There are a few activities that happen annually in our Permanent Supportive Housing programs.  Participants must recertify their ongoing eligibility for assistance in the programs and units must be inspected and meet Housing Quality Standards (HQS) annually.  Another annual activity is the lease renewal process.  HOM facilitates the annual lease renewal process between our participants and landlords.  Did you know that the average tenancy in our Permanent Supportive Housing programs is 2.5 years?  Stable tenancies are a goal for all of us, so let’s look at the annual lease renewal process.

Notice of Lease Expiration

We send a Notice of Lease Expiration to the landlord about 90 days prior to the expiration of the participant’s lease to facilitate the annual lease renewal process.  The Notice of Lease Expiration is a form that provides the landlord with options around the annual lease renewal and accomplishes several things:

1. If the landlord does not elect to renew the lease, they may indicate their intention to terminate the lease at expiration and provide HOM with a copy of the 30-day notice to vacate that they have or will provide to the tenant.
2. If the landlord desires to renew the lease, they may indicate their intention to renew the lease and propose a new rental rate for a new 12-month lease.
3. The landlord may indicate if there are any proposed changes in the responsibilities for provision or payment of utilities for a new lease.
4. The landlord may provide information for comparable unassisted rental units to assist HOM in determining the reasonableness of any proposed rent increases.

Once the landlord has completed the form, they return it to HOM to begin the annual lease renewal or moving process.  Requests for rent increases must be returned to HOM sixty (60) days before the lease renewal date.

Rent Increases

We are limited in what we can pay for rent in the housing programs.  Together with our partners, we set payment standards based on the HUD Fair Market Rents.  These limits are set at levels that promote housing opportunity in the community while also allowing us to serve the authorized number of households in the programs overall.  If we cannot approve a landlord’s rent increase, we will notify them of our decision in writing within ten (10) days.

Paperwork

If the lease is not being renewed, we need to obtain a copy of the 30-day notice between the tenant and landlord.  If the lease is being renewed, and we have approved the new rent for the new lease, we will send an amendment to the HAP Contract with the approved rent, along with any changes in the Tenant Rent or HOM housing assistance payments.  The notice will request a copy of the new 12-month lease executed between the tenant and landlord.

Payment Holds

We need a copy of the renewed lease for our records and will hold housing assistance payments for the tenant if we do not receive a copy.  Help us keep both of our files in tip top shape and get us a copy of the renewed lease.

Owner Support Department

We have an entire department that is dedicated to supporting our landlords, including this annual lease renewal process.  Remember, the easiest and fastest way to find the team member that you need to communicate with is from the Team Page on our web site.  There you will find the whole team, our roles, programs served and caseloads, where applicable.  Most importantly, our direct phone lines and e-mail addresses are there.

Landlord Blog Series

This post is the 8^th in our monthly series of blog posts for landlords. If you’ve missed any, be sure to check out the previous posts on things like our primer on our Permanent Supportive Housing and Rapid Rehousing programs, how to process move-outs and damage claims in the programs, the benefits of direct deposit and the launch of Padmission, our new web-based housing search platform.  Please also forward and share them with your team and colleagues.  Thank you for your partnership!