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If you are experiencing log-in problems with Partner Portal or your account is locked and you need your password reset please provide your User ID. Please contact Chris Shelton at cshelton@fwhs.org
Remember: Monthly HAP Payments are always processed on the 1st business day of the month, and will be reflected in Partner Portal the following business day.
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Due to COVID-19, HUD granted housing authorities a waiver concerning annual and biennial inspections. The waiver ends in June 2021. Fort Worth Housing Solutions will resume annual and biennial inspections in May. Landlords and clients will be notified in the usual manner of scheduled inspections. We expect landlords to conduct a walk-through of units before a scheduled inspection. Please note that Inspectors will wear masks in accordance with COVID-19 protocol. If anyone in the unit that is scheduled for an inspection has COVID-19, or has been exposed to someone with COVID-19, please let the inspector and landlord know. The inspection will be rescheduled.
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New Operating Hours in 2020 (effective Jan. 2)
Monday – Thursday: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Fort Worth Housing Solutions will be closed on Fridays. Landlords may always send emails to landlordservices@fwhs.org
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Dear Landlord Partner:
At Fort Worth Housing Solutions, we have taken numerous measures to protect the health and safety of residents and staff and to slow the spread of COVID-19.
We want to assure you that there will be no interruption to your regular housing assistance payments. Our staff is hard at work, with some employees teleworking and others staying in our offices. Our main office building is closed to the public.
We ask that you be patient with tenants who are receiving housing assistance. Housing Choice Voucher tenants who have experienced a job loss and/or a reduction in income are required to report the change to us so that we can adjust their portion of rent accordingly. The effective date of the change in the tenant’s rent portion is the month after the tenant reports the change. It may take us longer than usual to process the action.
A moratorium on evictions for non-payment of rent is in effect through July 25 by federal law. This is part of the relief bill that Congress passed and the president signed into law. No late fees or penalties can be charged during this time period. The moratorium only applies to evictions for non-payment of rent. It does not prevent any other type of eviction, such as for criminal activity or if the tenant poses an imminent threat of physical harm to you, your employees or other tenants.
We are conducting move-in inspections but have suspended regular inspections. A new, virtual inspections process is in the works and should be implemented soon, and we are conducting emergency inspections as necessary. There may be a delay in receiving approval for any rent increases.
If you have any questions, please contact our landlord liaison, Ravonda Thompson, at rthompson@fwhs.org, 817-333-3667. While there may be some delay in response time, she will be available to answer your questions.
Sincerely,
Selarstean Mitchell
Vice President of Assisted Housing
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Thank you for your continued participation in our housing assistance programs during this challenging time. As the result of COVID-19, HUD has allowed housing authorities to implement certain waivers. Consequently, FWHS is not doing any onsite physical inspections of occupied units at this time. We are conducting initial physical inspections of vacant units. In some cases we will conduct a virtual inspection or use an alternative inspection. Please see the procedures for virtual and alternative inspections. When scheduling an inspection, the Inspector will discuss options with you. We will delay physical annual and biennial inspections until June or July, with the plan to have all of them completed by October 31, 2020, subject to it being safe to do so. As with initial inspections, we may be able to conduct some annual and biennial inspections virtually. Please let us know if you have any questions. You may always contact us at Inspections@fwhs.org.
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Guidance for Landlords, Tenants to Avoid Evictions
The federal moratorium on evictions under the CARES Act expired July 25, 2020. But Fort Worth Housing Solutions and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development are encouraging our residents and landlords to work together to make sure that outstanding rent balances are paid and that individuals and residents have every opportunity to keep their housing during these difficult times.
The moratorium, adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, allowed tenants to avoid eviction for missed rent payments in April, May, June and July 2020 while requiring tenants pay the full amount owed by July 24, 2020. Unpaid balances can cause hardship for both landlords and tenants who now owe larger balances.
If you are a tenant or a landlord with an unpaid rent balance, click here to learn what you can do.
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Fort Worth Housing Solutions is pleased to announce two landlord bonus initiatives. They are as follows:
- A $500 bonus will be paid to any landlord who leases to a FWHS voucher holder who was a resident of Bellevue Apartments and was displaced by the February 2021 severe weather. The Housing Assistance Payment contract must be effective no later than April 30, 2021.
- A $500 bonus will be paid to any landlord who leases to a FWHS Family Unification Program (FUP) voucher holder no later than June 30, 2021. The FUP is a program that unifies and assists families facing homelessness, and also includes youth aging out of Foster Care.
Any landlord who has a unit they would like to make available to either of these groups, please contact RaVonda Thompson at rthompson@fwhs.org. She will connect you with the voucher holder.
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