Project-Based Rental Assistance Owner/Agent Information

The Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 created the Project-Based Section 8 Rental Assistance Program. Under the program, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) entered into contracts with property owners to provide rental assistance for a fixed period of time for low income households.

Effective July 1, 2000, HUD contracted with SC Housing to serve as administrator of its South Carolina Section 8 properties. In this role, our Contract Administration (CA) auditors work with landlords of subsidized apartments in privately-owned buildings to assist in meeting their obligation for maintaining decent, safe and sanitary housing to low income families in need. SC Housing presently administers contracts for 261 properties; assisting approximately 18,000 households throughout South Carolina. Contractual requirements include conducting on-site management and occupancy reviews; adjusting contract rents; reviewing, processing and paying monthly vouchers; renewing expiring housing assistance contracts with Owner/Agents; responding to tenant complaints and concerns for Life Threatening and Non-Life Threatening issues; and general reporting requirements.

Contract Renewals and Rent Adjustments

The Contract Renewal Section of SC Housing’s CA Department processes renewals and/or rent adjustments for all of the contracts in SC Housing’s portfolio annually. Depending on the Owner/Agent’s request and selection of options available to them, these processes may also include the review and approval of proposed rents, utility analysis, Budget-Based Rent Increases (BBRI) and/or Rent Comparability Studies (RCS).

Voucher Processing and Special Claims

Monthly subsidy payments are processed electronically, and Owner/Agents are notified of errors and/or omissions. The voucher team also processes Special Claims submitted by Owner/Agents requesting additional funds to cover excessive tenant damages to the unit, vacancy losses of up to 60 days and unpaid tenant rent.

Helpful Links

HUD Section 8 Contract Administration
HUDCLIPS - HUD online resource for forms, handbooks, policies, and other related information