Message from the EOHA inspection department supervisor Kevin Childs: A vital component of the Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program is the inspection department.

There are 4 types of inspections conducted on a HUD HCV unit a participant is either interested in renting or is currently renting to assure it meets Housing Quality Standards (HQS).

At EOHA, we take inspections seriously and pride ourselves on providing top-notch inspection services through ongoing training and certification programs for our inspectors. The goal at EOHA is to ensure inspections are done in a thorough and fair manner to protect all involved parties.

HQS Inspection Checklist

• Move-in/Initial Inspection: Prior to a unit being leased-up and approved for tenancy for a participant it must be inspected by one of our inspectors. This inspection requires the inspector to visually inspect all areas of the unit the participant is interested in moving in, including the building’s common halls and basement to assure the unit meets HUD’s HCV HQS regulations.

• Annual Inspection: Each year that the participant resides in the unit it must have a full inspection, similar to the move-in/initial inspection to assure the unit is still in compliance with HUD’s HCV HQS regulations. Generally this inspection is scheduled 3-months before the participants initial move-in date (Example: if the participant moved in the unit in the month of April the Annual Inspection is scheduled in the month of January – 3 months before the move-in anniversary).
  Please note: Both the move-in/initial & annual inspections require the inspector to inspect the basement. If the basement is not available for any reason the unit  cannot pass the inspection until this area is inspected and free of all HQS defects.

• Special Inspection: This inspection is conducted at the request of the participant, owner/management or a 3rd party who believe that there are violations/defects that may affect the participant, their family, owners/management or the neighborhood that the unit is located in. All areas of the unit may be inspected or only the specific area(s) that the violations/defects are believed to exist.

• Re-inspection: This inspection is a follow-up to a previous inspection to assure that all violations/defects are corrected. Most HUD HCV HQS violations must be corrected within 30 days, but certain violations/defects such as no smoke detectors, sewer, some electrical defects, improper toilet operation, etc. must be corrected within 24-hours.