June 2002 Owners Update

Owner Update “Question Of The Month”

I signed something called a “paint waiver” when a unit came under assisted lease and contract. What is a paint waiver?

To understand the concept of the paint waiver, the first thing you need to know is that a housing authority cannot make payments to an owner until the unit has passed the Housing Quality Standards (HQS) inspection. HUD is unbending on this point. The HAP Contract addresses this in section 3d, “The PHA shall not make any housing assistance payments if the contract unit does not meet the HQS, unless the owner corrects the defect within the period specified by the PHA and the PHA verifies the correction.” Generally, TMHA will give owners 30 days to make required repairs unless the problem is an emergency or life threatening. Owners can also ask for an extension (see last month’s Owner Update).

The paint waiver is a function of failed exterior paint, and it is the one condition where TMHA can at certain times of the year, give the owner more
time to correct. As we all know, we don’t live in Palm Springs. This
means that there are times during the winter and early spring months when exterior painting is not feasible. The paint waiver acknowledges this, and the inspector can decide to give the owner extra time until a date in the spring to repair the paint. The current waiver date is June 15.

All other failed items must be repaired and re-inspected, and then the owner will sign a form called a “paint waiver” promising to repair the failed exterior paint by the June 15 date. This temporary waiver allows TMHA to make HAP payments to the owner even though the paint has not yet passed, based on the owner’s promise to complete this one failed item at the specified date in the future.

What happens if the paint is not repaired as promised? By signing the paint waiver the owner agrees to return ALL money received from the tenant and TMHA if the dwelling unit is not satisfactorily completed by the waiver date.

In the case of Lead-Based Paint - applicable units, the reinspection is actually the clearance test done by the certified clearance inspector. This clearance is VISUAL ONLY; the inspector will not take wipe samples as is done on an interior LBP clearance. Owners should remember one very important point about exterior clearances for LBP, however. In addition to checking the exterior surfaces, the visual inspection will look for evidence of paint chips and dust from scraping. If any are found, the clearance fails, and will have to be redone at the owner’s expense. So good clean-up after the job is necessary. It is acceptable to bury chips at the foundation with 4 inches of soil or mulch.

June 15 is fast approaching, so if you have paint waiver units, this is the time to make sure that the paint has been repaired.

Congratulations are in order for two Tuscarawas MHA employees. On May 24, 2002 Lisa Morris gave birth to a 9 pound 5 ounce baby boy. Congratulations and best wishes to Lisa and her husband Jimm. Also, Mindy Harmon will be married in early June. Congratulations and best wishes to Mindy and her fiance Jeff Ricker.