Final - 07_Follow-up Web Survey Treatment PHA

Treatment PHA Survey: Follow-Up

MTW Evaluation: Landlord Incentives

Last Modified: October 5, 2022

Study Overview and Introduction to Survey

Thank you very much for taking the time to complete this brief survey. HUD has hired Abt Associates to study the Moving to Work (MTW) – Landlord Incentives Cohort. The goal of this study is to understand how PHAs are implementing landlord incentives and determine the impacts of landlord incentives on the Housing Choice Voucher program. We are sending this survey to all PHAs in the fourth cohort of the MTW expansion. When your agency received MTW designation, you also agreed to participate in the evaluation, so your participation in this survey is required.

In this survey, we will ask you about the MTW incentives that you have implemented and any other changes to your program. This information will help us understand the current state of your program and will help us prepare for site visits.

We will share the findings from this survey with HUD and PHAs to help improve the Housing Choice Voucher Program. We may share your responses with HUD, but we will remove your name and your agency’s name and PHA code. Your responses will be used for research purposes only, not for compliance monitoring or funding determinations. 

This survey has been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The OMB control number is XXXX-XXXX, expiring XX-XX-XXXX. We expect the survey to take less than 30 minutes to complete. We expect the survey to take less than 30 minutes to complete.

By completing this survey, you consent to participate in this study. Feel free to share the survey with other staff as needed to answer the questions. If you cannot answer a question, you may skip it and move to the next one.

If you have any questions about this survey, please contact Nishi Kumar, PHA Survey Lead, at [email protected] or 617-520-2680.

Thank you for completing the survey!

Public Reporting Burden for this information collection is estimated to average 30 minutes per respondent, including time to review the information in the Study Overview and Introduction to Survey. The MTW Evaluation: Landlord Incentives is a study of the implementation and impacts of providing selected incentives to landlords to participate in the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. This information is being collected to establish a follow-up measure of PHA activities that could affect landlord participation in the HCV program. PHAs in the MTW Landlord Incentives cohort are required to respond. The information requested is protected and held confidential in accordance with 5 U.S.C. § 552a (Privacy Act of 1974) and OMB Circular No. A-130.

Survey Questions

Part A: Contact Information

1. Please confirm your PHA information and contact information below, and make corrections if needed.

• PHA Name: [prepopulated]

• PHA Code: [prepopulated]

• Staff Contact Name: [prepopulated]

• Staff Contact Position: [prepopulated]

• Staff Contact Phone: [prepopulated]

• Staff Contact Email: [prepopulated]

Part B: PHA Background

2. Does your agency maintain a list of rental properties or landlords that accept vouchers within your jurisdiction?

• Yes

• No (Skip to Q4)

3. What format is this list in?

• Online – Please provide the URL for the online listings:

• Electronic spreadsheet or word document – Please attach:

• Hard copy list – Please scan and attach a copy in PDF format:

• Other – Please describe: _____

4. Since [YEAR OF LAST SURVEY], has there been any new state laws or local ordinances within your PHA’s service area that prohibits landlords from discriminating against tenants with a voucher?

• Yes – Please indicate when this ordinance or law was implemented: [MM/YY]

• No

5. How many tenant-based vouchers did your agency issue between [DATE] and [DATE]? (Do not include project-based vouchers or special programs like HUD-VASH, Mainstream Vouchers, Family Unification Program, or EHVs.) _____

6. Out of the tenant-based vouchers issued between [DATE] and [DATE], how many have resulted in lease-up as of 180 days after voucher issuance? (Do not include project-based vouchers or special programs like HUD-VASH, Mainstream Vouchers, Family Unification Program, or EHVs.) _____

7. Does your agency base rents on Small Area Fair Market Rents (SAFMR) or Fair Market Rents (FMR)?

• SAFMR (skip to Q9)

• FMR

8. Based on your FMR, what is highest current payment standard (on average if different by bedroom size)?

• _____% of FMR (skip to Q10)

9. Based on your SAFMR, what is your agency’s:

• Lowest payment standard: _____% of SAFMR

• Highest payment standard: _____% of SAFMR

Part C: Landlord Relationships & Incentives

10. Is your agency currently encountering any of the following challenges related to recruiting or retaining landlords for the HCV program? Check all that apply.

• Payment standards not competitive with market rents

• Limited supply of rental housing

• Poor housing quality/available rentals do not meet inspection standards

• Negative perceptions of HCV tenants among landlords

• Negative perceptions of PHA or HUD among landlords

• Landlord concerns about HCV inspection process

• Landlord concerns about delays in lease-up

• Landlord concerns about evictions or other recourse for lease violations

• Landlord concerns about timeliness of payments

• Other, please describe: _____

11. Outside of your MTW landlord incentives, does your agency currently provide any of the following (non-MTW) resources or supports to engage landlords? Check all that apply.

• Dedicated landlord liaison

• Landlord advisory board

• Landlord-facing website

• Partnerships with landlord industry groups

• Direct deposit of rental payments to landlords

• Other, please describe: _____

• [TBD – other options may be added if additional flexibilities are made available to PHAs during study period]

12. Has your agency already submitted an MTW Supplement for the current fiscal year?

• Yes

• No – When do you expect to submit the MTW Supplement? [Select MM/DD/YY]

13. Which of the following MTW landlord incentives does your agency currently offer? Check all that apply.

    • Changes to Small Area Fair Market Rent (SAFMR) payment standards

    • Changes to Fair Market Rent (FMR) payment standards

    • Vacancy loss (HCV to HCV tenant)

    • Front-end vacancy loss (non-HCV to HCV tenant)

    • Damage claims

    • Other landlord incentives (e.g. signing bonus)

    • Pre-qualifying unit inspections

    • Alternate inspection schedule

    • Waiver of initial inspection

    • Other – please describe

14. Since [YEAR OF LAST SURVEY], have there been any substantial changes to the landlord incentives that you are offering through MTW (for example, added a new incentive, stopped offering an incentive, or changed the eligibility/maximum payment/frequency of an incentive)? If so, please describe these changes in detail below.

Part D: Other

15. Other than the MTW landlord incentives, since [YEAR OF LAST SURVEY], have there been any changes to your HCV program that might impact landlord participation (for example, launched a new outreach campaign or hired a new landlord liaison)? If so, please describe these changes.

16. Since [YEAR OF LAST SURVEY], have there been other changes within your jurisdiction that may have led to changes in landlord participation in the HCV Program (for example, legislative or political changes, market shifts, or natural disasters affecting the rental market)? If so, please describe below.

17. Is there any other information that you would like to share with the study team prior to the site visit?

Thank you for completing this survey. Our team will contact you again by [DATE] to finalize the schedule for site visits. We look forward to speaking with you further.

5