Frequently Asked Questions

Does the HCV program provide emergency housing?

Emergency housing is NOT available through the voucher program. Please contact Lorain County Coordinated Entry at 440-242-0455 for emergency housing assistance.

Waiting list placement is based on the date and time of the application when it is accepted with all required documents. Raise Up preferences may change waiting list placement.

Applicants must notify the Raise Up Admissions Department of any changes from the original application information, in writing, within 10 days of the change. These changes could affect the applicant’s status on the waiting list.

Raise Up will not give applicants their number on the waiting list, as this number changes frequently as changes are reported and applicants are pulled from the list. Applicants will be notified via email and on the portal when a voucher is available.

The voucher holder is responsible for finding a unit suitable for his or her family’s needs. Tenants and families can view available houses for rent at AffordableHousing.com and www.ohiohousinglocator.org.

A voucher holder cannot reside in a unit and receive rental assistance if that unit is owned by a mother, father, child, grandparent, grandchild, sister, or brother of any member of the HCV participants household. Raise Up may make an exception if it is determined that approving the rental of the unit owned by a relative would provide a necessary reasonable accommodation for a family member who is a person with disabilities

HUD has been given authority to develop and operate a data match system that reports to local housing authorities participants’ income broken down by household member based on data from the Ohio State Wage Information Collection Agency (SWICA) and the Social Security Administration. To ensure accuracy of housing benefits, Raise Up obtains reports on earned income, Social Security and Supplemental Security benefits paid to all members in your household.

You must report all earned income and benefits for all family members. You must sign an Authorization for Release of Information and Privacy Act Notice (HUD 9886-A) giving HUD and Raise Up permission to verify your household’s income to ensure your eligibility for assisted housing benefits.  This form is required by federal law to maintain your eligibility for federally assisted housing. If there are discrepancies between the information you provide and the information obtained by HUD and in EIV, you will be asked to provide additional information about your sources of income.

You will be given an opportunity to dispute or provide additional information to correct HUD’s records in the event of data errors. If Raise Up determines that there has been a deliberate attempt to hide income, the family may be evicted from public housing or be terminated from the HCV Program and referred to law enforcement for prosecution. Prior to any final action, the family may appeal Raise Up’s decision to a hearing officer.

Vouchers do not have a dollar amount.

The payment standard is the maximum subsidy amount that a person may qualify for minus the utilities for the unit. The payment standard is not the amount of rent that Raise Up will pay for a unit.

Voucher holders pay between 30% and 40% of their household’s adjusted gross income.

No. Do not limit your search only to owners that previously accepted a voucher. All you need is a property owner willing to accept the Housing Choice Voucher and enter a contract to accept subsidy from Raise Up on your behalf.

Vouchers are issued for 60 days.

Voucher holders can request a voucher extension within seven days before the voucher expires. The extension request may be made in the portal or by email to hcv@rupartners.org.

Extension requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis by your occupancy specialist.

An RFTA (Request for Tenancy Approval) must be completed by the owner and returned to our office to begin the process to lease a unit using your voucher. This process is initiated through the portal.

Within 15 days of the date the completed RFTA is submitted and approved, the inspection team will contact the owner or agent to schedule an inspection to determine if the unit meets HUD’s Housing Quality Standards or NSPIRE standards. The time can vary depending on when the RFTA was completed or when the contract rent amount was finalized.

If you wish to lease a larger unit, it must be affordable to you. You qualify for only the lower of the voucher size or unit size for the payment standard. This is reviewed on a case-by-case basis once the RFTA has been submitted.

It is possible for a family to move into a unit smaller than the approved voucher size if it doesn’t create an overcrowding situation and violate Raise Up’s occupancy standards. Once the RFTA has been submitted, it will be reviewed to determine if the unit is overcrowded.

Voucher holders should not move into units that have not passed inspection. A voucher holder will be responsible for all rent until the unit has passed inspection.

Yes. If your property owner has agreed to accept the Housing Choice Voucher, submit an RFTA to begin the process of Raise Up paying a portion of your rent to the property owner.

Income changes, whether an increase or a decrease, household composition changes, such as adding or removing members to or from your household, must also be submitted within 14 days.

Yes, the owner has the right to file for eviction when the tenant does not pay his or her portion of the rent. The owner may also file for eviction for violation of the lease provisions.

Submit a portability request to our office. Provide the new housing authority’s portability information. To be approved, the voucher holder must have lived or worked in Lorain County for the past 12 months at the time of application to port. It is up to the family to provide Raise Up with the housing authority’s contact information for the jurisdiction that they are interested in porting to.

Raise Up will determine based on available funding if incoming portability will be billed or absorbed.

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