Landlord Fact Sheet

Welcome to the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program. Rental Assistance Corp. of Buffalo (RACB) has been assisting low-income families and individuals with their rental payments since 1989, enabling participants to obtain safe, decent, and affordable housing. More than 5,000 families are currently receiving assistance through RACB.

Renters assisted through RACB’s Section 8 program have not been screened for tenancy. Owners should screen and select tenants in the same manner they select unassisted tenants. Our agency will provide the previous landlords’ names and addresses as a reference for the prospective landlord’s screening process.

Please note that RACB does not provide funds for security deposits and is not responsible for any damage caused by a tenant. The security deposit is the tenant’s responsibility.

All initial applicants and active participants are scheduled to attend a program briefing. Each participant at the briefing is issued a voucher and given a Request for Tenancy Approval (RTA). The client will give you the RTA to complete once you have agreed to rent to them. The RTA lets RACB know the particulars of your unit (i.e.: number of bedrooms, the rent, who the owner is, etc.). Once RACB receives the completed RTA signed by both the tenant and the landlord, it will be reviewed and processed.

We will check to make sure that the rent you are asking is both reasonable and affordable for the participant. We will also verify ownership of the property.

The unit will then be inspected to make sure it meets Federal Housing Quality Standards (HQS). If any repairs are required, both you and the tenant will be notified. Once you inform us that the repairs have been completed, we will schedule a reinspection of the unit. Please note that the assistance cannot begin prior to the unit passing the inspection and if the tenant moves in to the unit prior to it passing inspection, they will be responsible for the rent.

Once the unit passes inspection, the landlord and tenant will sign a lease with an initial term of at least one year. The landlord will also sign a Housing Assistance Payments Contract with RACB.

Rental assistance payments are sent out each month via direct deposit to the bank account designated by the landlord.