For an apartment to be leased by a Metro Housing|Boston Section 8 voucher holder, the apartment must meet the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Housing Quality Standards (HQS) and the supplemental inspection requirements of the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). For this reason, it is important to address inspectional issues accordingly as they are occurring and address matters with the tenant first. Units in which are not within HQS may result in termination of payments or termination in the HAP contract.
What is Metro Housing|Boston’s role when it comes to issues with the tenant and their unit?
Metro Housing|Boston’s role is program administration and confirming units meet Housing quality Standards in order to release housing assistance payments. Our role is not property management or lease enforcement, or case work. Our HAP Contract is between our agency and the owner, while the voucher is between the participant/tenant and our agency. The lease which is legally binding contract, is only between the owner and participant/tenant.
The electricity is turned off and the tenant is responsible for this utility per the Lease and HAP Agreement. What do I do?
Electricity is a necessity for the health and safety of the family occupying the unit. In the event the electricity is off and the tenant is responsible for the utility bill, please confirm with the tenant the bill has been paid as this issue must be corrected within 24 hours. In the event of a utility shut off and the tenant needs assistance with payments, you can direct them to RAFT who may be able to assist them if they qualify.
https://www.metrohousingboston.org/what-we-do/rental-relief-and-eviction-prevention/
The electricity is turned off and it is the owner’s responsible for this utility per the Lease and HAP Agreement. What do I do?
Electricity is a necessity for the health and safety of the family occupying the unit. In the event the electricity is off and the owner is responsible for this utility, you must correct this issue within 24 hours. If the issue is not corrected, our inspections department will conduct an inspection and contact you for utility assistance. We will make additional requests from our inspection coordinators. If the issue is not resolved, the HAP Contract will be terminated and housing assistance payments will stop immediately.
The electricity is turned off and it states the owner is responsible for this utility per the Lease and HAP Contract but wants to change the responsibility to the tenant. What do I do?
Electricity is a necessity for the health and safety of the family occupying the unit. In the event the electricity is off and the owner is responsible for this utility but this party would like to change the utilities, you as the owner must first correct the issue with the utility shut off. You can change utility responsibility with the directions in the article below:
https://metrohousingboston.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/sections/4409734121613-Changes-to-the-Lease
The water is shut off. What do I do?
Water is a necessity for the health and safety of the family occupying the unit. In the event the water is off and the owner is responsible for this utility, you must correct this issue within 24 hours. In the event of the tenant is responsible for this utility, it must be corrected within 24 hours. Our inspections department will conduct an inspection of the unit within 24 hours of notice of the shut off. Refer to the lease and Request for Tenancy Approval regarding who is responsible for the utility.
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