Abatements

Landlords, abatements are preventable.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires housing authorities to ensure that assisted families reside in decent, safe, and sanitary affordable housing.  To that end, housing authorities conduct Annual, Special (complaint) and Quality Control Housing Quality Standards (HQS) inspections.

Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) are abated when

• a unit on the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program fails HQS inspection and
• the repairs are not completed by the due date and/or
• the owner has not notified the inspector that all repairs have been completed and the unit is ready for follow-up inspection by the due date

An inspector conducts the HQS inspection and notes all deficiencies. A letter with the deficiency list is mailed to the owner and tenant. The owner is responsible for repairing items identified as owner items. Likewise, the family is responsible for correcting deficiencies cited as tenant items. Close attention should be paid to the due date because less time is permitted for correcting deficiencies described as non-emergency (urgent but not life-threatening) or emergency (life-threatening).

The inspector may not automatically return to the unit and conduct the follow-up inspection on the due date. Inspections performed by DHA's inspector require the owner to call or email the inspector to request a follow-up inspection. The owner must complete the owner deficiencies and contact the inspector on or before the due date to prevent the unit from going into abatement.

Annual HQS inspections are conducted by McCright and Associates. McCright and Associates' inspectors will return on the date stated in the inspection fail letter. 

Please read all letters carefully and follow the instructions to avoid loss of payments due to abatement.

 The owner cannot charge the family for housing assistance payments lost due to abatement. Tenants should not be asked to pay the abated amount, nor should those amounts be entered into their credit histories. The owner cannot evict the family for money lost due to abatement.

 Owners are not responsible for deficiencies assigned to tenants. The family is responsible for making any repairs marked tenant items. Housing assistance payments are not abated if the family fails to complete their repairs by the due date.

 There is no reason for your unit to go into abatement. Below are ways to avoid abated payments.

• Inspect your unit quarterly to minimize the need to perform major repairs to pass the annual HQS inspection.
• Conduct an inspection of the unit sixty-ninety days before the next annual inspection and make repairs. Annual inspections are conducted approximately twelve months from the previous annual inspection.
• Complete repairs immediately after an inspection.
• Contact the inspector as soon as repairs are completed by telephone or email if the inspection was performed by DHA's inspector. Contacting the inspector by email ensures documentation of your notification that repairs have been completed.
• If the inspection was performed by McCright and Associates, make sure the repairs are completed by the date given in the inspection fail letter. The inspector will return on that date. If the unit fails at that time, it will go into abatement and no further payments will be made until the unit passes inspection.
• Follow-up with maintenance staff to make sure repairs are completed professionally and timely.
• If you need an extension, do not wait until the due date to request the extension. Provide documentation of the reason why you are requesting an extension.
• If you have a new address, make sure DHA has your new contact information.
• Before you purchase a property on the HCV program, verify with the seller that the unit is not in abatement.

HUD Notice regarding Landlords performance
Please see this HUD notice by Clicking Here.  It is regarding HUD telling Housing Authorities what actions they can take for poor performing Owners.