Q: What is rent abatement?
A: Abatement is the suspension of Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) to the landlord for failure to correct owner responsible deficiencies in the allowable timeframe.

Q: What circumstances result in abatement?
A: The most common cause for abatement is a Section 8 units fails to meet the Housing Quality Standards (HQS). The owner is responsible for ensuring that their units meet HQS.

Q: How do I know if the unit fails HQS?
A: After completion of an HQS inspection, the housing authority inspector will provide you with a deficiency notice that identifies HQS violations that must be corrected. The owner has 30 days to correct most violations. Health and safety violations that are life threatening must be corrected within 24 hours.  Units are inspected after the correction period for compliance.  Any deficiency that has not been corrected results in abatement of the Housing Assistance Payments.

Q: How do I prevent abatement?
Owners are encouraged to inspect their units prior to occupancy of a new tenant and before each annual re-inspection to ensure the unit meets HQS. A copy of the Housing Quality Standards can be obtained from the Authority by calling 954.739.1114 extension 1318.   Q