsibility to enforce the lease and submit all evidence of the lease violation, along with any notice(s) of the lease violation provided to the family, to the participant’s caseworker. If you do not know name or contact information of the participant’s caseworker, please call (210) 477-6262. You may also notify our Fraud Investigator of the alleged fraud, by visiting the “Report Fraud/Complaints” page of SAHA.org, or by emailing us at [email protected]. Please keep in mind that, when SAHA proposes the termination of a participant’s assistance, the participant is entitled to an informal hearing. In the hearing, all evidence will be taken into consideration. If SAHA does not present sufficient evidence of the lease violation, the hearing officer may overturn SAHA’s decision to terminate the participant’s assistance. QUESTION

How can SAHA help us enforce unauthorized pets? ANSWER

Yes. Program participants are obligated to not commit any serious or repeated violations of the lease. If a participant violates the lease, it is the landlord’s responsibility to enforce the lease and submit all evidence of the lease violation, along with any notice(s) of the lease violation


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provided to the family, to the participant’s caseworker. If you do not know name or contact information of the participant’s caseworker, please call (210) 477-6262.

Please keep in mind that, when SAHA proposes the termination of a participant’s assistance, the participant is entitled to an informal hearing. In the hearing, all evidence will be taken into consideration. If SAHA does not present sufficient evidence of the lease violation, the hearing officer may overturn SAHA’s decision to terminate the participant’s assistance. QUESTIONS

1. Please provided, if have, eviction history at notice of family history.

2. On RTA form #10 what does subsides propriety?

3. How can many lease violations + an eviction?

4. Can we lien a SAHA resident? No contact information for these questions ANSWERS

1. The Notice of Family History includes only the current and previous landlord’s address and phone number, if applicable, but it does not include the participant’s eviction history. It is the approving landlord’s responsibility to determine the participant’s suitability as a tenant.

2. Section 10 on Request for Tenancy Approval is for multi-family properties that received a loan, funding and/or tax credit to assist with the building of affordable housing.

3. The participant’s Family Obligations require the family (1) to not be evicted from the assisted unit for any serious or repeated lease violations and (2) to not commit any serious or repeated lease violations. In other words, an eviction judgment is not necessary for SAHA to begin the termination process. If a participant violates the lease, it is the landlord’s responsibility to enforce the lease and submit all evidence of the lease violation, along with any notice(s) of the lease violation provided to the family, to the participant’s caseworker. If you do not know name or contact information of the participant’s caseworker, please call (210) 477-6262.

4. Program participants at not exempt from your normal processes in collecting an outstanding debt.

QUESTION

A resident is currently on a voucher lease and relocating. Is the resident able to move in prior to the new contract and pay out of pocket for the rent charges? (To the new unit) ANSWER

SAHA strongly discourages program participants from moving in to a new unit until the unit passes an HQS inspection and the requested rent has been approved.

2014 Landlord Symposium Questions and Answers

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