- From Friday, January 26 through Friday, February 9, all Section 8 personnel will be exclusively working through the payment backlog, focusing completely on reconciling and paying past due accounts, processing and catching up on new move-ins, inputting and paying completed re-certification backlog and adjusting erroneous overpayments.
In order to allow the staff to work on this exclusively, DHA will be taking these steps: - With few exceptions (emergencies related to safety or eviction), all clients appointments scheduled during this time will be re-scheduled.
- Section 8 staff will not be available to the public to answer inquiries by telephone, fax or email.
- Management will post regular updates to this blog. This should help the public in monitoring our progress.The Section 8 staff will resume normal business hours on Monday, February 12, at which time the backlog should be cleared.
Friday, January 26, 2007
So, What's the Plan?
The following is DHA's action plan to resolve payment backlog for Section 8 landlords:
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7 comments:
I have a section8 tenant living in my property who's lease expires at the end of February. It is necessary for them to enter a new lease agreement but the terms of the lease will be different from the current one. With the inability to reach a DHA representative I have had no way to verify the that needed changes would be agreeable by DHA for this section8 recipient. I have made several attempts since this past November to speak with a DHA representative with no success. Now with barely 30 days left to handle this issue, I’m not sure how to proceed with the new lease agreement. I’m also unsure of how DHA will continue to handle this case at the end of the current lease term as the HAP contract states that the HAP contract and assistance ends when the lease term ends. Please advise if possible. Also, given the current plan for DHA to ‘catch up’ on processing will the needed be done to look out for the best of the section8 recipient and owner within a timely manner given the current lease expiration is quickly approaching. Also, if DHA is not able to handle this manner before the current lease expires can I expect DHA to honor the current HAP contract and lease past the lease expiration date until they can appropriately address this case? …Thanks in advance for your feedback.
I will check into these particulars and post a response on Monday, January 29. That said, please be assured that you should be held harmless for those delays caused by DHA.
Please fax your change request (with new lease terms) to me and I will hand-carry it to the director of Section 8 for a response.
My fax number is (919)667-2129
Jean Bolduc
Director, Corporate Communications
From our Director of Section 8:
After the initial lease and contract term both agreements if not altered will convert to a month to month agreement. If one of the terms you are interested in changing on the lease is the contract amount, that would need approval by the Section 8 Program. A rent reasonableness review will be conducted to evaluate the rent you requested with other comparable private market units. We would take into consideration the condition of your unit,amenities, and the neighborhood the unit is located. If you are altering other provisions of the lease, the HUD Lease Addendum would still supersede any terms that are in conflict. The HUD Lease Addendum is part of the Housing Assistance Payments Contract. Please submit a written request if you are seeking a revision in the contract rent. Any potential changes in the contract rent would take place 60 days after the written request is submitted to our office. Other than the specifications in the HUD Lease Addendum and the contract rent, a property owner has the right to create a lease. Yes, if DHA cannot handle this manner before the current lease expires, the contracts would be honored and would convert to a month to month contract, until changed and signed by both parties. Thank you for the inquiry.
I signed lease with tenant on January 1, 2007. However, I can't get appointment to sign HAP contract. When will we be able to sign HAP contracts?
Thanks in advance for your assistance in this matter.rxgtytm
So the action plan is to stop taking phone calls and seal themselves off. That's what I've seen since October 2006, so what is different?
There is no excuse offered here for DHA's lack of responsiveness when our customers have called. I can only tell you that because our backlog reached a critical point, we had to take a fairly drastic step and ask for the public's understanding about that.
With that said, we are also committed to correcting the customer service issues that have also plagued the agency over the years. We welcome constructive suggestions for doing so. Please email them to jbolduc@dha-nc.org and let's see if we can work together to resolve them.
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