NOW OFFERING BONUSES TO FIRST TIME LANDLORDS!

Signing Bonus

Offers a financial reward to our landlords who join our Housing Choice Voucher Program or add more units to the Housing Choice Voucher Program.

Vacancy Payments

Can offset the financial burden of a unit sitting vacant and awaiting initial inspection.

DAMAGES TO UNITS

Damage Payments
Vacancy and damage funds can be used in certain circumstances to repay a landlord for losses incurred as a result of a program-related delay or damage to a unit above and beyond normal wear and tear.

Additional Incentives

• You are protected from financial loss if the participant suffers unexpected financial hardship. Once the participant reports a change in income along with all supporting documentation, we will conduct a reexamination of the household’s income. Once verified, the subsidy payment is increased to compensate for the participant’s decrease in income.

Becoming a HCV Program Landlord can give you the satisfaction of empowering low-income families to afford decent, safe and sanitary housing.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

• Families are awarded a Housing Choice Voucher, permitting them to find suitable housing of their choice from private market and non-profit landlords.
  TGHA pays a set amount of rent, directly to the landlord, and the renter pays the difference.
• Other than expecting a portion of the rent regularly each month from TGHA, you have the same type of renter-landlord relationship that you have with non-HCV renters.
• The HCV Program contributes over $25 million in rents into Greenville County annually. Over 800 landlords and 3,291 households currently participate.

PROGRAM FEATURES FOR LANDLORDS

• You can receive reasonable rent increases.
• You may require reasonable security deposits and late fees.
• You are able to effectively screen and select tenants.
• Strict renter responsibilities are defined in the lease addendum.
• You will experience low tenant turnover; high tenant demand promotes full occupancy and longevity.
• You have the discretion to not renew a tenant’s lease when the lease expires.
• TGHA conducts annual or biennial inspections of the leased unit.
• On-time direct-deposit payments from TGHA, increasing your rent security.
• You will receive guaranteed, on-time payment of rent when circumstances such as tenant job loss or family hardships occur.

RENTER RESPONSIBILITY

TGHA has made responsibility part of our contract by including landlord and renter obligations. The obligations on the part of the renter are:

• Pay the tenant share of the rent to the owner in a timely and consistent manner.
• Meet all the conditions of the lease.
• Pay a security deposit.
• Permit reasonable inspections by TGHA and by the property owner.
• Give TGHA notice of any change in income, household size, or intent to move as per HUD regulations.
• Cooperate with TGHA’s review of income and avoid criminal activity.

HOUSING QUALITY STANDARDS

As part of our commitment to provide safe, sanitary, and affordable housing to our participants, we maintain certain Housing Quality Standards. When a HCV participant is interested in renting your unit, it must be inspected by TGHA. Once you have agreed to accept HCV rental subsidy, an inspector will contact you to make an appointment for inspection.

Items which will violate Housing Quality Standards include such things as: peeling or flaking paint, unsafe or rotted porches, windows that are cracked or broken, leaks, lack of proper ventilation of flue on hot water tank, weak or broken floor boards, extension cord outlets, exposed plumbing, missing electrical outlet covers or switch plates, and inoperable smoke detectors.

WORKING WITH TGHA

TGHA has dedicated staff to provide assistance directly to landlords. Call our Landlord Services Team at (864) 990-1384, or via email at [email protected]. Other resources include:

• Landlord Trainings: These opportunities are scheduled periodically, covering things such as South Carolina landlord/tenant law, HCV procedures, unit maintenance, lead-based paint issues, etc.
• Compliance Investigator: To ensure a fair program for everyone, we actively investigate reports of program abuse. Please email our fraud investigators at [email protected].

The Greenville Housing Authority (TGHA) strives to make it simple and easy for landlords to participate in our Housing Choice Voucher Program (also known as Section 8). While TGHA is not able to directly recommend voucher-holders to your vacancies, you can list available units with us. If a tenant approaches you about accepting a Housing Choice Voucher, there are four steps to follow:

1. Screen the tenant to ensure you are making a good selection.
2. Tenants with our Housing Choice Vouchers will have a form to fill out called Request for Tenancy Approval (RFTA). You should complete the landlord section of the form, along with the Disclosure of Lead-based Paint form. When the tenant submits both completed, signed forms to our office, we will contact you to schedule an inspection. You may submit the forms on behalf of the tenant, if you wish.

   

   Request for Tenancy Approval (RTA)

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   RFTA Supplement Form

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3. We will inspect the unit to ensure that it meets HUD’s Housing Quality Standards. TGHA requests that the landlord be present at the initial inspection. The utilities must be on and the unit must be ready for occupancy. The inspector will discuss any repairs that may be necessary with you.
4. After your unit passes inspection, and the amount of rent you are charging has been approved, you and the tenant enter into an initial lease. When all of the final, signed documents have been received, we release payment to the landlord within at the first of the month and there afterwards.

Landlords use their own lease agreement and the same screening criteria that apply to any other applicants and tenants.

The HUD Tenancy Addendum is required to be included as a part of the lease and will control in the case of discrepancies.

The lease should not be signed and dated until after TGHA’s approval.

TGHA has dedicated staff to provide assistance directly to landlords. If you have any questions, just call (864) 990-1384 or email to [email protected].

The landlord must agree to accept subsidy for their tenant, by entering into a Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract with TGHA.

Housing Assistance Payment Contract

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MTW Landlord Incentive Claims and Application Form

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TGHA is required by HUD to confirm that housing assistance payments are issued to the legal owner or a legal representative of the owner. To comply with these requirements the Housing Authority will request the following information prior to approval of a HAP contract on a unit:

• State or federally issued photo ID.
• Proof of ownership in the form of a deed or title to the property to be assisted.
• Copy of a management agreement if the property is managed by a third party management company or agent. (Proof of ownership is not required if a management agreement is provided).
• Completed W-9 Form
• Copy of the most recent mortgage statement indicating that the mortgage is current or a statement that the property does not have a mortgage.
• Copy of the most recent paid property tax bill indicating that taxes are current.
• Executed direct deposit authorization form.

The specific documents listed above are required for each property receiving Housing Assistance Payments.

The dwelling unit must pass the program’s housing quality standards and be maintained up to those standards as long as the owner receives housing assistance payments. The rent requested must be reasonable and the landlord must not charge the tenant any amount other than what the TGHA has determined to be the tenants’ portion of rent.

NSPIRE is a method for conducting and processing inspections of HUD-assisted housing developed by HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC).

NSPIRE aims to improve confidence in HUD’s ability to keep properties in compliance by accurately assessing the condition of a unit, implementing streamlined inspection processes, and prioritizing the health and safety of residents.

Once TGHA approves an eligible family’s housing unit, the family and the landlord sign a lease and, at the same time, the landlord and TGHA sign a HAP contract that runs the same term of the lease. Payments will be generated direct deposit on the first of the month, following execution of the HAP contract. In addition, the landlord is expected to provide the services agreed to as part of the lease signed with the tenant and the contract signed with TGHA.

As of December 1, 2013, The Housing Authority began the transition to direct deposit for Housing Assistance Payments.

• Direct deposit is cost-effective for the Housing Authority;
• Direct deposit is quick, safe, and reliable for Landlords;
• HAP payments are in Landlord’s bank account by the fifth day of the month;
• Landlords have immediate access to payment details on-line via the owner/agent self-serve portal;
• No more trips to the bank and waiting in line.

All landlords must complete a direct deposit authorization form and participate in the direct deposit. The Housing Authority will no longer issue physical checks for Housing Assistance Payments. The total transition will be effective March 31, 2014.

Please be advised that the NEW landlord access portal is currently available.

We greatly appreciated your patience as we transitioned to the new portal.

We have sent registration letters that include the registration key needed to register for the portal through the mail.

You can access the new portal here:

CLICK HERE FOR THE LANDLORD PORTAL

If you need any assistance with the new Landlord Portal, please contact our Landlord Liaison at [email protected].

Thank you

The Housing Authority provides most communications with landlords via a web-based self-service owner/agent portal. Once TGHA receives required landlord documentation, the owner/agent information will be uploaded to the owner/agent portal and you will receive a letter with your login information and instructions for using the portal.

Information communicated via the portal includes the following:

1. Payment Records – The portal provides monthly statement of Housing Assistance Payments. The Housing Authority will no longer provide physical checks or check stubs. The portal will provide you with the detail of your direct deposits.
2. Inspections Scheduled – All inspections scheduled for your properties are listed on the portal 24 hours after scheduled.
3. Inspections Results – All completed inspections will be posted to the portal within 48 hours of completion.
4. Year End 1099 – Your year end 1099 forms will be posted to the portal for your retrieval. These forms are triple encrypted for security purposes and will require a password prior to opening when you download the form.

HCV Utility Allowance Schedules

Utility Allowance Schedules effective 08/01/2024

Fiscal Year 2023 Payment Standards
Effective January 1, 2024