May 2002 Owners Update

Owner Update “Question Of The Month”

The TMHA inspector gave me 30 days to make needed repairs, and I’m waiting for back ordered parts to make the repairs. Can I get more time?

TMHA conducts inspections for basically three reasons: before lease and contract execution (new tenant), annual reinspection for a continuing tenant, and complaint when the inspector is requested to look at a specific unresolved problem - usually at the request of the tenant. The inspector decides how long the owner has to repair failed items. In the case of failures that are not classified as “emergency repair items,” the usual repair time is 30 days.

In the case that the repairs cannot be completed in the 30-day period, the owner may request an extension for legitimate reasons. These would be such delays as uncooperative weather for outside work, back ordered or hard to locate parts, outside contractors’ time schedules, and such things as that.

The TMHA inspector approves extensions. To request the extension, the landlord should call the TMHA office and request to speak to the inspector about the extension. The inspector will want to know why the extension is needed, and how much more time is expected, and will note on the inspection in the file that an extension has been requested and granted. A good time to reach the inspector is between 8 and 9 in the morning, or 3:30 to 4:30 in the afternoon.

While extensions are a necessary part of the repair and re-inspect process,
there are definitely limits on use and time. For example, in the case of a unit being inspected for inclusion on the program, HUD has a hard and fast rule that applies. The housing authority cannot execute a HAP Contract with the landlord until the unit has passed inspection. That means that the longer the owner takes to make repairs, the longer all parties wait to move ahead. TMHA cannot complete the contract, the owner gets no HAP payment, and the tenant family gets no assistance.

In cases of annual or complaint inspections, TMHA must suspend HAP payments to the owner when the unit has not passed inspection by the repair date or approved extension date. If the unit continues to go unrepaired, TMHA is required to take steps to end the HAP Contract with the owner, and abate (remove & not reinstate) HAP from the repair / extension date to the date of contract end. So while extensions may be necessary, they can also be frustrating and costly to all parties involved if not managed.

A unit that is not in compliance with Housing Quality Standards (HQS) is a violation of the HAP Contract between TMHA and the owner. That is the basis for not issuing a HAP payment to the owner when this situation exists. However, there are two situations where this rule is applied
differently:

the unit has failed for exterior paint during the winter months and the owner has been issued a waiver until a future inspection date. HAP will continue to be issued during the waiver time.
the unit has failed HQS because of tenant damage or shut-off utilities that are the tenant’s responsibility through the lease. In this case the tenant is responsible to correct the violation.

See next month’s Owner Update for a discussion of paint waivers and emergency repair requirements.