Toolkit for Developing and Operating Supportive Housing
Housing Operations:
Leases, Lease Enforcement, and Rent Collection
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Communicating Clear Expectations to Tenants
The lease is a legal document that formalizes the rights and responsibilities of both tenant and landlord. The execution of a lease between the housing provider and the tenant means that the tenant has a legal right to occupancy of the unit, and that the relationship between the housing provider and the tenant is governed by landlord-tenant law. The lease is what differentiates permanent housing from other types of residential programs, where program operators and clients do not have recourse to the legal system when resolving disputes.
Just as the lease and its attachments (or addenda) communicate clear expectations for tenants regarding the terms of their occupancy and prescribe consequences when the terms are not observed, the lease also protects the tenant from arbitrary, unfair or illegal actions by the landlord. It is therefore exceptionally important that any attempts to enforce the lease be carefully documented.
Eviction of tenants in supportive housing is an extremely serious matter. Providers of supportive housing are funded to provide housing for formerly homeless persons who, by virtue of their difficulty securing or maintaining housing in the past, may require extra support to become successful tenants. It is the duty of the provider to exhaust all appropriate interventions before resorting to eviction. Such interventions are often pursued collaboratively by property management and supportive services staff. If and when eviction must occur, the eviction process must follow specific, legally mandated steps, some of which are described in documents in this Toolkit below. This Toolkit cannot speak to the specifics of local Landlord-Tenant laws regarding eviction procedures – housing operators are strongly urged to consult with a landlord-tenant attorney at all stages of the eviction process.
Note: This section of the Toolkit contains many template documents that can be adapted and used in the context of different types of permanent housing projects. However, readers are strongly urged to have all legal documents reviewed by an attorney to ensure compliance with all applicable laws.
Tools for Leases, Lease Enforcement, and Rent Collection:
Sample Lease Agreement: This example of a lease, from a youth supportive housing project, addresses all typical lease provisions.
House Rules in Supportive Housing: This document reviews some key considerations to keep in mind when developing house rules, set expectations for behavior in the housing community and should be referenced in, and appended to, the lease.
Sample House Rules for Supportive Housing: This document, while not exhaustive, provides several sample house rules. Providers may choose to use this document to start and then consider what additional topics to address, depending on the specifics of the housing project.
Substance Use/Abuse and the Lease: This document, taken from CSH’s publication Between the Lines: A Question and Answer Guide on Legal Issues in Supportive Housing – National Edition (prepared by the Law Offices of Goldfarb and Lipman), discusses the legal implications of substance abuse and the use of illegal drugs within a supportive housing development.
Sample Policy on Drug and Alcohol Use: While all leases prohibit the use and distribution of illegal drugs on site, many supportive housing providers include an addendum of this type as part of their approach to working with people with substance use issues. The policy emphasizes standards of acceptable community behavior rather than the use or non-use of drugs and alcohol. This allows the tenant to speak openly about drug abuse and its concomitant issues to supportive services staff without fear of eviction.
Tenants’ Animals and Sample Documents: This document will help providers design a policy regarding animals within the housing project, and includes a sample Pet Agreement Addendum to Rental Agreement and a sample Companion / Service Animal Procedure.
Tenant File Maintenance and Record Keeping: This document will help providers design a tenant file system that will lead to easy review by funders, auditors, and attorneys (in the event documents are subpoenaed or needed for evidence), and includes a sample file organization that can serve as a checklist of documents to include in a tenant file.
Policies Regarding Rent Receivables: This informational piece provides basic advice regarding the collection of rent within supportive housing, including when/by whom rent payments are accepted, past due notices, and guidance regarding rent calculation in HUD projects.
Guidelines for Rent Collection in Supportive Housing: This document provides consideration to help Supportive housing operators develop a clear rent collection policy, a critical function of property management.
Sample Notices Regarding Failure to Pay Rent: This document contains sample notices for use when tenants fail to pay rent, including a Sample Notice of Failure to Pay Rent, Sample Final Notice of Failure to Pay Rent Prior to Legal Action, and a Sample 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit.
Sample Proof of Service: This document is a sample format for documenting that legal notices, including notices regarding failure to pay rent, have been served to the tenant.
Sample Rent Payment Pledge: This document provides a sample format for documenting a rent payment plans, to offer tenants an opportunity to avoid legal action by consenting to pay a portion of back rent each month until fully repaid. Payment plans are sometimes offered in conjunction with money management to stave off eviction for tenants with histories of non-payment.
Proper Handling of Tenants’ Abandoned Belongings: This document described the protocol for when a housing operator believes that a tenant has abandoned their unit and would like to re-let the unit to a new tenant, and includes a Sample Notice of Belief of Abandonment:
Sample Lease Violation Policy and Notice: This document describes the importance of policies that require documentation of all lease violations to ensure that all tenants are being treated equally and includes a Sample Notice of Lease Violation to alert a tenant to the violation and provides an opportunity for him/her to clarify any misunderstandings about the lease.
Sample Housing Retention Conference Guidelines and Policy: Before considering evicting a tenant, providers need to check whether they have exhausted all reasonable interventions that serve to keep clients housed. This document provides a sample Guideline and Policy for prioritizing housing retention approaches.
The Eviction Process in Supportive Housing: For those situations in which eviction cannot be avoided, this document provides sample protocols for how staff should proceed with evictions step-by-step, including important “checks and balances” to ensure appropriate preventive measures have been attempted and appropriate approvals by management have been secured. Once again, providers are cautioned that eviction is a difficult, often expensive and protracted process, and should be regarded as a last resort.
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