3.1.5 Repairs or Abatement

3.1.5 Repairs or Abatement aetrahan Mon, 01/23/2023 - 16:37

Private owners who participate in the HUD multifamily housing programs have agreed to rent their complex or a portion of their complex to low-income families for a given term, usually at least 20 years. They are subject to periodic REAC (Real Estate Assessment Center) inspections by HUD. When operating costs for the units rise and the subsidized owners run short of money, they usually reduce services and maintenance. HUD has published a pamphlet for families living in multifamily housing called “Resident Rights and Responsibilities.” This pamphlet, available from HUD and the local HUD field office, describes tenants’ right to decent, safe, and sanitary housing.1

Residents of HUD multifamily complexes cannot use the local PHA to try to get the owner to make repairs or abate their rent because the landlord’s contract for subsidy payment is directly with HUD. When confronted with a need for repairs, tenants should report maintenance concerns to management of the complex. If the problem is not rectified in a timely fashion, the tenant should make a complaint to their local HUD field office. The tenant may also call the HUD National Multifamily Clearinghouse at 1-800-685-8470 or the HUD Office of the Inspector General Hotline to report fraud, waste, or mismanagement at 1-800-347-3735. This approach may be successful in getting the repairs made to the premises. If HUD cancels its contract with the owner or forecloses on a HUD-insured mortgage, the tenant may then be eligible for replacement housing in the form of relocation vouchers and relocation assistance payments.

Note that HUD is implementing new standards to replace HQS starting in 2023 across all HUD programs.2