The government has set a standard in housing ensuring that it is conducive for living. It is referred as HUD Housing Quality Standards. What are HUD housing quality standards (HQS)? It pertains to minimum property standards required by the government and should be implemented on a local level. It is there to ensure decent, clean, and safe housing to low-income families.
There are specific times when inspections are conducted by the Housing Quality Standards. The routine inspection is done to ensure participants of the program reside in quality housing.
- Move-in inspection – This is the initial inspection. It is usually done as an answer to the request of the family before moving in the property. The house is thoroughly inspected before the Housing Assistance Payment Contract date. There should be an approval for the inspector that the house is ready for move in. If not approved, the unit should be modified and re-inspected.
- Yearly inspection –A home inspection is done every year to ensure that the home remains conducive to live in, especially in the side of the participants, ensuring that they comply with their duties and responsibilities. Another reason for the yearly inspection is to make sure that the unit owner is taking good care of the property, ensuring that the house is safe and in a decent and healthy condition.
- Quality control inspection – This type of inspection is done in a sample unit. The sample unit is reinspected to make sure that all requisites are met, especially when it comes to quality of the unit.
- Complaint inspection – As the name implies, this type of inspection is done when the inspection body receives a complaint about the unit. The complaint usually comes from the unit owner or the landlord. Although a concerned party can also file a complaint.
- Emergency inspection –This type of inspection is done when there are certain conditions considered life-altering or life-threatening such as when there are fumes or gas leak, broken smoke detectors, plumbing issues, or security concerns. Basically, any untoward situations that might put the life in danger of the unit owner and the community as a whole.
