24 C.F.R. § 982.405

(a) Initial Inspections. The PHA must inspect the unit leased to a family prior to the initial term of the lease to determine if the unit meets the HQS. (See § 982.305(b)(2) concerning timing of initial inspection by the PHA.)

(b) Periodic Inspections. The PHA must inspect the unit at least biennially during assisted occupancy to ensure that the unit continues to meet the HQS, except that a small rural PHA, as defined in § 902.101 of this title, must inspect a unit once every three years during assisted occupancy to ensure that the unit continues to meet the HQS.

(c) Supervisory Quality Control Inspections. The PHA must conduct supervisory quality control HQS inspections.

(d) Interim Inspections. When a participant family or government official notifies the PHA of a potential deficiency, the following conditions apply:

(1) Life-Threatening. If the reported deficiency is life-threatening, the PHA must, within 24 hours of notification, both inspect the housing unit and notify the owner if the life-threatening deficiency is confirmed. The owner must then make the repairs within 24 hours of PHA notification.

(2) Non-Life-Threatening. If the reported deficiency is non-life-threatening, the PHA must, within 15 days of notification, both inspect the unit and notify the owner if the deficiency is confirmed. The owner must then make the repairs within 30 days of notification from the PHA or within any PHA-approved extension.

(3) Extraordinary circumstances. In the event of extraordinary circumstances, such as if a unit is within a presidentially declared disaster area, HUD may approve an exception of the 24-hour or the 15-day inspection requirement until such time as an inspection is feasible.

(e) Scheduling inspections. In scheduling inspections, the PHA must consider complaints and any other information brought to the attention of the PHA.

(f) PHA notification of owner. The PHA must notify the owner of deficiencies shown by the inspection.

(g) Charge to family for inspection. The PHA may not charge the family for an initial inspection or reinspection of the unit.

(h) Charge to owner for inspection. The PHA may not charge the owner for the inspection of the unit prior to the initial term of the lease or for a first inspection during assisted occupancy of the unit. The PHA may establish a reasonable fee to owners for a reinspection if an owner notifies the PHA that a repair has been made or the allotted time for repairs has elapsed and a reinspection reveals that any deficiency cited in the previous inspection that the owner is responsible for repairing, pursuant to § 982.404(a), was not corrected. The owner may not pass this fee along to the family. Fees collected under this paragraph (h) will be included in a PHA's administrative fee reserve and may be used only for activities related to the provision of the HCV program.

(i) Verification methods. When a PHA must verify correction of a deficiency, the PHA may use verification methods other than another on-site inspection. The PHA may establish different verification methods for initial and non-initial inspections or for different HQS deficiencies. Upon either an inspection for initial occupancy or a reinspection, the PHA may accept photographic evidence or other reliable evidence from the owner to verify that a deficiency has been corrected.

(j) Initial HQS inspection option: No life-threatening deficiencies. (1) A PHA may elect to approve an assisted tenancy, execute the HAP contract, and begin making assistance payments for a unit that failed the initial HQS inspection, provided that the unit has no life-threatening deficiencies. A PHA that implements this option (NLT option) may apply the option to all the PHA's initial inspections or may limit the use of the option to certain units. The PHA's Administrative Plan must specify the circumstances under which the PHA will exercise the NLT option. If the PHA has established, and the unit is covered by, both the NLT option and the alternative inspections option for the initial HQS inspection, see § 982.406(f).

(2) The PHA must notify the owner and the family if the NLT option is available for the unit selected by the family. After completing the inspection and determining there are no life-threatening deficiencies, the PHA provides both the owner and the family with a list of all the non-life-threatening deficiencies identified by the initial HQS inspection and, should the owner not complete the repairs within 30 days, the maximum amount of time the PHA will withhold HAP before abating assistance. The PHA must also inform the family that if the family accepts the unit and the owner fails to make the repairs within the cure period, which may not exceed 180 days from the effective date of the HAP contract, the PHA will terminate the HAP contract, and the family will have to move to another unit in order to receive voucher assistance. The family may choose to decline the unit based on the deficiencies and continue its housing search.

(3) If the family decides to lease the unit, the PHA and the owner execute the HAP contract, and the family enters into the assisted lease with the owner. The PHA commences making assistance payments to the owner.

(4) The owner must correct the deficiencies within 30 days from the effective date of the HAP contract. If the owner fails to correct the deficiencies within the 30-day cure period, the PHA must withhold the housing assistance payments until the owner makes the repairs and the PHA verifies the correction. Once the deficiencies are corrected, the PHA may use the withheld housing assistance payments to make payments for the period that payments were withheld.

(5) A PHA relying on the non-life-threatening inspection provision must identify in the PHA Administrative Plan all the optional policies identified in § 982.54(d)(21)(i) and (ii).

(6) The PHA establishes in the Administrative Plan:

(i) The maximum amount of time it will withhold payments if the owner fails to correct the deficiencies within the required cure period before abating payments; and

(ii) The number of days after which the PHA will terminate the HAP contract for the owner's failure to correct the deficiencies, which may not exceed 180 days from the effective date of the HAP contract.

(7) The owner may not terminate the tenancy of the family due to the withholding or abatement of assistance under this paragraph (j). During the period that assistance is abated, the family may terminate the tenancy by notifying the owner and the PHA. If the family chooses to terminate the tenancy, the HAP contract will automatically terminate on the effective date of the tenancy termination or the date the family vacates the unit, whichever is earlier. The PHA must promptly issue the family its voucher to move.