Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

We strongly recommend you visit the Rental Housing Search. You can also view the Housing Resource Guide on this website. These resources attempt to identify all affordable rental housing in each community throughout the state, along with apartment sizes, addresses, and contact information.

If the income has increased, the increase must be at least a $200 increase per month before you are required to report it. If your income has decreased, you should report it anytime this occurs.

Yes, based on program requirements.

Tax Credit and HOME require annual recertification. Section 8 Project Based and Tenant Based assistance also require annual recertification, as well as additional recertifications if your income or family size changes throughout the year.

After the lease has been terminated and the tenant has moved out, leaving a forwarding address, the landlord has two weeks to either return the deposit or provide a written statement showing the specific reason for withholding the deposit.

The rule of thumb is the landlord is required to give tenants 24 hours’ notice prior to entering their unit. However, if there is an emergency the landlord may enter the unit at his/her discretion.

Unfortunately the answer here is “no.” The local Public Housing Authority (PHA), if there is one in the community, will typically have information on any public housing, Housing Choice Vouchers, other affordable housing programs in which they are involved or which they administer, and a listing of landlords that participate in their programs. There are often other privately owned properties that offer Section 8 Rental Assistance that will likely not be on the PHA listing. We strongly recommend you consult the Rental Housing Search on this website. This resource provides locations of federally funded rental housing in South Dakota.

Federal affordable housing programs tend to fall under two broad categories, those offering “rental assistance” and those offering “limited rents.” Rental assistance typically refers to programs where the government has contracted with a landlord for a specific rent level. The renter pays a portion of the rent, usually based on a percentage of their adjusted income, and the government pays the remainder of the contract rent. Most often, the renter’s portion of the rent is limited to no more than 30% of their adjusted income. Examples of this type of program include HUD Section 8, USDA Section 515, and others. Programs offering limited rents typically place a ceiling on the rents a landlord may charge for an apartment. These ceilings are normally tied to some measurement of the average or median income in a community. The landlord contracts with the government to charge rents that are at or below that level. Normally the renter pays the entire rent in these cases, but the rent is often less than the prevailing conventional rent for an apartment of similar size, age, amenities, condition, etc.

Rent is determined using income, family size and other factors. For further information click on your category to links to more information:

• Family - Section 8

• Elderly/Disabled - Section 8

In Standard HOME and Housing Tax Credit properties, the rents are fixed at a rate lower than the market.

Both types of HUD Section 8 provide rental assistance or rental subsidies. In both cases, the government enters into a contract with a landlord to guarantee a certain “contract rent” for a housing unit – either a house or an apartment. To income-qualify for the program, the tenant must not earn more than a specified amount adjusted for family size and meet other criteria for participation in the program. The tenant then will pay 30% of his income toward the combined total of rent and utilities, and the government will pay the remainder of the “contract” rent. Project-based Section 8 applies to apartments at a specific location. Any applicant for these apartments must qualify for the program and will receive rental assistance if they qualify for such. When the tenant moves, the subsidy contract remains with the apartment, hence “project-based.” Housing Choice Vouchers are tenant-based. That means that they are issued for a specific tenant rather than tied to a particular apartment. The tenant can then seek out the housing they desire and request the local housing authority to contract with the property owner for rental assistance. The tenant contributions and most other aspects of the voucher are similar to those in the project-based program.

Contact us if you have further questions.

10% Owners Equity, 40% Conventional Loan, 50% HOME

Occupancy Requirements, Rent Restrictions, and Fair Housing Requirements are required under the HOME Program. Please refer to the HOME Program Allocation Plan regarding the Federal requirements.

What is the housing need in the community? The market study should include a breakdown of community demographics, employment opportunities, the growth of the community, an overview of existing rental projects, the size of the units (1-bdrm, 2-bdrm, etc.), rents currently charged, vacancy rates, who the units are being marketed towards (elderly, disabled, multifamily, etc.), when the projects were built, and the current physical condition of the projects. Once the housing need has been identified the review of rental income, expenses and development costs will determine project feasibility.

• Need and demand for the type of housing project.

• Local support of the project.

• Financial feasibility of the project by determining:

  • Development cost projections and proposed funding sources

  • Income and expense projections for the affordability period.

For further questions reference the HUD Exchange.

The price of the two-bedroom unit is $99,000* plus applicable taxes and the price of the three-bedroom unit is $109,000* plus applicable taxes. This includes the price of the unit, transportation to your lot and placement on the foundation or basement. Additional placement charges may apply, depending upon lot location.

*Price subject to change.

The price of the lot; the cost of putting in the foundation or basement; state, city and excise taxes; water and utility hook-ups. Other considerations may include a survey, sidewalks, driveway, curb and gutter. A ramp may also be added at the developer's expense.

You could use one of SDHDA's financing programs found here or you could contact your local lender for additional financing options and information.

Yes, SDHDA will provide plans for a basement or footing and foundation plans for a crawlspace.

Yes, if placing your unit on a basement, plans show where the stairway cutout is located.

The unit must be placed in communities in South Dakota of fewer than 5,000 people based on the most current population information.*

*Lot must be accessible to the movers.

The DakotaPlex must be used as a rental and must be placed within city limits. Annual recertification and a six-month lease are required.

The DakotaPlex must remain an affordable rental property with maximum rents for a minimum of 10 years. A restrictive covenant will be placed on the property to ensure compliance with this requirement. You must own the DakotaPlex for three (3) years before you can sell the unit(s) at a profit above documented costs. If you sell the unit(s) before three (3) years, you may only recoup your initial investment.

No.

Rents cannot exceed maximum rent at 70 percent of the State Median Income as determined by HUD each year. Certification at move-in and recertification annually. Minimum six-month lease.

Yes. You can select Canyon Drift or Charcoal Smoke vinyl siding.

SDHDA will provide the manufacturer name and color code, so that you can purchase matching siding from a local dealer.

There is a crawl space access framed in, in the back bedroom's closet floor, but not cut out.

Yes. All walls are taped, textured and painted.

The exterior walls are 2" x 6" studs, 16"o.c., 7/16" OSB Sheathing + 1½" XPS Insulation . The interior walls are 2" x 4" studs, 16"o.c., ½" Gypsum board..

R21 Batt insulation + 7/16" OSB + R7.5 1½” foam = R28.5 insulation.

Yes, it comes with an Air Source Heat Pump.

An electric hot water heater is provided. A water softener is not included.

Solid wood cabinets, four telephone jacks, three cable TV hookups, five closets, two outside electrical outlets, 30" range hood with a light, bathroom fan, three smoke detectors and one smoke + CO2 detector. Standard light fixtures are included.

Contact your area Sales Representative or SDHDA at 1-800-540-4241

The OCAF for South Dakota can be found in the Section 8 resources page.

A RCS is good for 5 years.

Active Tenants: Keep everything as long as they are active tenants.

Moved Out Tenants: 3 years.

Rejected applicants: 5 years.

90%

Because the property will not be paid if the TRACS compliance percentage falls below the threshold.

An interim certification with the previous HOH information included.

An interim certification with the previous HOH information included.

15 months

10th of the month

True - according to the current special claims guidebook dated June 2006

Owner\Agents

Three years after the date the claim was paid

True

No

A manual move out form must be completed.

EIV Existing Tenant Search. Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) system allows owners and management agents to search if an applicant or a member of the applicant’s household is being assisted at another location under an Office of Housing and/or Public and Indian Housing (PIH) rental assistance program. HUD strongly encourages use of the Existing Tenant Search option before admitting new applicants into subsidized properties. If the search reveals the applicant or a member of the applicant’s family is being assisted at another location, the owner or management agent (O/A) should confirm with the applicant, the applicant’s program participation status at the other location before admission of the applicant to his/her property. The O/A may also need to contact management at the other location where the applicant is being assisted to determine the applicant’s move-out date or termination of assistance at that location. Assistance will not be paid for more than one unit per household.

Income

Zero, HUD 4350.3 pg. 5-6 3(a). Full-time students who are 18 years and older are dependents, and not the head of family, spouse or co-head count up to the maximum $480. If the income is less than $480 annually, count all the income.

At least 50% of the time

120 days

False

False - All fees must be actual incurred expenses, must be made available to the tenants, and must be pre-approved by SDHDA/HUD.

False - only the periodic payment is counted as income

True - if they are prescribed in writing by a medical practitioner for a specific medical condition.

$200 per month

6 months

Current

One month’s total tenant payment

False

False

False - Exhibit 6-1 in Chapter 6 of 4350.3 REV-1 Handbook

120 days prior to annual recertification

3 years - shredded, burned or pulverized in Section 8 properties.

All adult household members.

Use federal definition of disability verification form, signed by licensed medical provider.

Owner

False

40% of new move-ins during year at ELI (Extremely low income) - owner/agent must track

Name, date, time application received, bedroom size and reasonable accommodation.

14 days, according to State Law 43-32-24.

True - unless there is a change in the TTP or utility reimbursement, then the 50059 must be signed by the tenant.

SDHDA/HUD approved version, available at Section 8 Forms, Manuals & Resources.

5 years. The most recent five year period, until five years after the affordability period terminates.

30 percent of their adjusted monthly income or market rent, whichever is less

Annual recertifications must be effective on or before (but not more than 30 days before) the occupancy anniversary date.

The HOME designated units may change within the development, as long as the total number of units are income qualified as stated in the HOME covenants.

No, only the HTC program.

6 months

21 years

False - if the household is under 140% of AMI, the household can transfer without recertification.

120 days

False - The HUD model lease in HUD Model Lease of the 4350.3 Chg 2 must be used at Rural Housing Service’s (RHS) Section 515 projects that have Section 8 assistance. Exhibit 6-2 contains the lease provisions required by RHS. Owners will be responsible for ensuring that any RHS required provisions not already included in the HUD model lease are added to the lease as an addendum. The lease addendum must be reviewed and approved by HUD or the Contract Administrator, ensuring the addendum does not include provisions that conflict with HUD requirements or regulations. The RHS required lease provisions are also provided in Attachment 6-E of the USDA MFH Asset Management Handbook, HB-2-3560.**

5 years or shorter if demographics change

Limited English Proficiency - it is Federal guidance to recipients and federal agencies stating that they are required to take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to their programs and activities to persons who have limited English proficiency.

Translating vital documents for each eligible LEP language group that constitutes 5 percent or 1,000, whichever is less, of the population of persons eligible to be served or likely to be affected or encountered

True - There must be a relationship between the person’s disability and his or her need for the animal.

False - In some cases no formal training is required for the animal to perform the disability-related assistance or provide the disability-related benefit needed by the person with the disability.

Actual moving expenses. The owner must state this in their written policies and procedures.

Maintenance staff, if they are not trained in fair housing, as they have the most interaction with the residents on property and in their units.

Newspaper, signage at the property, good curb appeal, local housing authorities, churches, social service providers, word of mouth, friendly staff, quick responses to inquiries/complaints

Priceless! These are the people that make your community work!

Approximately 70%

True - however, reasonable attempts to rectify a resident’s racist behavior toward another resident can insulate you from fair housing liability

False - Public Housing, Section 8 Voucher Programs, and owners participating in the Section 8 voucher and project-based programs must comply with this law. Full text of the law.

False - this is a reasonable MODIFICATION. A reasonable accommodation is a change in rules, policies, practices, or services so that a person with disability will have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling unit or common space.

Reasonable accommodation for appeal hearing.

Yes.

Zero

2 years. 90 and higher 3 years, 80-89 2 years, 79-less annually and 60 and below (Enforcement Center)

True, according to Change 2 of HUD Handbook 4350.3 REV-1

1978

Walk the property, all the common areas and pick up any debris and note any corrections or infractions.

Educate your residents how to reset GFCI’s, garbage disposal, self cleaning oven, and thermostat

Educate your residents on how to install batteries in smoke detectors

Educate your residents on how to shut the water off in case of an emergency

Explain to residents the need to report maintenance problems (like a leaky faucet or pipe) early to avoid emergencies and expensive damages.

Yes. They are your eyes and ears at your property and really are the only ones that know what the property needs first hand. They can save you money in the long run.

NEVER show a unit that is not ready. If you don’t have a rent ready unit, ask a tenant with a very nice apartment if you could show theirs.

It will save them time if they don’t have to track down tools when you need them.

It is more expensive to purchase common materials as needed than to purchase them in bulk.

If an inventory is maintained, you will have parts you need on hand to complete the repair.

Using proper maintenance procedures can save the property money

Providing Fair Housing Training to them can help you avoid a lawsuit

They can harm themselves or others if not properly trained

• So you can be proactive with scheduling rather than always being reactive to problems; stop the crisis management syndrome!

• You can prevent potential life threatening situations from occurring

• It provides an audit trail of corrective maintenance, which in the event of a lawsuit, will reflect due diligence on the part of the owner

• Place them in your memo book so you can refer to them later

• Make sure you have implemented all of the suggestions/changes that are appropriate

• Ask the appropriate SDHDA staff for clarification if needed

• Research your issue in the 4350.3 Chg 2 before calling SDHDA

• Check the RHIIP Guide on the HUD website for the answer

• Attend Occupancy Training if you have not done so in the last 6 months

http://www.sdhda.org/

• It is free to the landlord

• It is free to the tenants

• It is updated regularly and only lists available units or properties that maintain a waiting list

• You can list both assisted and conventional units on it

• It is easy to use

Yes, however only after the owner has been given an opportunity to correct the problem, and hasn’t done so.