Housing Quality Standards (HQS) Inspections
When a Housing Choice Voucher tenant chooses a home, the unit must be inspected by a Housing Authority inspector to confirm the unit meets Housing Quality Standards (HQS). These standards ensure that families moving into your rental units are safe. Other rental assistance programs use similar requirements.
HQS inspections take place before a family moves in and annually or biannually after that. Housing Authority rent payment can begin the day a unit passes an inspection and a resident moves in.
The Housing Authority will schedule the inspection and notify tenants and landlords of the inspection date and time.
This Housing Quality Standards presentation will help you to understand everything that an HQS Inspection entails.
Quality Control Inspections
HUD requires that a sample of units be re-inspected to ensure that standards are being enforced correctly and uniformly by all inspectors and those landlords who have self-certified their units.
Special Inspection
Special inspections are in response to complaints registered with the PHA by families, owners, or other sources regarding the unit’s condition, quality control inspections or any other inspection the PHA may deem appropriate to conduct.
Special Inspection Request
COMING SOON
National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE)
Abatement
If an owner does not fix inspection violations on time, WMHA may stop HAP payments.
- Tenants must still pay their portion of the rent.
- WMHA will not make back payments for the time payments were stopped.
- If violations are not fixed for more than 30 days, the HAP contract may be terminated.
The most commonly failed items are:
- Missing or nonfunctioning smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.
- Cracked and/or broken window panes.
- Missing or damaged window screens.
- Peeling and/or chipping exterior and interior paint.
- Burner on kitchen stove/range not operating as designed.
- Leaking faucets or plumbing.
- Inoperable bathroom fan (when present).
- Carpet and vinyl conditions create tripping hazards.
- Missing handrail for 4 or more steps.
- Loose, missing, or cracked outlet or light switch plates.
- Garbage disposals not operating or missing flanges.
- Missing globes on light fixtures or missing bulbs.
- Broken toilet seats.
- Missing tiles in bath, slow drains
EPA Lead Law and HCVP
For homes built before 1978, if peeling or damaged paint is found and a child under 6 lives in or will move into the unit:
- The owner must provide proof that repairs were completed by a certified lead contractor and pass a lead clearance test.
- The deadline is 30 days after an annual inspection or 14 days after a move-in inspection.
- All other inspection violations must also be fixed.
