Section 8 for landlords: leasing, inspections, and payments

Why landlords participate

• Reliable payment of the agency’s share, typically by direct deposit
• A large pool of applicants, including many long-term tenants
• Periodic inspections that catch maintenance problems early
• Incentive programs in many areas: signing bonuses, vacancy-loss payments, damage funds, and faster inspections (these are local and vary widely)

Tradeoffs include inspection timelines, paperwork, rent-reasonableness limits, and program-specific rules for ending tenancies.

Step 1: Screening an applicant

Use consistent, lawful screening criteria. If you use a rent-to-income test, assess the tenant-paid portion as required by applicable source-of-income law; applying a full-market-rent test can unlawfully exclude voucher holders. Consider reasonable accommodation requests. The housing agency determines program eligibility; you are responsible for screening suitability for tenancy.

• The agency must give you the family’s current address and the name and address of the current and prior landlord if known, and may provide other information such as tenancy history under its policy.
• Apply income requirements carefully. Some jurisdictions prohibit minimum-income tests that ignore the voucher, and even where allowed, a test based on the full rent will screen out most voucher holders.
• Fair-housing law applies. Blanket bans (for example, on anyone with any criminal record) and different treatment based on protected characteristics create liability.

Step 2: Request for Tenancy Approval (RFTA)

You and the tenant complete the agency’s RFTA packet, including:

• Proposed contract rent and the date the unit is available
• Which utilities and appliances you supply vs. the tenant
• Year the building was constructed (for lead-paint requirements)
• Your ownership and payment information (W-9, proof of ownership, direct deposit form)
• Your proposed lease

The agency confirms the unit is eligible, checks rent reasonableness, runs the 40% affordability test for the tenant, and schedules an inspection. If the rent is too high to approve, the agency will usually tell you what it can approve.

Owners who are relatives: the agency cannot approve a unit owned by the tenant’s parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, sister, or brother unless it’s a reasonable accommodation for a household member with a disability.

Step 3: Inspection

The usual route requires a passing inspection before assistance begins. Some PHA policies permit specific alternative inspection or non-life-threatening deficiency procedures; get written agency approval before assuming payments can start. HUD is transitioning voucher inspections from HQS to NSPIRE standards (compliance date February 1, 2027). Prepare by checking smoke and CO alarm placement, GFCI outlets near water, window operation and locks, heat source, water heater relief-valve discharge line, handrails, and peeling paint in pre-1978 buildings. Our inspection guide lists common failures.

For pre-1978 housing, give the tenant the federal lead disclosure form and EPA lead pamphlet before signing the lease, and follow HUD’s Lead-Safe Housing Rule for paint repairs when a child under 6 will live there.

Step 4: Lease, tenancy addendum, and HAP contract

• Your lease governs the tenancy, but must include the HUD tenancy addendum word for word. If anything in your lease conflicts with the addendum, the addendum controls.
• Initial term: generally at least one year, unless the agency approves a shorter term under its policy.
• HAP contract: the agreement between you and the agency covering payments, your obligations to maintain the unit, and remedies. It must be signed no later than 60 days after the lease term begins.
• Don’t let the tenant move in before approval if you expect the agency to pay from the move-in date; the agency can’t pay for periods before the unit passed inspection and the lease was approved.

How payment works

• The agency pays its housing assistance payment (HAP) to you each month.
• The tenant pays you the family share set by the agency—no more.
• If the tenant’s income changes, the agency will send you a notice changing the split. Keep the notices.
• Side payments are prohibited. Charging the tenant anything beyond their approved share for rent (including separate “fees” that are really rent) violates the HAP contract and can result in repayment demands and debarment.
• The tenant is not responsible for the agency’s share, and you may not evict because the agency didn’t pay.
• HAP payments are taxable rental income; the agency will issue a 1099.

Rent increases

After the initial term, you may request a rent increase by giving the agency and tenant the written notice the HAP contract and lease require (commonly 60 days). The agency must determine the new rent is reasonable. If the increase pushes the gross rent above the payment standard, the tenant pays more—and may decide to move.

Keeping the unit in compliance

• Respond to repair requests and complete inspection repairs on time: 24 hours for life-threatening deficiencies, typically 30 days for others.
• If you miss the deadline, the agency must abate (stop) HAP payments, and it may terminate the contract. Abated payments are not recovered later, and you cannot charge the tenant for them.
• Tenant-caused damage and tenant-supplied utility shutoffs are the family’s responsibility; tell the agency in writing.

Ending a tenancy

During the lease term, you may terminate only for:

• Serious or repeated lease violations, including nonpayment of the tenant’s share
• Violations of law related to the tenant’s occupancy
• Criminal activity covered by the lease and HUD rules (drug-related, violent, or threatening criminal activity)
• Other good cause—but during the initial lease term, only for something the family did or failed to do. Business reasons (sale, renovation, wanting a higher rent, personal use) and the tenant’s refusal of a new lease are “other good cause” only after the initial term.

Procedure:

1. Give the tenant written notice specifying the grounds, at or before the start of the eviction.
2. Give the housing agency a copy of any eviction notice or complaint.
3. Follow state and local notice periods and procedures.
4. Evict only through court. Self-help (lockouts, removing belongings, shutting off utilities) is illegal.

Survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking have protections under VAWA: an incident of abuse against the tenant can’t be treated as a lease violation by the victim, and you may be able to evict only the abuser.

Non-renewal at lease end: you can decline to renew after the initial term for other good cause, subject to state and local law (some cities require just cause for any termination). Give proper notice and copy the agency.

Source-of-income laws

Many states and localities prohibit refusing tenants because of lawful source of income, including vouchers. In those places, “No Section 8” ads, refusing to complete RFTA paperwork, and screening policies that exclude voucher holders can violate the law. Check your state and local rules before advertising. See source-of-income discrimination.

Getting started

• Contact your local housing agency’s landlord services team and ask about listing your unit, inspection scheduling, direct deposit, and incentive programs.
• List your unit on the agency’s landlord list and on general listing sites with “vouchers welcome.”
• Keep a copy of the agency’s payment standards so you can price units that are more likely to be approved.

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