Danville Redevelopment & Housing Authority

Waiting List for Section 8 is now CLOSED


Danville Redevelopment and Housing Authority currently administers 1707 vouchers. A family that is issued a housing voucher is responsible for finding a suitable housing unit of the family’s choice where the owner agrees to rent under the program. The unit : (1) must meet housing quality standards (an inspection will be conducted); (2) rent must reasonable; (3) meet other program requirements.

Landlords can also list available units for rent with our office. If you are a landlord, and wish to list your unit with our office, please call (434)792-5544.

Eligibility for a rental voucher is determined by the local Housing Authority. It is based on the total annual gross income and family size and is limited to U.S. Citizens and specified categories of non-citizens who have eligible immigration status.

In general, the family’s income may not exceed 50% of the median income for the county or metropolitan area in which the family chooses to live. Median income levels are published by HUD and vary by location (See below).

During the application process, DRHA will collect information on family income, assets and family composition. DRHA will verify this information with other local agencies, your employer and bank, and will use the information to determine program eligibility and the amount of the rental assistance payment.

If DRHA determines that your family is eligible, the Housing Authority will put your name on a waiting list. Once your name is reached on the waiting list, DRHA will contact you and issue to you a Housing Choice Voucher.

FAQs

Where can I live?

Once your family has been issued a Housing Choice Voucher by DRHA, you can search the private rental market in your community for a housing unit that is decent, safe and sanitary according to the Housing Quality Standards established by HUD and DRHA (Contact us to request information regarding the Housing Quality Standards).

When you have found a suitable unit and the owner agrees to lease the unit to your family, DRHA will inspect the unit to assure that it is suitable. After the unit passes HQS inspection and the rent has been approved, the landlord and tenant enter into a lease for an initial term of one year. DRHA and the landlord sign a Housing Assistance Payment Contract through which the rent is assisted on your behalf. You will be responsible for the monthly payment of the difference between the total rent and the Housing Assistance Payment.

Can I move and continue to receive this assistance?

A family’s housing needs change over time with changes in family size, job locations, and for other reasons. The Housing Choice Voucher Program is designed to allow families to move without the loss of rental assistance. Moves are permissible as long as the family notifies DRHA ahead of time, terminates the existing lease with the appropriate provisions, and finds acceptable alternative housing.

Under the voucher program, new voucher holders may choose a unit anywhere in the United States if the family lived within the jurisdiction of the Authority issuing the voucher when the family applied for assistance. Those new voucher holders not living within the jurisdiction of the Authority at the time the family applies for rental assistance must initially lease a unit within that jurisdiction for the first twelve months of assistance. A family that wishes to move to another Authority’s jurisdiction must consult with the Housing Authority that currently administers its rental assistance to verify the procedures for moving.

What is the term of the lease and contract?
After one year, the lease is renewed for a specified time period (ex. month-to-month, six months, etc.). You may vacate with a notice after the term of the lease expires. If you remain in the unit, you are recertified for eligibility and the unit is inspected for Housing Quality Standards annually, at which time the landlord may request an annual adjustment rent increase, which must be approved by the Housing Authority. This request must be submitted in writing to DRHA and to you sixty days prior to renewal.
Roles & Responsibilities -The Tenant, the Landlord, the Housing Agency, and HUD

Once DRHA approves an eligible family’s lease and housing unit, the family and the landlord sign a lease and, at the same time, the landlord and DRHA sign a housing assistance contract, which runs for the same term as the lease. This means that everyone – tenant, landlord and DRHA – has obligations and responsibilities within the voucher program.

Tenant’s Role: When a family selects a unit, and DRHA approves the unit and lease, the family signs a lease with the landlord for at least one year. The tenant may be required to pay a security deposit to the landlord. After the first year, the landlord may initiate a new lease or allow the family to remain in the unit on a month-to-month lease. When the family is settled in a new home, the family is expected to comply with the lease and the program requirements, pay its share of rent on time, keep the unit in good condition and notify DRHA of any changes in income and/or family composition.

The participating family must provide DRHA with complete and accurate information, which includes everything from social security numbers to information about family income and household members. The family must make its best effort to find a place to live that is decent and affordable and qualifies for the program. The family and its housing unit must be certified annually by DRHA, and the family must take responsibility for the care of its housing unit. The family must comply with the terms of the lease agreement it has entered with the housing unit’s owner and comply with the terms of Family Obligations, the terms of the certificate or housing voucher issued by DRHA. The family must pay rent on time.

Landlord’s Role: The role of the landlord is to provide decent, safe, and sanitary housing to a tenant at a reasonable rent. The dwelling unit must pass the program’s housing standards and be maintained up to those standards as long as the owner receives housing assistance payments. In addition, the landlord is expected to provide the services agreed to as part of the lease signed with the tenant and the contract with DRHA.

The landlord must determine whether the applicant will be able to uphold the responsibility of a tenant, and the landlord must comply with fair housing laws. The landlord must make necessary repairs in a timely manner and comply with the terms of the Housing Assistance Contract it has entered into with DRHA. The landlord must collect rent due by the family and otherwise enforce the lease.

DRHA’s Role: DRHA administers the voucher program locally. DRHA provides a family with the rental assistance that enables the family to seek our suitable housing and DRHA enters into a contract with the landlord to provide rental assistance payments on behalf of the family. If the landlord fails to meet his/her obligations under the lease, DRHA has the right to terminate assistance payments.

DRHA reviews all applications to determine whether an applicant is eligible. DRHA issues a housing choice voucher to the eligible family and, if necessary, helps the family find a place to live. DRHA approves the housing unit, the owner and the lease. The authority makes timely housing assistance payments to the owner; ensures that the owner and participating family comply with HUD regulations and DRHA rules.

HUD’s Role: To cover the cost of the program, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides funds to allow DRHA to make housing assistance payments on behalf of the families. HUD also pays DRHA a fee for the costs of administering the program. When additional funds become available to assist new families, HUD invites housing authorities to submit applications for funds for additional rental vouchers. Applications are then reviewed and funds awarded to the selected housing authorities on a competitive basis.

For further information contact DRHA at 434-792-5544, 434-791-1222 (TDD), 434-799-8249 (Fax), or by email.