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Learn about the latest news and upcoming events from the WHA and its member agencies.

Shoring Up Your Housing Choice Voucher Part 1

Jessilyn Averill

What To Know as a Tenant

Housing Choice Vouchers, also commonly referred to as HCVs, are the go-to sources of income for many people with low to no-wage incomes in need of rental assistance. HCVs can make the difference to both a tenant and landlord in guaranteeing that monthly rents are paid.

Applying for these vouchers may seem confusing at first. Applicants applying will likely find they are not immediately awarded a voucher but are added to a waiting list. For landlords, accepting these vouchers may feel technical and burdensome because of the process they initially must go through.

Let us try to break down the expectations and steps that are part of the HCV process. On the right is a graphic, courtesy of HousingLink in Minnesota, illustrating an example of the tenant, landlord, housing authority relationship.

First, let us start with the voucher applicants (click here for Guidelines for Applicants and Participants).

The Application

In Washtenaw County, individuals and families apply for a voucher through a Public Housing Agency (PHA). This is either the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) or a more locally based PHA that covers one or more counties such as the Ann Arbor Housing Commission.

When applying for a MSHDA voucher, the state contracts with two housing agencies in our area who handle the “day to day” requirements for the voucher. They do NOT collect HCV applications but rather manage HCV waiting lists as well as distribute HCV packets to individuals and families after they are approved. These agencies are RPI Management and Community Management Associates (CMA).

If you are NOT considered homeless but are applying for an HCV, you must first confirm on MSHDA’s website if there are any HCV waiting lists open. If there is a waiting list opening in the county you want to apply for, there will be instructions on the website on how to do so. If you are considered homeless and seeking an HCV, all homeless waiting lists are currently open in each Michigan county. To get connected to the waiting list for Washtenaw County, literally homeless individuals and families must call Housing Access for Washtenaw County (HAWC) at (734) 961-1999 to start the voucher application process.

Steps After Applying

Once your pre-application is submitted it will be under review and added to a waiting list. Should your name be drawn from the waiting list, you will be contacted by mail requesting completion of a voucher application and submission of any additional/missing documentation. Make sure the mailing address you are using is one you can check regularly. If you run into a problem accessing mail from the listed address, make sure you submit a “forwarding mail” request with your area post office. If a case manager/social worker is helping you through the HCV process, they may receive email updates from RPI, CMA or the PHA about your voucher status – stay in contact with this person/agency and make sure your call-back or message telephone numbers are up to date with them.

An applicant can update missing documentation and check on the status of an existing application on their own by logging in at mshda.myhousing.com/account/Login.

Receiving a Voucher

Once you are approved for a HCV, you will be notified of a date and time you must attend an informational briefing about your voucher. At that briefing you will pick up a voucher packet and sign your proof of voucher (do not lose this!). This briefing date is the start date for your voucher – you will have 60 days from this date to secure housing in the private market with your voucher. If you do not find housing within the given voucher time, you can request an extension from the housing agency. You can request no more than two 30-day extensions. However, these requests are sent to MSHDA, and you must provide additional information as to why you have not leased up.

Voucher dollar amounts are determined based on affordable and reasonable rent for a particular area. It is important to keep in mind that when you are using your voucher, the dollar amount it is approved for is not fully used to pay rent. It is also to include utilities not covered in the rent such as electricity, gas, and water. Equally important, HCVs will not pay for any costs before the rental unit you have applied to passes the Housing Quality Standard (HQS) inspection conducted by the housing agency and a lease has been signed.

If you are denied a voucher after submitting an application, you can file an appeal online.

Securing Housing with a Voucher

Securing an HCV does take time and, of course, so does finding a rental unit to accept the voucher. If you search for housing on your own, you can use websites like affordablehousing.com, or housingaccess.net/get-help to find openings. If you are working with a case worker through a housing service provider this staff can support, you in additional ways through your housing search – sometimes contacting landlords for you or accompanying you on property visits and helping you complete a rental application.

Always Remember:

Do NOT sign a lease before the housing unit you want to rent with your HCV has passed its program-mandated inspection.

Once you find available housing to rent, you will need to contact the landlord or property management company to set up a time to see the rental unit you are interested in. Make sure you see the unit you are interested in renting, not a “display” unit or a unit you are told is like the one you want. Once you have decided on the property you can afford and want to rent, you will submit a rental application to the potential landlord. Once the landlord approves and submits the necessary paperwork stating they are accepting you, your initial 60-day time window to use your voucher will freeze to give you time to go through the next steps in the rental process. Some programs are available to help you pay for application and/or administrative fees. However, you will have to qualify for this assistance, and many times you may have to be referred by a service provider.

Some landlords may say they do not accept HCVs. However, in the cities of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti sources of income such as HCVs are protected as sources of income for paying rent. Of course, your rental application can still be denied for a number of reasons, but your source of income cannot be the reason in these two cities in Washtenaw County. The Fair Housing Center of Southeast and Mid-Michigan is who you contact if you have questions about this type of tenant protection.

To use your MSHDA voucher, you will need to have the rental unit inspected by RPI Management or CMA before it is approved for the voucher to be used. *Always remember* Do NOT sign a lease before a unit has passed its inspection. You do NOT want to be locked in for a lease contract for a property that will not pass inspection – the landlord may demand you pay for certain expenses that you will have to pay out-of-pocket yourself.

It may at times be possible for a family with a voucher to “port in” or “port out” their voucher to a different voucher provider in a different community or county. For example, if a family receives a voucher from MSHDA they may be able to “port out” to the Ann Arbor Housing Commission, or vice versa. Or an individual may realize it is easier to find housing in another state since their family is there. Just remember, when you move with your voucher the time to use it or lose it remains the same. You have 60-days from the first day you receive your voucher to find housing. You can request an extension, but only up to two 30-days periods. If you go away, you may find it just as hard to find housing and possibly even hard to return to this community should you want to.

Moving In!

After your rental unit has passed its inspection by the housing agency, the landlord and you both completed and signed the necessary leasing paperwork, and voucher payments are being made – you are moving in! This is an exciting day for sure. Fortunately, the housing agency you worked with to secure the voucher and rental property will continue to work with you as you live there. This means they can support you during tough tenant-landlord situations like requesting repairs or payment disputes. Always stay in contact with your housing agency.

If you must unexpectedly leave the property for a long amount of time you must communicate this with your housing agency. For example, if there is a crisis in the home and you are unsafe and you leave, you must communicate this. Unfortunately, the same applies if you have been incarcerated. If a different change happens, such as a baby is born or you now get homestays with a child who was not included in your household at the time of your HCV application, this also must be communicated to the housing agency.

After one year of living in your new home and using your voucher to pay rent (in addition to whatever you must pay) you will go through a recertification process. Once complete, you will continue to receive your voucher. And guess what?! There are no time limits on your voucher at this point. You can income-out of it at the annual recertification or be terminated from the program for specific reasons as outlined in the Rules and Regulations you receive at Day 1’s HCV briefing. But if you continue to participate in the HCV program as expected you will have this vital housing assistance long term.

If there is a time that a negative decision is filed against your case which jeopardizes your voucher, you can appeal it. For example, if the landlord evicts you, the housing agency must remove you from the HCV program. However, tenants are encouraged to appeal to MSHDA which can override the housing agency’s termination of you from the program. Exercise this right!