Inspection FAQs: Broken Door/Windows/Bathroom

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.

Front door of the building:

If the building front door is broken, this must be corrected within 30 days by the owner and our agency will conduct an inspection to confirm the issue has been corrected. If you are located on the ground or basement level and there is an immediate threat to safety, the door must be fixed within 24 hours and should be reported to us immediately. Cost of the repair is responsible by the owner.

Front door of my unit is damaged:

If the front door of your unit is damaged or broken or a window is broken and you are on the ground level, or basement level unit or the lock does not work, this must be fixed within 24 hours. Report this first to the owner for correction. If this is not resolved, please report this to our agency and provide proof you attempted to connect with the owner for correction. 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 you are on the first or ground level floor, this must be corrected within 24 hours. Report this first to the owner for correction. If you are located on another floor and there is no threat to safety, the owner must correct the issue within 30 days. Repair costs are between the owner and tenant if tenant caused damage. If this issue is not fixed with the above time frame, please contact our agency and provide proof you attempted to connect with the owner for correction.

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.

You must work with the owner to correct these issues. If the owner is refusing the repairs and it falls on them to correct, please contact our agency. If you fail to correct the issues you are responsible for, you must do so immediately as your unit is required to be in compliance.