Receive Forms After Approval

Part 1: Request for Tenancy Approval (RFTA or RTA)  

This is the form you take to the owner of the unit you wish to rent. The owner must complete, sign and date the RTA form and send it back to the caseworker at your new housing authority.

The RTA will include:

• Address of the unit
• Type of unit (single family home, duplex, apartment, high rise, etc.)
• Number of bedrooms in the unit
• Requested rent amount 
• Utilities and who pays for them (owner needs to indicate if the utility is included in rent or the family is obligated to pay).
• Date the unit is available for inspection

Part 2: Section 8 Voucher from the New Housing Authority 

This form will tell you the date of expiration of your voucher. When the new housing authority receives your voucher, they are obligated to add at least 30 more days to the expiration date and issue you a new voucher from their housing authority.

• Example: The voucher issued by your housing authority has an expiration date of 3/29. The new Housing Authority will issue you a voucher with an expiration date of 4/28. This gives you 30 more days to get things done.

Be aware — If you have not submitted the RTA before that voucher expiration date, your voucher can expire and you may be terminated from the Section 8 program. Do not wait until the voucher has expired to ask your new housing authority for an extension. Most housing authorities require that your request for an extension be in writing. Make sure you submit the request before the expiration date of the Voucher.

Once the completed RTA is submitted to the new housing authority, the time left on your voucher is suspended.

• Example: Your voucher expiration date is 4/28. Your potential landlord submits a completed RTA to your caseworker on 4/20. The inspection of the unit turned up many problems and the landlord refuses to make the necessary repairs. The unit will not pass inspection without the repairs. You need to find another unit. The caseworker notifies you, in writing, on 4/22. This means you have 2 more days tacked on to the expiration date of your voucher. The new expiration date is 4/30.

When you find a unit, everything is completed, and you lease that unit, your new Housing Authority will immediately notify your housing authority.

At this point, the new housing authority will administer the Section 8 Voucher for you. This means you need to follow the rules of the new housing authority. You report changes in your income and household circumstances to your new Housing Authority. Annual recertifications and unit inspections will be conducted by your new housing authority.