Some of these factors include: asking rent, tenant-responsible utilities, a Rent Reasonable test, household income, building type and bedroom size. For that reason, there is no one-size-fits-all calculation that will accurately predict the amount you can get based off of payment standards alone.
For more details, or to contact BHA for more specifics, please contact the Landlord Liaison at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (360) 616-7142.
Please contact the Landlord Liaison at either This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 360-616-7142 with the following information:
- Address
- Number of bedrooms
- Asking rent
- What utilities there are
- What utilities the tenant would be responsible for
Additionally, you can visit www.affordablehousing.com to list your unit for free!
The Landlord Mitigation and Damage Relief Program Fund is administered by the Washington State Department of Commerce. Its purpose is to incentivize and compensate landlords of subsidized tenants. The program offers up to $1,000 and up to fourteen days’ rent loss to the landlord in reimbursement for some potentially required move-in upgrades, and up to $5,000 in qualifying damages caused by a tenant during tenancy.
Learn more here: https://www.commerce.wa.gov/serving-communities/homelessness/landlord-fund-programs/landlord-mitigation-program/
Yes. A Washington state law effective September 30, 2018 (RCW 59.18.255), makes it illegal for landlords to discriminate against tenants and would-be tenants based off of their income. What this essentially means is that landlords who would require a private renter to make 2.5-3x the rent can only ask that a voucher holder make 2.5-3x their rent portion. See below for an example:
- Landlord lists unit for $1500; 3x that is $4500
- John’s rent portion (30% of his income) is estimated to be $250
- To meet the 3x the rent requirement, as a voucher holder, John only needs to make $750/month because his rent portion ($250) multiplied times 3 is $750
There’s a misconception that landlords have a legal responsibility to treat Section 8 participants differently than private tenants. The opposite is true – aside from the program requirements that the landlord must abide by with BHA, the landlord’s relationship with their Section 8 tenant is absolutely no different than it would be with a private tenant. Responsibilities between a landlord and their tenant include:
- Screening tenants to their standards (for example, if the landlord wants a tenant with no prior evictions, it is up to the landlord to decide on that criteria and perform their own screening/background check)
- Performing all property management duties
- Handling maintenance for the unit
- Enforcing the lease
- Complying with the HAP contract with BHA
This is the packet the voucher holder receives at orientation to give to a prospective landlord after they’re approved for a unit. The information it asks for includes rent requested, unit type, utilities, amenities, direct deposit information, and more. We need it to make our determination of affordability and rent reasonableness. If the unit is determined to be rent reasonable and affordable by our inspector based off of the RFTA packet, they will contact you to schedule an inspection.
Please do not forget to include a sample lease with each RFTA you submit.
Note: Please remember it is your responsibility to ensure the RFTA is submitted to BHA’s office. If you allow the participant to submit the RFTA, be sure to follow up with them to ensure the request was submitted.
You will need to submit an Landlord/Owner Change of Circumstances form as soon as possible.
Once complete, please email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or mail to Bremerton Housing Authority, Attn: Housing, 600 Park Avenue, Bremerton WA 98337 If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Landlord Liaison at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call (360) 616-7142.
You will need to submit an Landlord/Owner Change of Circumstances form as soon as possible.
Once complete, please email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or mail to Bremerton Housing Authority, Attn: Housing, 600 Park Avenue, Bremerton WA 98337 If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Landlord Liaison at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call (360) 616-7142.
You will need to submit a Request for Rent Increase form as soon as possible.
Once complete, please email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or mail to Bremerton Housing Authority, Attn: Housing, 600 Park Avenue, Bremerton WA 98337 If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Landlord Liaison at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call (360) 616-7142.
The soonest you can request a rent increase is after the initial 12-month lease term. The requested rent amount must be rent reasonable as well as some other conditions that must be met. BHA’s rent increase policy states that the rent increase request must be submitted in full, using the Request for Rent Increase form and be given at least 60 days before it takes effect.
Example timeline: a Request for Rent Increase form is submitted to BHA on January 14, 2022. This request was completed in full and on the correct form. The soonest this increase (upon the condition that it was approved) would be able to go into effect would be April 1, 2022.
No, Section 8 participants have the exact same tenant obligations and protections under Washington state landlord tenant laws as any private tenant.
No, there is no all-or-nothing approach to the number of Section 8 participants you choose to rent to. You can rent to as few or as many as you’d like.
The landlord is responsible for all screening of a potential tenant; whatever credit, criminal and rental background checks the landlord wishes to screen for are the landlord's responsibility.
The HAP contract is a written agreement between BHA and the landlord’s unit occupied by an HCV voucher-assisted family. It is the contract terms that details program requirements, landlord requirements, obligations, and landlord responsibilities under the HCV program.
In the check run following when the HAP contract is executed. BHA does check runs on the 1st and 15th of each month. If you are signed up for Direct Deposit, you will be paid on the same schedule.
For example, if the HAP contract is executed on January 16, 2022, the payment would be issued on February 1, 2022. Note: HAP stands for Housing Assistance Payment.
