KILLEEN, Texas — Some tenants are still left confused and stressed out after the fallout of concerns with the Killeen Housing Authority.
The KHA has been dealing with staffing and financial issues since 2021, which resulted in the organization failing to pay its portion of Section 8 tenants' rent. At least 250 families were affected.
Board members on the KHA voted unanimously to transfer tenants' paperwork to the Central Texas Council of Governments (CTCOG) in October.
With this, CTCOG Executive Director Jim Reed says the transfer process can be smooth, but not in all cases.
"We're in the process of reaching out to people one at a time but it would go much faster for those families if they reach out to us," Reed explained.
To be transferred, Reed says tenants must go through the recertification process. Here are the steps:
1. Contact the CTCOG office
2. Provide all of the application materials (verified income sources, employment sources, etc.)
3. Submit the unit for inspection
4. Ensure the tenants' landlord completes all necessary paperwork
5. CTCOG officials conduct an inspection on the tenant's unit
6. The unit is approved and CTCOG will begin issuing payments to the tenant's landlord
If an inspection does not pass, the landlord and tenant have to agree on repairs to bring the unit into compliance.
"If everyone participates and goes through that process in the most efficient way, this process could take at least three to four weeks," Reed added.
One tenant, Jean Tucker, was under the KHA Section 8 tenant-based housing program since 2020. She was directly impacted when the KHA was not paying their portion of her rent.
Tucker says she has gone through the proper protocol to have her paperwork transferred, but her landlord says otherwise.
"My landlord is threatening to evict me because they have yet to receive payments from CTCOG," Tucker explained. "I know things take time, but this is taking too long."
Reed told 6 News that people who have been affected need to be patient because every situation is different and they have a lot of people to get to.
"If there is any delay like a holdup with income being verified, delays in having the repairs made, or delays in getting the inspection, tenants are likely being held up in that process," Reed shared.
According to Reed, only 63% of the people on the housing choice voucher program have reached out to CTCOG to get their paperwork transferred, meaning there are about 58 families who have not even begun the process.
When it comes to people who ported into Central Texas from another region, Reed says they have only heard from 52% of those people. On the project-based vouchers program, only 40% have begun the process since the KHA transfer to CTCOG began over three months ago.
Reed explained how the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has agreed to pay tenants back rent if they were affected by the KHA's mismanagement, but he does not know how long that window will be open because paying overdue payments is extremely rare.
"We recommend landlords with tenants living on Section 8 to ensure those checks from the HUD are going through," Reed said. "For tenants who have yet to begin the transfer process, I'll give it a month before landlords notice this and raise awareness of the problem."
Reed assured that his staff is working diligently to try and be in touch with each tenant and landlord to get them through this process as soon as possible.
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