Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA)

The HOME TBRA is designed to mimic the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program (S8 HCV).

General program information can be found at 24 CFR Part 5, such as income and other eligibility issues. Program specific information can be found at 24 CFR Part 982, that speak to HQS and rent reasonableness.

The HOME TBRA regulations can be found at 24 CFR, Part 92. These regulations are intended to assist the applicant in providing a responsive application for consideration. The program can also be a stand-alone deposit assistance program, providing security and utility deposits to eligible families that are relocating.

The HOME assistance in this RFA is for ongoing rental assistance, utility deposits, and security deposits. These are the only allowable expenses for the funds associated with this solicitation.

Rents must be reasonable as set forth by HUD and should be documented as such.

Deposits for utilities are limited to water, sewer, trash, electric and gas and are for first-time utilities and not for subsequent moves. The deposits should be reasonable and based on market practices. Security deposits may be the equivalent of no more than two months rents or less. Both utility and security deposits will only be paid once. Security deposits may be paid as a standalone, however, utility deposits may be paid in conjunction with the security deposits.

The participants for TBRA must be low-income. Therefore, their annual gross income cannot exceed 80 percent of the area median income. At least 90 percent of the participants assisted must be at 60 percent of area median income. Preference will be given to participant(s) who are disabled, elderly and/or the chronic homeless as defined by US HUD, but also includes children aging out of foster care.

The selected applicant must have written policies on how they select participants. These policies must be available for inspection by HUD, the County or the public. The policies should describe the application process. It should spell out when applications are accepted and where they will be accepted. It should also speak to how the program will be marketed and the method of the application process (in person, by phone, or other).

Occupancy standards should be included in the policy along with a plan for landlord and participant outreach. The policy should speak to fair housing requirements as well as Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 compliance. The policy should also speak to participant compliance issues and the consequences of non-compliance, such as eviction or termination of assistance, along with any grievance requirements.

The subsidy is limited to the difference between the payment standard that applies (in this case 100 percent of the published Fair Market Rent (FMR)) and 30 percent of the participant’s monthly adjusted income.

Public or privately owned units can be used in the program. The units must meet Housing Quality Standards (HQS) prior to the commencement of any assistance. The rents must be reasonable. The units cannot have duplicative subsidy attached, such as a project-based Section 8 unit or a public housing unit.