Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) documents
| Submitted | Jan. 20, 2020 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Tom Nash
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
- any current list of properties accepting HCVs within Richmond
- any complaints received by VHDA regarding vouchers between Jan. 1, 2018 and the time this request is processed
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Tom Nash
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Virginia Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 20, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Virginia Housing and Development Authority
I am out of the office and will return on Monday January 27th.
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From: Virginia Housing and Development Authority
Mr. Nash:
I am in receipt of your request dated January 20, 2020. VHDA does not maintain a list of landlords willing to accept Housing Choice Vouchers. If asked, we refer people to the Virginia Housing Search website(www.virginiahousingsearch.com). I should point out that listing on that website and also listing that they accept vouchers is voluntary.
As to the second part of your request, it would be helpful if you could give us an idea of what kinds of complaints you are seeking. Are you looking for complaints about the process, complaints by a tenant about a landlord, or complaints by neighbors about tenants? We do not have a dedicated complaint line or file, so the type of complaint may well dictate where we look. Thanks. Chris
Chris Wickham
Senior Counsel
Virginia Housing Development Authority
601 S. Belvidere Street
Richmond, VA 23220
From: Tom Nash
Very helpful to know, thank you. I'd like to see complaints originating from both tenants and landlords if you have those.
Thanks!
From: Virginia Housing and Development Authority
Thanks for clarifying. Here is what I found out:
For residents in the City of Richmond, you need to reach out to Richmond Redevelopment Housing Authority(RRHA). When it comes to housing choice vouchers, VHDA is not a traditional housing authority in the sense that we do not interact directly with landlords and the participants. We have agents across the state, and for the City of Richmond our agent is RRHA. Disputes are normally handled via the lease agreement or court system and VHDA does not have any authority to enforce the leases.
RRHA would be the entity likely to receive any complaints between tenants and landlords. Even if VHDA were to be put on notice of a complaint, we do not have a tracking mechanism in place for complaints. Sorry-had I known that I would have told you that earlier.
Chris Wickham
Senior Counsel
Virginia Housing Development Authority
601 S. Belvidere Street
Richmond, VA 23220
From: Tom Nash
I appreciate you sorting this out with me -- great info to know. Thank you!