Frequently Asked Questions

CMHA is accepting year-round preliminary applications for the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program to assist low-income families in affording a safe and comfortable home. Lottery selections will be ongoing, and the waiting list will have no closing date. You can submit a preliminary application at any time using any smart phone or computer connected to the internet. Only one preliminary application can be active per applicant. Preliminary applicants must have an active email account, as all CMHA notifications and updates will be shared via email. If you don’t already have a personal account, you can sign up for one through a provider of your choice (Gmail, Yahoo or an Internet Service Provider). Preliminary applications will be active for 18 months. If your application expires before you’re selected, you can immediately submit another one. To submit a preliminary application, click here: www.cmha.net/apply.

To apply for other HCVP programs, click here: https://www.cmha.net/webapp/

It could take several years for CMHA to process thousands of the families selected in the lottery. You must remember to keep your address current. If you move, please contact HCVP to notify us of your new address.

Income limits are established annually by HUD. The very low income guidelines are used to determine if the family is income-eligible for the Housing Choice Voucher Program. The PHA compares the gross annual income of the family to the applicable income limit for the household size. Families whose income exceeds the income limit will be denied admission to the program and offered an informal review.

No. CMHA does not have any emergency housing in either its public housing or HCVP programs.

Changes in family composition may affect the family’s eligibility and/or share of the rental payment. To be added, family members must be related by birth, adoption or court-awarded custody. All changes in family composition must be reported within 30 days of the change. The landlord must also be informed of additions to the household.

Vouchers are issued for 180 days. We may extend the voucher for a longer period of time if a family requests an extension for a reasonable accommodation.

HCVP requires a signed lease agreement between the owner and family. The contract and lease agreement must have the same term dates and monthly rent amounts. The unit must pass the HCVP inspection and the owner must agree to the amount of rent offered by HCVP.

The owner (including a principal or other interested party) may not be the parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, sister, brother or spouse of any member of the assisted family. Renting from a family member may be approved as a reasonable accommodation for a family member who is a person with disabilities. If CMHA grants such approval, the owner and family will be notified in writing.

No. The security deposit is paid by the tenant.

Talk with the owner to determine when and if you must pay a security deposit. Get the return policy in writing, just in case you never sign a lease. Typically, security deposits are one month’s rent.

The owner and the tenant must decide who will be responsible for the payment of specific utilities. These responsibilities are outlined in the lease and contract.

The owner should determine what rent they will charge for an unassisted tenant and request that amount. HCVP will compare the rent requested to other similar units. This comparison, the inspection results, and payment standards will determine what rent we can offer.

The tenant rent portion is stated on the initial Housing Choice Voucher contract. Any changes to the portion will be stated on a “Notice of Change to Lease and Contract” letter which will be mailed to the tenant and landlord after every income or household change. Tenant rent portion is affected by family income and the contract rent for the unit. In the first year of the contract, the tenant portion is between 30 - 40% of the family’s monthly adjusted income, depending upon the rent amount. After the first year of the contract, the rent may exceed 40%, depending upon the rent amount.

You can move into a unit after the owner accepts the contract rent amount and a move-in date is established with CMHA.

To find your case worker’s direct dial telephone number, fax number and email address, go to the HCVP Participant Portal on this website.  You will need either your CMHA client number or social security number.

After your Housing Choice Voucher contract has been in effect for a year or according to the terms of your lease with the owner, you may request moving papers from HCVP. You may not move during the first year of the contract. Movers sessions are held each Friday at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. as well as at 10 a.m. the 3rd Saturday of each month. All sessions are held at CMHA’s main campus building, 8120 Kinsman Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44104. For more information, contact your case worker by accessing his/her contact information available on the HCVP Participant Portal on this website.

You may use your HCVP voucher anywhere within Cuyahoga County, or you can transfer or “port” it to another housing authority within the United States. If you are interested in porting to another housing authority, contact Ms. Sherry Williams at (216) 271-2632. A list of other housing authorities in the United States is on the HUD web page at www.HUD.gov.

Whether or not a family receives a utility allowance check is determined by family income and the utilities for which the family is responsible. The tenant’s total payment (approximately 30% - 40%of their monthly adjusted income) includes the rent portion and utilities. If the tenant’s rent amount is less than the utility allowance for the unit, the family will receive the difference in a utility check.

The utility allowance is based on the typical cost of utilities and services paid by households that occupy housing of similar size and type in the same locality. Allowances are not based on an individual family’s actual energy consumption.

For biennial inspections, appointments are generally scheduled two weeks in advance. Inspections will be scheduled within a 4 hour time frame. Inspections for new contracts are scheduled within one week. Inspectors will arrive within the time frame specified in your appointment letter, either between 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. or 1:00 p.m. – 5 p.m.

No. However, there must be a responsible adult present, age 18 or over, to let the inspector in. We advise it is in your best interest to be present for the initial inspection. This is an opportunity for you to find out firsthand why the unit may not be passing inspection. Also, it is an opportunity for you to ask questions and gain a better understanding of the HCVP Program.

If the first inspection is missed, the unit will be failed and will automatically be scheduled for a second appointment. If tenant misses a second appointment, they will be proposed for termination from the HCVP. If landlords miss a second inspection, the unit will be placed in abatement.

Any participant who is proposed for termination from the HCVP Program is entitled to an informal hearing. To receive an informal hearing, the participant must make a request, in writing, within 15 days of the notice of proposed termination. The written hearing request may be in the form of a short (1 or 2 sentence) letter, or the client may fill out a “request for hearing” form, which is available at 8120 Kinsman Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44104.

The landlord has to be willing to participate in the HCVP program and have a unit that can pass inspection. Owners further qualify by attesting that they are not related to the assisted family, that they have not been debarred by HUD, and that they are the rightful owner of the property. This does not occur until the landlord selects a HCVP tenant. There is nothing an owner must do to pre-qualify or register as a landlord.

Landlords can list units for free, using links on the CMHA website at www.AffordableHousing.com .

All rent-adjustment related forms should be submitted electronically through the Landlord Portal. The electronic form contains important information regarding HCVP procedures for this process. Prior to submission of the request, a "Notice of Landlord Rent Adjustment Request" form signed by both the owner and client must be submitted. In the Landlord Portal, this document can be found via the "Create Resident Notice" link.

Rent adjustment requests are processed in the order in which they are received. The following criteria must be met in order for the process to begin: 1) The HAP contract must be at least one year old, 2) There must be a passed annual inspection within 12 months of the rent adjustment effective date, 3) Our participant/your tenant must have an up-to-date annual recertification effectuated within 12 months of the rent adjustment effective date, 4) It must be at least 12 months since the last rent adjustment was approved, and 5) The requested amount must deemed rent reasonable.

If all of these conditions apply then the proposed effective date would be the 1^st of the month after 60 days of the request. Prior to the effective date of the adjustment, a Proposed Lease Addendum (for duplexes and houses only) would be sent out to the owner for their and the tenant’s signature. This Addendum is sent electronically to the email account provided. An outstanding inspection of the unit or a late annual recertification for the participant could change the proposed effective date to a later date if an adjustment is approved.

To view the status of a request, you may go to the Landlord Portal under the Forms tab, select Rent Adjustment tab, View Request History and select from the drop-down tab the actual request that was submitted. Ongoing updates throughout the process may be found here.

No. The Housing Authority determines the tenant’s portion of the contract rent.

Click on the inspection checklist icon on this page.

HCVP is required to inspect units annually. Rent is abated (stopped) when units fail to pass on two consecutive inspections. The unit will be taken out of abatement if it passes the third and final inspection. To help ensure your unit passes the first time, review the inspection checklist.

HCVP cannot give legal advice. We recommend you seek the advice of an attorney. If the unit is in the City of Cleveland, you may contact a Cleveland Housing Court Specialist with your questions. The telephone numbers of Housing Court Specialists are: (216) 664-6104, (216) 664-6143 and (216) 664-6929. Landlords and tenants are required to give HCVP a copy of any eviction notice.

Ohio law requires the landlord not receive payment during the eviction process. Upon request from a landlord, HCVP will put HAP payments on hold until we are notified by the landlord that the eviction process is complete. If the tenant remains in the unit during the eviction process, and the unit is not in abatement, the landlord may receive all withheld HAP payments, whether or not the landlord won or lost the eviction. HCVP requests copies of “for-cause” court judgments from landlords so that the tenant can be proposed for termination.

HCVP does not pay for tenant caused damages. Landlords should bill tenants directly (if the tenant still resides in the unit) or take the amount from the security deposit (if the tenant has moved). If the security deposit is insufficient, we recommend the landlord pursue the tenant in court.

If, as a result of court action, there is a “for-cause” judgment, the landlord should provide HCVP with a copy so the tenant can be held responsible.

If it is a new contract, you will be paid on the next scheduled payment date after HCVP has received three copies of the signed contracts, the executed lease and occupancy permit, when applicable. HCVP will not pay subsidy before the contract terms have been agreed upon. If the owner permits the tenant to move into the unit, the tenant will be responsible for the full amount of the rent and HCVP will not pay the back amount retroactively.

If the unit was in abatement and recently passed inspection, you will be paid on the next scheduled payment date. Payment dates are generally on the 3^rd and 16^th of each month. There is no retroactive payment for the time a unit was in abatement.

Payment cannot be made prior to the unit having passed inspection. After the passed inspection, HCVP will make a rent offer to the landlord, and if the landlord accepts, contracts are prepared for signature. Payment on the signed contract will be made at the next scheduled payment date.

Participants are responsible for all rent once the contract is cancelled.

There could be several reasons why you did not receive a payment this month. If the unit is in abatement (two failed inspections) payments are stopped until repairs are made, and the unit passes an inspection. If this is a new contract, the signed contracts may have been returned too late to be included in a payment run. You will be paid on the next payment date. If your tenant has had a recent re-exam, his/her income may have increased to a level where he/she is no longer eligible for HCVP assistance. If this is the case, you will receive a letter from the HCVP office regarding the changes.

If you owed HCVP money from a previous tenant, and this is your first HCVP contract since that time, HCVP has deducted the money owed from your new tenant’s contract. If the unit was in abatement, HCVP may be taking back subsidy paid during the abatement period.

Yes. All owners are required to go on direct deposit to receive HAP payments. To sign-up, complete the form found on the HCVP documents web page entitled, "Automatic Deposit," and return it, along with a check copy, by mail to HCVP Finance at 8120 Kinsman Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44104

Yes. If a member of the household fails the criminal background check the household will be proposed for termination from the program.  Any paperwork that has been submitted will be placed on hold.

As soon as you receive your voucher.

There is a time limit of 120 days to go under contract in a new unit.  Reasonable accommodation requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis if more time is needed.

Participants can move after the unit passes the HQS inspection, the landlord accepts the proposed contract rent, and a move-in-date is approved by the HCVP.  No HAP will be paid by the HCVP for rental of the unit prior to the approved move-in-date.  Participants should move into their new unit no more than 5 days after the move-in-date approved by the HCVP.

Once the RFTA is submitted, the approval process generally takes 30-45 days to complete.  This process includes checking for foreclosure action, inspecting the unit, and performing the rent determination.

If a move-in-date has not been approved by the HCVP, the participant or owner may cancel the RFTA at any time and the participant will be given new moving papers.  If either party wishes to cancel after the move-in-date has been approved, the HCVP must be notified in writing within 14 days.

If the participant does not obtain the keys to the new unit within 5 days of the effective date of the HAP contract, the HCVP may terminate the contract.  Failure to notify the HCVP may cause the participant to be proposed for termination from the voucher program.

Participants must ensure that all personal belongings are moved out of the previous unit and keys are returned to the landlord as soon as possible. Once CMHA starts payment on the new unit, we will no longer make any Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) for the previous unit. If the participant continues to maintain possession of the previous unit, the participant will be responsible for paying the full amount of any rent due to the previous landlord.