The Woonsocket Housing Authority's Housing Choice (Section 8) Voucher program is a fantastic opportunity for local landlords. The WHA administers rental subsidies to eligible families, who in turn are responsible for locating private units that meet the program requirements. Qualified households with vouchers pay between 30-40% of their monthly, adjusted income towards rent and the WHA pays the remaining amount. You could link up with great tenants, earn a steady source of income and make a difference in our community.

Landlords Advantages:

Advantages to becoming a Section 8 Landlord:
• Guaranteed rent check paid monthly
• Client will sign an initial 1 year lease. No need to advertise every few months for new tenants
• We will insure that clients will obey regulations or they will lose their housing voucher
• Landlords use their own lease
• Our clients are to be treated like any other tenant; if they break their lease we encourage landlords to evict them from their unit. The Housing Authority will continue to pay our share of the rent while the process goes through the courts
• The Housing Authority cannot evict tenants under this program

Lead Hazard Mitigation Law:

The Woonsocket Housing Authority has adopted a policy that will require a Certificate of Conformance with respect to the Lead Hazard Mitigation Standards adopted by the State of Rhode Island. The WHA will only require the Certificate of Conformance for newly leased units. The certificate will not be required for existing units in which Section 8 tenants are residing.

A Certificate of Conformance can only be obtained by contracting a Licensed Lead Inspector to perform the required inspection on the property that you want to lease. You can obtain a list of licensed inspectors on the Rhode Island Housing Resources Commission web site www.hrc.ri.gov or by calling 401-222-5323. Some units are exempt under the Lead Hazard Mitigation Law so if you are not familiar with the requirements under the law, you will be able to access all information from the RIRC web site.

Housing Quality Standards:

The following list reflects the Housing Quality Standards required under the Section 8 program:

Living Room
- At least one working outlet and one permanently installed light fixture or two working outlets.
- At least one window present free of signs of severe deterioration or missing or broken-out panes.

Kitchen
- At least one working outlet and one permanently installed light fixture.
- Stove with working oven.
- Working refrigerator.
- Sink with hot and cold running water.
- Space for storage and preparation of food.
- If oven and stove are Family-supplied, a microwave may be substituted.
- If oven and stove are Owner-supplied, a microwave oven may be substituted, if Family agrees and Owner provides the same for all residents in the building.

Bathroom
- One permanently installed light fixture.
- Toilet, fixed washbasin, tub or shower present.
- Operable window or working vent system.

Bedrooms
- At least two working outlets or one working outlet and one permanently installed light fixture.
- At least one window free of signs of severe deterioration or missing or broken-out panes. Window must be operable.
- Other rooms used as living areas may be used as bedrooms if there are two outlets and an operable window.

Other Room Used for Living
- Means of natural or artificial illumination or adequate light from an adjacent room.

General Health and Safety
- Acceptable fire exit from the building that is not blocked.
- Unit must be free of infestation by mice or vermin.
- Unit must be free from heavy accumulation of debris inside or outside.
- Adequate covered facilities for temporary storage and disposal of food wastes.
- Walls, floors and ceilings must be free from hazardous defects (any structural defects such as holes).
- At least one working smoke detector installed in unit.
- All windows accessible from the outside must lock. However, windows may be nailed shut if they are not needed for ventilation or as an alternate exit.
- Smoke detector must be installed in the basement.

Forms and Reports:

For related forms and reports, please visit the Reports section of our web site to download information.