The DCHA Voucher Landlord Handbook
The rules that actually govern renting to a DC voucher tenant — the lease-up process, inspections, abatement, payments, and your legal obligations — in plain English. Distilled from DCHA’s official Introduction and Refresher for Landlords.
Download the official DCHA guide (PDF)On this page
The three documents that make it official
Every voucher tenancy runs on three documents. Know what each one does:
The Voucher
The tenant’s subsidy authorization. Families get 180 days to find a unit. It’s signed by the tenant and HCVP staff and lists the approved unit size and an expiration date — always check the expiration.
The Lease
Your normal lease between you and the tenant. You use the same lease you’d use for any market renter — DCHA does not give you a special ‘relaxed’ lease.
The HAP Contract
The agreement between you and DCHA. It sets the approved contract rent, the monthly HAP amount, utility responsibilities, and the initial lease terms.
How to lease up: the 6 steps
- 1
Advertise your property
List it and welcome voucher holders. (You’re already in the best place for that.)
- 2
Screen applicants thoroughly
References, voucher size/expiration, unchanged household — same standard as a market renter, following the Fair Criminal Record Screening Act.
- 3
Submit the RFTA packet
Complete every form. An incomplete packet stalls the whole lease-up.
- 4
Prepare for and pass the initial inspection
Unit vacant and empty, someone 18+ present, pre-move-in checklist addressed.
- 5
Sign the lease and HAP contract
Lease must match the approved contract rent, be 12+ months, list utility/appliance responsibilities, and name only approved household members.
- 6
Complete the move-in
Only after HCVP approves the date. Collect the full security deposit and have a signed lease before the tenant takes possession.
What’s in the RFTA (lease-up) packet
The Request for Tenancy Approval packet must be complete before an inspection is scheduled or any payment is made. A missing signature or form stalls everything. It includes:
The blank packet lives in the DCHA Owners’ Portal under Resources → Program Forms → “Blank Lease Up Package.”
Inspections: types & the initial timeline
All HQS inspections are done by certified DCHA staff, free to landlords. There are four types:
Initial
Must be passed before you receive any HAP. Triggered when your completed RFTA packet is received.
Annual / Biennial
Around the tenant’s anniversary month. Biennial (every 2 years) is available under DCHA’s Moving to Work designation if you’ve had no final failed inspection in 2 years.
Emergency
For health/safety hazards (no power, gas, water, heat in winter, no working appliances, or dead smoke/CO detectors). You get 24 hours to fix — miss it and the contract can be terminated.
Quality Control
A follow-up re-inspection of a sample of units to validate the original inspection.
Initial inspection timeline (business days after you submit)
Fail the initial? You get 14 days to make repairs and pass re-inspection. Units are only inspected twice — no exceptions; a second failure means repairs + resubmitting the RFTA packet.
Abatement: how you lose HAP (and how to avoid it)
This is the expensive one. If a unit fails inspection twice, DCHA abates it — HAP stops on the first day of the next accounting period, and you and the tenant get a Contract Cancellation Notice.
You don’t get paid for abated days
Even if you fix it and pass, payment reinstates from the pass date — you are never reimbursed for the days the unit was abated.
Third inspection is optional
You can request a 3rd inspection at least 10 business days before contract cancellation, for a $75 fee.
Hard deadlines
The HAP contract auto-terminates if the 3rd inspection fails or 45 days pass from the abatement date without a passed inspection.
No do-overs
Once the HAP contract is terminated it cannot be reinstated. After that the tenant owes the full gross rent and enforcement is on you.
How you get paid
- DCHA pays the monthly HAP directly to you. If the family has a rent portion, DCHA pays its share and the family pays theirs.
- Payments are processed twice a month — on or around the 1st and the 15th.
- Direct deposit is mandatory — no paper checks.
- The family pays at least 30% of their adjusted gross income toward rent/utilities; you receive the difference from DCHA (sometimes DCHA covers the entire contract rent).
- It’s your job to collect the tenant portion — DCHA only handles the subsidy.
The DCHA owner portal (RentCafe)
DCHA is moving landlords to its RentCafe Landlord Portal (powered by Yardi) at services.dchousing.org. There you can:
First-time landlords: register on the RentCafe Landlord Portal, then submit your completed lease-up package (tenant name, voucher number, unit address). You’ll get a vendor code once your first packet is received. DCHA’s legacy owner portal at dcha.hcvportal.org is still available during the transition.
Fair housing & screening — the DC rules
Screen voucher families exactly like any market renter — no more, no less. But DC law is strict:
- In DC it’s illegal to discriminate on source of income (i.e., refusing a tenant because they have a voucher) along with the usual federal + local protected traits.
- Under the Fair Criminal Record Screening Act (2016): disclose all eligibility criteria before charging application fees, and you may only inquire about criminal history after a conditional offer — limited to pending charges or specific convictions in the last 7 years.
- You must let applicants show evidence of errors or rehabilitation, and give written reasons if you withdraw an offer, plus notice of their right to file with the DC Office of Human Rights.
- Using a third-party platform that runs criminal and credit at the same time violates the Act. DCHA only does a criminal background check at initial eligibility, and does not run credit checks — screening is on you.
Good screening still means: contact former-landlord references, confirm the voucher’s unit size and expiration, and check the household composition hasn’t changed.
Move-out, eviction & DCHA’s help
Move-out
Tenants can move after the initial lease term (usually 1 year) if in good standing, with 30+ days’ notice to you and a self-certification to HCVP. Watch for VAWA and reasonable-accommodation exceptions.
Eviction
Voucher tenants can be evicted like anyone for lease violations. Keep every record — lease, contracts, receipts, repair requests, photos, notices — serve legally required notices, and notify the tenant’s HPS/HPC of violations or pending eviction.
Myths, busted
Myth: You can’t evict a voucher tenant.
False — voucher tenants are bound by the lease and can be evicted for violations like any renter.
Myth: You must use a special DCHA lease with relaxed terms.
False — you use the same lease as your market renters.
Myth: Once you lease to one voucher holder, you must accept them all.
False — you can end your DCHA relationship anytime (just give the tenant reasonable time; you’re paid until termination).
Myth: Landlords can’t collect security deposits.
False — you can, up to one month’s contract rent, following local law.
Myth: HQS demands standards beyond “average.”
False — HQS is HUD’s minimum for decent, safe, sanitary housing.
Myth: Payments can stop without warning.
False — DCHA doesn’t freeze HAP without reason or notice; contact them if a payment is off.
Key DCHA contacts
Payment standards & program info
Payment standards, submarket rents, and the Administrative Plan.
dchousing.orgHCVP Inspections
HQS inspection questions and failed-item clarifications. If you don't make the required repairs by the deadline on the notice, the unit goes into abatement. Reach out for clarification, and always reference your Inspection ID so they can assist you with the Tenant vs. Landlord failed-items list.
hcvpinspections@dchousing.orgMediation
Helps facilitate discussions about lease violations and actions prohibited by the tenant's Housing Family Obligations — including property damage.
mediation@dchousing.orgMore DCHA contacts (housing specialists, the inspection division) are listed in the full PDF.
Get the full official document
DCHA’s complete Introduction and Refresher for Landlords — every detail, plus the sample forms and contact roster.
Source: District of Columbia Housing Authority, Housing Choice Voucher Program — Introduction and Refresher for Landlords. This page is a plain-English summary for convenience; the official DCHA document and Administrative Plan govern.