Section 8 Participant Information
New Clients Orientation
The Orientation will provide the family a step-by-step explanation of the process of the HCV Program and supply important information on U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) and the Denver Housing Authority’s (“DHA”) policies, procedures, and regulations in the following areas:
● Housing Choice Vouchers
● Reporting Changes in Income and Family Composition
● Housing Quality Standards Inspection
● Following Lease Requirements
● Discrimination
● Fraud
● Rent Calculation
● Employment Disallowance for Job Training Programs
● Employment Disallowance for the Disability
● Family Self-Sufficiency
● Time Limits on Lease
Effective October 1, 1999, regulations require the family to pay a minimum of 30 percent or a maximum of 40 percent of their income towards their rental portion. The minimum family contribution is $25.00 per month.
The following are the Family’s Responsibility:
1) The family must find a unit (house, apartment, condo, or town home) within the Denver City limits. Portability to other areas is allowed only if the family has lived in the City and County of Denver for the past 12 months, and the area the family wants to go to have a Housing Authority that will accept the family. The family must work with the DHA’s Section 8 Portability Technician.
2) The family must sign a lease with the landlord for at least 12 months.
3) The family must give at least 30-days notice (or what is stated in the Lease) to the Section 8 office and the landlord, in writing, if the family intends to move. See Leasing Process.
4) The family must abide by the Lease. The Lease is between the family and the landlord; DHA is not a party to the Lease. If the landlord wishes to evict the family for lease violations, DHA cannot get involved. Repeated and serious Lease violations are grounds for termination from the Section 8 Program.
5) The family must provide DHA with information concerning their income and household composition during their annual recertification process. If the family has a change in their income and/or family composition, the family must report this change, in writing, to DHA within 10 days from the change.
6) The family (an adult member of the household) must be present at each annual inspection.
7) The family must never enter into any side agreements with the landlord. The family is only required to pay the amount of rent the Section 8 calculates.
IMPORTANT NOTE: In accordance with §982.306(d), the PHA must not approve a unit if the owner is the parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, sister, or brother of any member of the family, unless the PHA determines that approving the unit would provide reasonable accommodation for a family member who is a person with disabilities.
During the Orientation, the families will be issued their Vouchers and moving packet, and be required to sign acknowledgment forms (such as, Orientation Acknowledgement, Things You Should Know, Notice of Availability of Reasonable Accommodation, and Affidavit of Understanding).