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Owner Update “Question of The Month”
Q: I have heard TMHA staff refer to a rental unit as
not being “Rent Reasonable.” What does this mean?
In order to lease up a new unit on Section 8 rental assistance
or to approve a special rent increase request, TMHA has to
certify that the unit is what HUD calls “Rent Reasonable.” By
rent reasonable, HUD means that the unit is in line cost wise,
with comparable non-TMHA assisted units in the same market, with
the same BR size and in a like housing category. TMHA has
divided the county into three geographic areas in order to
implement a Rent Reasonableness Program which is required by
HUD.
The areas are:
- Dover/New Philadelphia
- Northern Tuscarawas Co.
- Southern Tuscarawas Co.
The purpose of the Rent Reasonableness test is to assure:
- A fair rent is paid for units selected for participation
in the Section 8 Program,
- The program does not have the effect of artificially
inflating rents in the community.
HUD has instructed housing authorities that they must take
the following nine criteria into consideration when developing
their own rent reasonableness system: Location, Size, Housing
Type, Quality, Age of Unit, Amenities, Housing Services
Provided, Maintenance Provided and Utility Costs.
In order to obtain the information to determine rent
reasonableness, TMHA is required by HUD to continually survey
landlords here in Tuscarawas County in order to determine what
units are renting for which are NOT subsidized by
Section 8 or any other rental assistance program. Every unit
that comes on rental assistance with TMHA is then compared to
three surveyed units (comparables) which are similar in BR size,
housing type and geographical area to the unit which we are
attempting to lease up or to justify a rent increase for.
If TMHA staff determine that a unit is NOT rent reasonable, what
that means is that we have no similar comparable units which
enable us to justify assisting a unit with that high a rent and
utility costs. Therefore, this unit cannot be assisted on the
Section 8 program because it doesn’t pass this rent
reasonableness test.
This is where you can help us and help yourself at the same
time. It will be easier for us to potentially approve your rent
increase request if we have more information on the rental
market. We need more comparables which we can use in the rent
reasonableness determination. Could you please take just a
moment to fill in the survey information on page 3 for one of
the rental units that you own which is NOT being
occupied currently by a TMHA tenant?
We would appreciate this very much. Again, the survey
information is provided on a separate form that you will find on
page 3 of this issue of the Owner Update:
Free Car Wash For All Landlords
How would you like to earn a free car wash for just a few
moments of your time? All you need to do is take just a moment
and complete the enclosed Rent Reasonableness Survey Form
and return it to the TMHA office either in person, via fax
machine at (330) 339-0115 or by just dropping it to us in the
mail. Just make sure that your mailing address is on the
completed form that you return. TMHA will then send you a coupon
for a free car wash as a token of our appreciation for taking
the time to complete and return the Rent Reasonableness Survey
Form. Note: We are especially in need of comparable units
that are either Efficiency apartments or 4 bedroom units so if
you have any of those type of units Not currently being
assisted by TMHA, we would appreciate information on those units
as part of the survey.
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