How Can I become a part of this rental assistance program?

Eligibility for a rental voucher is determined by the local Housing Authority bases on the total annual gross income and family size and is limited to U.S. citizens and specified categories of non-citizens who have eligible immigration status.

In general, the family's income may not exceed 50% of the media income for the county or metropolitan area in which the family chooses to live. Median income levels are published by HUD and vary by location. (See below).

During the application process, RRHA will collect information on family income, assets and family composition. RRHA will verify this information with other local agencies, your employer and bank, and will use the information to determine program eligibility and the amount of the rental assistance payment.

If RRHA determines that your family is eligible, the Housing Authority will put your name on a waiting list. Once your name is reached on the waiting list, RRHA will contact you and issue to you a Housing Choice Voucher.

INCOME LIMITS FOR 2008 Established by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development   Etremely Low 30% of Median Very Low Income 50% of Median Low-Income 80% of Median 1 Person $14,550 $24,250 $38,800 2 Person $16,650 $27,700 $44,350 3 Person $18,700 $31,200 $49,900 4 Person $20,800 $34,650 $55,450 5 Person $22,450 $37,400 $59,900 6 Person $24,150 $40,200 $64,300 MEDIAN INCOME- $69,300 RICHMOND VA HUD METRO FMR AREA

Where can I live?

Once your family has been issued a Housing Choice Voucher by RRHA, you can search the private rental market in your community for a housing unit that is decent, safe and sanitary according to Housing Quality Standards established by HUD and RRHA. (Contact us to request information regarding the Housing Quality Standards).

When you have found a suitable unit and the owner agrees to lease the unit to your family, RRHA will inspect the unit to assure that it is suitable. After the unit passes HQS inspection and the rent has been approved, the landlord and tenant enter into a lease for an initial term of one year. RRHA and the landlord sign a Housing Assistance Payment Contract through which the rent is assisted on your behalf. You will be responsible for the monthly payment of the difference between the total rent and the Housing Assistance Payment.


Can I move and continue to receive this assistance?

A family's housing needs change over time with changes in family size, job locations, and for other reasons. The Housing Choice Voucher Program is designed to allow families to move without the loss of rental assistance. Moves are permissible as long as the family notifies RRHA ahead of time, terminates the existing lease within the appropriate provisions, and finds acceptable alternate housing.

Under the voucher program, new voucher holders may choose a unit anywhere in the United States if the family lived within the jurisdiction of the Authority issuing the voucher when the family applied for assistance. Those new voucher holders not living within the jurisdiction of the Authority at the time the family applies for rental assistance must initially lease a unit within that jurisdiction for the first twelve months of assistance. A family that wishes to move to another Authority's jurisdiction must consult with the Housing Authority that currently administers its rental assistance to verify the procedures for moving.


What is the term of the lease and contract?

After one year, the lease is renewed for a specified time period (ex. Month-to-month, six months, etc.). You may vacate with a notice after the term of the lease expires. If you remain in the unit, you are recertified for eligibility and the unit is inspected for Housing Quality Standards annually, at which time the landlord may request an annual adjustment rent increase, which must be approved by the Housing Authority. This request must be submitted in writing to RRHA and to you sixty days prior to renewal.

Roles-The Tenant, The Landlord, The Housing Agency, and HUD

Once RRHA approves an eligible family's lease and housing unit, the family and the landlord sign a lease and, at the same time, the landlord and RRHA sign a housing assistance contract, which runs for the same term as the lease. This means that everyone - tenant, landlord and RRHA - has obligations and responsibilities within the voucher program.

Tenant's Role: When a family selects a unit, and RRHA approves the unit and lease, the family signs a lease with the landlord for at least one year. The tenant may be required to pay a security deposit to the landlord. After the first year, the landlord may initiate a new lease or allow the family to remain in the unit on a month-to-month lease. When the family is settled in a new home, the family is expected to comply with the lease and the program requirements, pay its share of rent on time, maintain the unit in good condition and notify RRHA of any changes in income and/or family composition.

Landlord's Role: The role of the landlord is to provide decent, safe, and sanitary housing to a tenant at a reasonable rent. The dwelling unit must pass the program's housing standards and be maintained up to those standards as long as the owner receives housing assistance payments. In addition, the landlord is expected to provide the services agreed to as part of the lease signed with the tenant and the contract signed with RRHA.

RRHA's Role: RRHA administers the voucher program locally. RRHA provides a family with the rental assistance that enables the family to seek our suitable housing and RRHA enters into a contract with the landlord to provide rental assistance payments on behalf of the family. If the landlord fails to meet his/her obligations under the lease, RRHA has the right to terminate assistance payments.

HUD's Role: To cover the cost of the program, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides funds to allow RRHA to make housing assistance payments on behalf of the families. HUD also pays RRHA a fee for the costs of administering the program. When additional funds become available to assist new families, HUD invites housing authorities to submit applications for funds for additional rental vouchers. Applications are then reviewed and funds awarded to the selected housing authorities on a competitive basis.

For further information contact RRHA at 804-780-4361 / TTY - Dial 711, 804-644-1445 (Fax) or info@rrha.com.