Rochester Housing Authority extends landlord incentive program through July

Posted By: finleys
October 30, 2020 @ 5:20 am
Rochester

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — The Rochester Housing Authority has announced the extension of its landlord incentive program until July 31, 2021.

The program was previously announced in July and was designed to encourage increased landlord participation in the Housing Choice Voucher Program — the federal government’s primary program for assisting low-income families, the elderly and persons with disabilities to afford quality, safe housing in the private market.

In addition to the extension, RHA is introducing two additional incentives for existing RHA landlords. The program which is funded for RHA as part of the CARES Act to support Tenant-Based Rental Assistance.

New landlord incentives:

Participant Repayment Plan Incentive: Rochester Housing Authority may pay a financial incentive to the landlord when they set up a repayment plan to assist Housing Choice Voucher participants in maintaining housing when their rent is in arrears.
Participant Damage Reimbursement: Rochester Housing Authority may make a one-time payment to a landlord to make repairs for participant responsible damages (beyond normal wear and tear) to assist the unit in passing RHA’s Housing Quality Standards so housing assistance payments can continue.

Existing landlord incentives include:

Security Deposit Initiative: RHA may pay the security deposit for Housing Choice Voucher participants impacted by COVID-19, to the landlord, for up to the cost of one full month of rent.

Leasing Up Bonus: RHA may offer a bonus to landlords when they lease a new unit to a Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) participant. New landlords may be eligible to receive a one-time $1,000 bonus payment per unit and existing landlords may be eligible to receive a one-time $500 bonus payment per new unit leased, with a limit of five qualifying units per landlord.

Rehabilitation Cost Recovery Plan: RHA may reimburse landlords for up to $1,000 for vendor services used to perform repairs or improvements to a Section 8 housing unit.

Lead Clearance or Testing Costs: RHA may reimburse a landlord up to $500 per unit, in which, an RHA HQS Move-in inspection requires Lead Clearance or testing. A passed Lead Clearance test is required along with lease-up of an HCV participant.

More information can be found here.

VIA ROCHESTER FIRST