MOVING WITHIN CONTRA COSTA

(excepting Pittsburg)

  • Make sure your lease allows you to move now.
  • Give your landlord the proper written notice before you move and forward a copy of this notice to the Housing Authority. The notice should state the date, date of move out, tenant and owner name and address.
  • Pay your rent through the last day of your lease and leave your unit in good condition. Your landlord will be asked to certify that you have maintained the lease agreement, prior to you being issued a voucher to move and prior to paying your new landlord.
  • Return the keys to your landlord and get a receipt. The Housing Authority will need proof of your move-out date in order to pay the new owner.
  • All documents needed to complete any ongoing Annual Recertification or Interim Recertification must be submitted. You will be asked to certify the accuracy of your current household income and family composition prior to voucher issuance.
  • If you need to extend tenancy beyond the move out date indicated on your original notice to vacate, submit the completed Mutual Agreement to Extend the Termination Date of the Assisted Lease form.
  • If you wish to rescind the notice to vacate, submit the completed Mutual Agreement to Rescind Lease Termination Form.

Before you get ready to move with your voucher, make sure you meet the following conditions:

  • You cannot move until you reach the end of the term of your lease. Check your lease to find out when you can move.
  • If your lease term is not up but you and your landlord both agree to terminate the lease early, you would be allowed to move if the Mutual Agreement to Terminate Lease Early form is submitted.
  • You must repay the Housing Authority any money you owe. You cannot move until you are current with your payments.
  • Remember that our subsidy standards may have changed since you were last issued a voucher. If you move, your voucher size will be re-determined according to your current family composition and our current subsidy standards. You may be given a voucher with fewer bedrooms than you have now.
  • All documents needed to complete any ongoing Annual Recertification or Interim Recertification must be submitted. You will be asked certify the accuracy of your current household income and family composition prior to voucher issuance.

Moving to a new unit within the county (with the exception of Pittsburg), is called a “transfer”. This is a different process than “porting”. If you want to transfer to another unit in a different jurisdiction, please see our Portability Q&A for more information.
The information in this section only applies to moving within this Housing Authority’s jurisdiction.

If you have moved without notifying us, your voucher may be canceled. If you notified us before you moved out, you will only have a certain number of days from your move-out date to find a new place to rent and turn in a Request for Tenancy Approval (RTA.)

If you cannot find a place within that time limit, you can request an extension, but extensions may not be granted. If funding is cut while you are searching, your voucher could be frozen for weeks or months.

You should contact the Housing Authority. Do not move until you understand and comply with our transfer procedures. When you are ready to move, please start the process early and follow these steps carefully. If you don’t, you risk losing your voucher or having to pay the full rent yourself.

Provide the Housing Authority a copy of the Notice to vacate which you provided to your landlord. The notice to vacate should include the date, the date of move out, the tenant and landlord name and address.

When we receive the notice, we will contact your landlord to verify that you are in good standing with regards to the lease agreement. The Housing Authority will also verify that you are in good standing with regards to the HACCC Family Obligations. Once both have been verified,  you will be scheduled for the next available briefing.

When you find a new place to rent, you and your new landlord must fill out the Request for Tenancy Approval (RTA) form in your packet and send it to us.

You must also send us a Key Return Form which is in the packet, to verify your move-out date.

After the Housing Authority has received the RTA, the next steps will include:

The Housing Authority will review the paperwork to make sure there is no overlap in dates between the old unit and the new one. We cannot pay subsidy on two units at once.

We will perform a preliminary rent calculation. Your rent and utilities cannot exceed 40% of your monthly adjusted income.

We will inspect the new unit.

After the unit passes inspection, we will perform a final rent calculation to make sure the total rent is reasonable as compared to similar units.

You and the landlord will sign a lease. The new contract letter that is sent will contain your rent amount.

Your Housing Assistant does not receive the RTA. The RTA is forwarded to the Housing Program Specialist team. That team corresponds only with Landlords. Once the unit is approved/ denied, then the Housing Program Specialist team will contact you. If the new owner has questions, they must contact the HPS or Housing Assistant directly–you should not call to ask questions for the landlord.

See the “Reporting Changes” FAQ page.

Go back to FAQ’s page

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