4. The Lease and Contract

Once the unit has passed the inspection and the rent and deposit have been agreed upon, the tenant and owner will have an opportunity to sign the lease. At this point OHA will enter into a Housing Assistance Payment Contract with the owner and the assisted tenancy will begin. The contract will not be valid until it is reviewed and approved by an OHA manager.

The Lease
As with other tenancies, the lease is the written agreement between the property owner and the tenant that establishes the terms and conditions for renting the property. OHA will provide a Model Lease at the inspection or owners may opt to use their own lease with the HUD Lease Addendum. The owner must use and enforce the same lease provisions for Section 8 and non-Section 8 tenants and the lease must comply with state and local law. If owners choose to use the Model Lease they may add House Rules or other attachments to it. A sample model lease is included in this guide.

The lease establishes the rent the property owner should collect from the tenant. If the owner collects payments in addition to the amount approved by OHA they could face penalties and the family could lose their assistance.

The Housing Assistance Payment Contract
The Housing Assistance Payment Contract (HAP Contract) is the legal agreement between OHA and the property owner. The contract outlines the owner's rights and responsibilities and details OHA’s payment agreement with the owner. After the owner signs the HAP contract, an OHA manager must approve the rent and approve and sign the contract to make the agreement valid. A sample HAP Contract is included in the back of this guide.

The lease term is generally one year although shorter terms can be used when it is standard market practice. The HAP Contract has the same term as the lease and terminates automatically when the lease is cancelled.