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Housing Choice Voucher Program

The Section 8 housing assistance payments program is a federal program that provides Tenants with rental assistance payable directly to the Landlord. WHA does not provide emergency housing assistance. The program is aimed at families that currently pay more than 30% of their adjusted monthly income on rent and utilities and for those who need rental assistance to live in "safe, sanitary, and decent" housing.

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Housing Vouchers - How Do They Function?

The Housing Choice Voucher Program places the choice of housing in the hands of the individual family. A very low-income family is selected by the PHA to participate and is encouraged to consider several housing choices to secure the best housing for the family's needs. A housing voucher holder is advised of the unit size it is eligible for based on family size and composition. 

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The housing unit selected by the family must meet an acceptable level of health and safety before the PHA can approve the unit. When the voucher holder finds a unit that it wishes to occupy and reaches an agreement with the landlord over the lease terms, the PHA must inspect the dwelling and determine that the rent requested is reasonable. 

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The PHA determines a payment standard that is the amount generally needed to rent a moderately-priced dwelling unit in the local housing market and that is used to calculate the amount of housing assistance a family will receive. However, the payment standard does not limit and does not affect the amount of rent a landlord may charge or the family may pay. A family that receives a housing voucher can select a unit with a rent below or above the payment standard. The housing voucher family must pay 30% of its monthly adjusted gross income for rent and utilities and, if the unit rent is greater than the payment standard, the family must pay the additional amount. By law, whenever a family moves to a new unit where the rent exceeds the payment standard, the family may not pay more than 40% of its adjusted monthly income for rent.

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The staff at WHA is glad to have the opportunity to assist you with your housing needs.

WHA Section 8 Responsibility

  • Determine tenant eligibility based on Federal Regulations.

  • Process applications for certification and re-certification with regards to family participation.

  • Inspect units, approve lease and execute the Housing Authority Payment contract.

  • Determine and pay housing assistance payments to the owner on behalf of the family.

  • Explain and distribute information about program procedures to Owners/Tenants.

  • Monitors program performance and assures compliance of federal, state, and local rules and regulations.

Landlord and Tenant Responsibility

Landlord Responsibility:

  • Tenant screening, selection of family and leasing of the unit.

  • Perform all management and renting functions.

  • Perform all ordinary and extraordinary maintenance.

  • Pay for owner supplied utilities.

  • Assure compliance with Housing assistance Payment Voucher contract.

  • Comply with and enforce the lease.

 

Tenant Responsibility:

  • Find suitable housing.

  • Provide income and family information needed to verify and certify eligibility, annually and interim re-examination.

  • Allow the Housing Authority to inspect the unit. Repair damages caused by family.

  • Abide by all family obligations as defined in the Housing Choice Voucher.

  • Avoid committing serious or repeated violations of the lease.

Reasonable Accommodation

  • People with disabilities may need a reasonable accommodation in order to take full advantage of the WHA Housing Programs and related services. When such accommodations are granted, they do not confer special treatment or advantage for the person with a disability; rather, they make the program fully accessible to them in a way that would otherwise not be possible due to their disability.

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  • Persons with disabilities may request a reasonable accommodation in order to fully utilize the program. The WHA will make all reasonable efforts to be flexible in assisting persons with disabilities to participate in the program successfully. Requests for accommodations will be verified to ensure that the accommodation is reasonable.

Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (VAWA)

This federal law applies to men, women and children. It prohibits PHAs from denying assistance to otherwise qualified applicants simply because they are victims of domestic violence or stalking. VAWA also prohibits PHAs and HCV owners from considering actual or threatened domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking as a cause for terminating the tenancy, occupancy, or program assistance of the victim. PHAs and Landlords may ask for certification documentation of victim status, but must keep information relating to a family's domestic violence circumstances in strict confidence under the law.

Portability

Port In (Moving into Parker County) Information:
Case Specialist: Patricia A. Begay
Email: PBegay@WHAWeatherford.com

Phone: 817-596-0300 | Fax: 817-594-8504
Mailing Address: 1125 West Oak Street, Weatherford, Texas 76086

 

  • The WHA would prefer Port In packages to be emailed.

  • The WHA is currently Billing.

  • Port Ins can take 45 to 60 days.

  • Port Ins must attend a New Admissions Briefer/ Port In Briefer- it is usually held on the 2nd Monday of the month- unless otherwise stated.

  • The WHA’s Housing Authority code is TX349.

  • The WHA has 21 different Payment Standards for Parker County.

 

Port Out (Moving Out of Parker County) Information:
The WHA will need the following documentation:

  1. A letter from your current landlord stating that you are in good standing and that you are under no lease.

  2. A letter to your current landlord and the WHA stating when you will be out of your currently assisted unit. That is the day that the WHA will stop paying rent on your current unit.

  3. The WHA will need to know where the WHA will be sending your port out package to, including HA Code, Portability Specialist for the Receiving Housing Authority, the Portability Specialist’s Email address, the Receiving HA’s Phone Number, Receiving HA’s Fax Number, Receiving HA’s Mailing Address.

  4. Updated income Information

  5. You will have to attend a Mover Port Out Briefer- the briefer is held on the Last Wednesday of the month unless otherwise stated.

 

Porting Out may be like when you came to New Admissions- you may end up couch surfing or staying
with Friends/Family. Porting Out may take anywhere from 2 weeks to 90 days- it is dependent on many
factors- including how long it takes the Receiving Housing Authority to process your package and how
long it takes you to find another place.

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