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.
Front door of the building is broken:
If the building front door is broken, this must be corrected within 30 days and our agency will conduct an inspection to confirm the issue has been corrected. If there is a voucher holder on the ground or basement level and there is an immediate threat to safety, the door must be fixed within 24 hours. Cost of the repair is responsible by the owner.
Front door of the tenant’s unit:
If the front door of the tenant’s unit or a window is broken and they are on the ground level, or basement level unit or the lock does not work, this must be fixed within 24 hours. We will conduct an inspection within 24 hours of report of the broken door/lock. Cost on the correction is between the tenant and owner.
Broken Window:
For broken windows, if the tenant is on the first or ground level floor, this must be corrected within 24 hours. All other floors and there is no threat to safety must be corrected within 30 days. Repair costs are between the owner and tenant if tenant caused damage.
Broken Items in the Bathroom:
There are broken items in the bathroom. What do I do?
For inspectional issues in the bathroom, please see the breakdown of responsibility below:
- Grout in the shower/Issues with bathtub grout: The tenant is responsible for cleaning grout issues and maintaining a clean bathroom.
- Broken Tiles: The owner.
- Caulking needed for the tub or bathroom: The owner.
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