Landlords

The Housing Authority works with landlords to provide families a decent, safe and sanitary place to call home. The Housing Authority welcomes the opportunity to partner with new and existing landlords in providing high quality living standards for all housing participants.

YOUR OPINION MATTERS!

We value your partnership and would like to hear your opinions about our programs and services and how to make the experience more rewarding for our landlords. Please take a moment to complete a quick ten question survey.  All responses are anonymous. To be entered into a raffle, at the end of the survey you will be asked to enter your contact information of which is required in order to be entered in the raffle. Click here to take the survey today.

Attention Landlords - COVID-19 Update (October 29, 2020) 

The Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino has implemented the following temporary measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and address the financial impact to the Housing Authority until further notice:

  • All of our agency lobbies are closed to the public for in-person sevice.
  • Rent increases that were suspended are being processed. If approved, the effective date will be January 1, 2020. 
  • In-person housing inspections are suspended. For new unit (initial) inspections and complaint inspections, self-certification along with photographs will be accepted in lieu of a physical inspection; more detail will be provided at the time of inspection.
  • If a certification was used for the new unit inspection, an in-person inspection will be scheduled as soon as it is safe to do so; and
  • Routine inspections for current tenants have been postponed until further notice.

The following services will continue until further notice:

  • Request for Tenancy Approvals (RFTAs) for new tenancies are being accepted;
  • Initial and follow-up inspections for new tenancies will continue to be conducted if the unit is vacant and a lock box is provided. Otherwise, the landlord may submit a certification of satisfactory conditions with photos; and
  • Housing Assistance Payments to landlords or their agents will continue.

Housing Authority staff will continue to be available via phone and email. Because we anticipate a higher than normal call volume, we respectfully ask for your patience as we work on answering and returning all calls. The above information is subject to change without notice. Please check our website and the landlord portal regularly for updated information.

For questions, you may contact a Housing Services Specialist directly or the front desk at one of our following offices:

San Bernardino Office

(909) 890-9533

Upland Office

(909) 982-2649

Victorville Office

(760) 243-1043

HCV Landlord - Preventing Evictions 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban development published a flyer regarding preventing evictions.  HCV landlords may find this flyer helpful. Please click here to download the PDF. 

Eviction Prevention for At Risk Tenants

Click here to access HUD's Tenant Repayment Plan Communicaiton Guidance 

Click here to access HUD's Tools for Landlords with Tenants impacted by COVID-19

Landlords Beware- FRAUD Alert 

There are persons posing as Housing Authority employees, often calling after hours (so you cannot call the Housing Authority back to confirm), and the phone number that shows up on the ID is a Housing Authority phone number. These individuals are using a mobile-app to mask their phone number with a legitimate Housing Authority number. They may say they are "working late to catch up", and that "in order to remain/become a Section 8 landlord you have to complete a certificate class or buy the handbook from the orientation". They will try to get your credit card information to "pay for the handbook" or imply that they are holding a rental assistance payment, they may even ask for bank account details. The Housing Authority DOES NOT charge landlords for information about or participation in any of our programs. Please DO NOT give someone posing as a Housing Authority employee your credit card information and ignore any story they tell you. If you get contacted by one of these callers please, click here to email and report your experience to the Housing Authority's Program Integrity Unit.

 

Attention Landlords: Become part of an exciting new initiative to help our community further the national mission to end Veterans Homelessness. This initiative is a great way to support our nations veterans and market your units at the same time! learn more.

 

Determining the Payment Standard for Your Unit

Determining the payment standard for your unit is a three step process: 1) find the tract code number by entering the unit address here in the Year 2019 drop down menu; 2) use the tract code number to determine the submarket by referring to the Payment Standard Census Tract Resource; and 3) Refer to the Updated Payment Standards sheet. Download PDF.

Becoming a Landlord

Find out how to become a landlord. Some of the steps are listed below. For complete details, refer to the Landlord Packet. This is a great resource packet, but we strongly suggest you attend one of our monthly workshops. To attend a workshop in the southern region of the county or high desert, email Kelly Orellana.

  • List your property.

  • Select a participant: Participant selection is based on the landlord's own selection criteria. Charging an application fee is acceptable as long as participants are charged the same fee as non-participants. The use of renter reference services is encouraged. As in all cases, Fair Housing is the law.

  • Submit a "Request for Tenancy Approval" (RFTA): Once the landlord has agreed to rent a unit to a participant, the landlord will be provided with an RFTA which must be completed. The information provided on the RFTA is used to determine if the family is eligible for the unit selected. The participant will return the completed RFTA to the Housing Authority for processing.

  • Perform a Housing Quality Standards (HQS) inspection: Upon receipt of an RFTA, a HQS inspection is scheduled and conducted to ensure the unit is decent, safe, and sanitary and to determine whether the total monthly rent requested for the unit is acceptable.

  • Determine the rent: The contract rent is limited by rent reasonableness and shall not exceed the payment standard for the designated submarket. Under the traditional Housing Choice Voucher Program, the payment standard will be used to determine the maximum rent the Housing Authority will pay. The difference between the participant's portion, which is income based, and the contract rent will determine the Housing Assistance Payment to the landlord. Housing Assistance Payments are made payable directly to the landlord via direct deposit. A rent reasonableness comparison will be performed to determine the maximum contract rent, which cannot exceed the payment standard for the designated submarket. Under the Five Year Lease Assistance Program, the lease assistance payment will be based on 50% of the payment standard for the approved bedroom size and submarket. The family's portion of the contract rent will be the difference between the lease assistance payment and the contract rent. The lease assistance payment will be made payable directly to the landlord via direct deposit. The owner/agent must demonstrate that the contract rent is reasonable in comparison with rent for other comparable unassisted units and shall not exceed the payment standard for the designated submarket.

  • Sign the lease and contract: Once the unit passes inspection and the rent is determined, the Housing Authority will process the appropriate contract and send it to the landlord for signature. The landlord and tenant will then execute their lease based on the contract effective dates. The landlord must return the signed contract along with the signed copy of their lease (which conforms to the lease guidelines detailed in the contract cover letter) in order for the contract to be executed and the housing/lease assistance to be released.

Inspections

The Housing Authority inspects all units participating in the HCV Program to ensure they meet HUD’s Housing Quality Standards and local standards. HUD regulations requires the Housing Authority to fail a unit for condition judged by the Inspector to be a health or safety violation even if not specifically listed in the standards. Questions can be directed to the Inspections Department.