Section 8 Rental Assistance Specialist

Tennessee Housing Development Agency•Nashville, TN

About The Position

Manages a caseload of applicants and tenants, including determinations of initial eligibility and re-certifications (annual, interim, and relocation), in a multi-county area for the Housing Choice Voucher Program.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent GED.
Ability to read, understand, and apply regulations, laws, agreements and organizational materials.
Ability to handle private, personal information in a confidential manner in compliance with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a, as amended).
Strong interpersonal skills.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Builds and maintains positive relationships with internal and external constituents.
Strong organizational skills.
Strong time management skills; uses time effectively; consistently meets deadlines.
Ability to exercise good judgment in evaluating complex situations.
Ability to adjust to frequent procedural changes.
Ability to interact appropriately with low-income individuals.
Documents regularly, thoroughly, accurately, and completely.
High level of detail and accuracy.
Exercises good and consistently fair judgment, courtesy, and tact in dealing with the staff and public in giving and obtaining information.
Computer literate; proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and the internet; able to effectively adapt to and use other computer systems as needed for daily activities.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in the social sciences, public administration or other related field is preferred.
Two or more years of experience in a federal, state or local housing program, other social service or subsidized housing program, or other organization serving a low-income population is preferred.
Knowledge of Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs preferred.

Responsibilities

Maintains a waiting list of eligible applicants for each assigned county according to program requirements.
Conducts interviews with applicants and issues vouchers to eligible applicants.
Conducts annual re-certifications for a caseload of eligible participants, including tenant interviews.
Conducts interim re-certifications as needed and processes appropriate paperwork to adjust payments.
Facilitates tenant relocations, ensuring that tenants are eligible for relocation, submitting Request for Tenancy Approvals to contract inspector(s) and obtaining new leases and Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Contracts.
Collects verifications of local preferences, income, assets, household composition and deductions to determine eligibility and the correct amount of rental and utility assistance, ensuring that all information is received in time to process transactions by stated deadlines to notify tenants and landlords.
Corresponds with tenants and landlords about changes in subsidy and inspections, giving appropriate notice of any HAP amount change or termination or any matter regarding Housing Quality Standards (HQS) as dictated by the Administrative Plan.
Provides data entry into the appropriate computer systems; troubleshoots errors and makes corrections where appropriate.
Collects rental information on unassisted units for purposes of determining rent reasonableness; maintains a rent comparability file.
Performs tenant fraud recovery, including calculating subsidy overpayments, and executing repayment agreements.
Maintains client and landlord relations.
Maintains complete and accurate tenant files, program files and other records.
Prepares paperwork for scanning into the Electronic Content Management (ECM) data base.
Complies with all program rules and other state and federal regulations.
Maintains current and accurate knowledge and information concerning the program, attending training as necessary.