Tenant & Landlord Responsibilities

Your obligations to your landlord are listed in the lease. This includes the timely payment of rent and utilities. You must use your Section 8 unit as your primary home. In addition, you and your family members must not:

• Sublease the unit or live with people not on the lease.
• Damage the unit or property, except for normal wear and tear.
• Let guests damage the unit or property.
• Commit serious or repeated lease violations.
• Commit any crime related to federal housing programs.
• Own or have any interest in the unit. (This does not apply if a family member is part of a cooperative or owns a manufactured home sitting on a leased space.)

You also have obligations to KCHA. You must:

• Notify KCHA in writing when you will live away from the unit for an extended time.
• Notify both your landlord and KCHA in writing before moving out of the unit or ending the lease.
• Let KCHA inspect the unit at reasonable times, after reasonable notice.
• Request KCHA's written approval before allowing additional family members to live in the unit.
• Give KCHA a copy of any eviction notice.

Your Section 8 voucher (PDF) includes your full list of responsibilities.

Landlord Responsibilities

Your landlord's obligations to you should be included in your lease. They must also maintain the unit and the property so that both pass KCHA's inspection process. In addition, your landlord needs to:

• Decide which utilities will be included in the rent and which utilities you will pay.
• Make sure that only family members listed on the lease live in the unit.
• Make sure that your family does not own the unit.
• Enforce all tenant obligations listed on the lease.
• Make sure that the total rent for your Section 8 unit is not greater than rents charged for similar units on the property.

The landlord must not:

• Live in the unit.
• Receive any payment other than tenant rent and payments from KCHA while under contract.
• Commit any crime related to federal housing programs.
• Be related to you or your family. (KCHA makes some exceptions for disabled tenants with an approved reasonable accommodation. Contact your senior housing specialist to learn more.)

If the property enters foreclosure and you must move, your landlord has to give you at least 90 days' pre-eviction notice. Learn more about your foreclosure rights.

The Housing Assistance Payments contract lists your landlord's full responsibilities to KCHA.