Frequently Asked Questions

All household and income changes must be reported in writing to your assigned Housing Programs Specialist within fourteen calendar days from when you were made aware of the change.

You may report changes by:

• Emailing your Housing Programs Specialist
• Submitting a written statement to the CDC office

For your convenience, complete the Change in Household Income form (see Housing Programs forms).

Phone calls or voicemail messages cannot be accepted as official reports because they cannot be retained in your program file as required documentation.

You must notify the CDC in writing or by email as soon as possible if your contact information changes. Please report changes to your:

• Mailing or physical address
• Phone number

If the CDC is unable to contact you then your rental assistance may be in jeopardy.

For your convenience, complete the Change of Address/Telephone form (see Housing Programs forms).

If you do not respond to a request for information or miss a required appointment, CDC will send you a Non-Compliance Notice.

If you do not respond to the Non-Compliance Notice, CDC may attempt to contact you by:

• Phone
• Contacting individuals listed on your Release of Information
• Contacting your landlord

If CDC is still unable to reach you, a Termination of Rental Assistance Notice may be issued.

Failure to follow program rules, such as not reporting income, unauthorized household members, or serious lease violations, may result in termination of your rental assistance.

A full list of the Family Obligations can be found in the CDC Administration Plan.

The utilities you are responsible for depend on the terms of your lease agreement with your landlord. Some rental units include certain utilities in the rent, while others require the tenant to pay for utilities such as:

• Electricity
• Gas
• Water
• Trash service

If your lease requires you to obtain service for a utility, it is your responsibility to contact the utility provider and have the service placed in your name before moving into the unit.

Yes. A landlord may request a rent increase after the initial lease term. The landlord must provide CDC with a copy of the rent increase notice at least 60 days before the proposed increase takes effect.

CDC will review the request to ensure the new rent complies with:

• HUD’s program regulations
• State and local laws
• Rent reasonableness requirements

If the rent increase is approved, CDC will send you a 30-day notice that includes:

• The new approved rent
• The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) amount
• Your new tenant rent portion
• The effective date of the change

If something in your home needs fixing, follow these steps:

1. Provide a written request to your landlord and send a copy to CDC.
2. The landlord should be given a reasonable amount of time to complete the repair.
3. If the repair is not made within 30 days (for non-emergency issues), submit a second written request to your landlord and send another copy to CDC.
4. If the issue is still not resolved after the second request, let us know. CDC may schedule a special inspection to identify any HQS deficiencies.

Yes. Having rental assistance does not prevent eviction. Landlords may evict tenants for reasons allowed under the:

• Lease
• Housing Assistance Payment contract
• Local laws, such as nonpayment of rent or lease violations

Yes. All participants must complete an annual recertification to continue receiving rental assistance. During this process, the CDC reviews your household information, income, and continued program eligibility.

You will be asked to provide documentation such as:

• An updated application
• Current income documentation (pay stubs, benefit letters, etc.)
• Current bank statements
• Current utility bills

Your Housing Programs Specialist will notify you of the specific documents you must submit.

You must notify the CDC, in writing or through email, if someone moves into or out of your household. New household members must be approved by the CDC before moving into the unit. Failing to report household changes will affect your eligibility for assistance.

Adding someone to your household without prior approval from the CDC may be considered a program violation and could result in negative action or even termination of assistance.

If you lose your job or experience a decrease in income, you must report the change to the CDC in writing or by email within fourteen calendar days from when you were made aware of the change. Your rent portion may be adjusted after your income change is verified by the CDC.

You may be able to move with your voucher after your current lease with your landlord ends and you have received approval to relocate with your voucher from the CDC. You must also remember to give your landlord a written 30-day notice to vacate and supply the CDC with a copy of that notice.

Notify your Housing Programs Specialist before making any plans to move and they can guide you through the steps.

Portability allows a voucher participant to move to another city, county, or state and continue receiving housing assistance through another housing authority. If you are interested in moving through portability, contact your Housing Programs Specialist for more information about eligibility and the process.

If you or a household member has a disability or medical-related needs and requires a reasonable accommodation, you may submit a request to the CDC. CDC will ask for verification of the disability-related need for the accommodation.

You should contact your assigned Housing Programs Specialist for questions about your voucher, rent, household changes, or program requirements.

See our staff directory for contact information.

The amount of time you wait depends on funding availability and the number of applicants on the waiting list. The CDC cannot give an estimate of how long the waiting period is.

Applicants are generally selected based on the date and time of their application and any applicable program preferences. CDC is unable to disclose waitlist positions.

Yes. If your application is selected, we will contact you using the mailing address listed on your application. It is very important to keep your mailing address up to date while you are on the waiting list.

When your name is selected from the waiting list, you will be contacted to complete the eligibility review process. If you qualify and funding is available, you may receive a voucher and begin searching for housing.

The waiting list is not always open. When it opens, announcements will be posted two weeks prior to opening on our website and through local media. You can check our website regularly for updates.

The Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) waitlist is a list of applicants who have applied for rental assistance. When vouchers become available, the CDC contacts applicants from the waitlist to begin the eligibility process.

No. Being placed on the waitlist does not guarantee that you will receive a voucher. It means your application has been accepted and may be selected when vouchers become available.

If your name is selected, you will be asked to:

1. Complete an eligibility application
2. Provide required documentation
3. Verify income, household members, and other eligibility factors

If you qualify, you may receive a voucher.

You may be asked to provide documents such as:

• Photo ID for all adult household members
• Social Security cards
• Birth certificates (for minors)
• Income verification (pay stubs, benefits letters, etc.)
• Asset information such as bank statements

You may apply again if or when the waitlist is open.

Applicants may be removed from the waiting list if they do not qualify for the program, fail to respond to requests for information, miss deadlines, or if the CDC is unable to contact them using the information provided on the application. It is important to keep your mailing address up to date.

No. Waiting list applications cannot be transferred between housing agencies. Each housing authority maintains its own waiting list, and you must apply separately when another agency’s waiting list is open.

If you move, you must update your mailing address, phone number, and email address in writing or via email with our office as soon as possible. This ensures we can contact you if your name is selected from the waiting list.

Yes. If multiple housing programs have open waiting lists, you may apply to each program separately.

While waiting, you should:

• Keep your contact information up to date
• Respond promptly to any requests from the CDC
• Check the agency’s website periodically for program updates
• Sign up to receive text message notifications from CDC on our Get Notified page

Voucher holders have a limited amount of time to locate a rental unit; the maximum allotted time to search for housing is 180 calendar days.

The Request for Tenancy Approval (RFTA) is a form completed by you and the landlord once you find a unit. It allows the housing agency to review the proposed rent and schedule a housing inspection. You will learn more about this form prior to being issued a voucher.

Your portion of rent is based on your household income, amount of rent, and your utility allowance. The housing agency will calculate your portion after reviewing your income and the approved rent for the unit. Typically, you pay between 30% and 40% of your monthly income towards the rent.

Possibly. Under special circumstances a participant may be able to move prior to living in the unit for 12 months, but generally participants are required to stay in their unit for 12 months before relocating again. Contact your Housing Programs Specialist if you have questions about moving.

If your voucher expires before you find a unit, then you are no longer eligible for the rental assistance program. If your voucher expires, then you may reapply for the waitlist when it is open.

The inspection ensures that the unit meets HUD’s Housing Quality Standards (HQS) and is safe and suitable for occupancy before and during your participation in the rental assistance program.

You must allow our inspector access to the unit, and we can only enter your unit if an individual aged 18 or older is present at the time of the inspection. If you cannot be there, please designate another adult to be present.

CDC’s inspector will identify who must make the repairs (the tenant or the landlord) and send a list of required repairs. The repairs must be completed within 30 calendar days, unless an extension is granted. If you are new to the program, the rental assistance cannot begin until the unit has passed inspection.

CDC’s Inspection Preparation checklist (PDF) — also listed on our forms page.

Yes, you may move in; however, you will be responsible for the full rent amount. Please note that the CDC does not backdate rent payments. If you move into the unit and the inspection has not yet passed, rental assistance will not begin until the unit has successfully passed inspection.

The CDC will notify the landlord of the inspection results once the inspection has been completed.

Once the unit passes inspection, the landlord will contact the participant to schedule a time to sign the lease agreement and arrange move-in. The landlord must then submit the executed lease to the CDC and enter into a Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) contract with the agency.

After the HAP contract is fully executed, CDC may begin issuing housing assistance payments. The participant’s rental assistance will begin on the effective date of the lease and HAP contract.

Yes. Units receiving housing assistance are typically inspected annually to ensure they continue to meet Housing Quality Standards.