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Portability

Please be advised if you are wishing to port into our jurisdiction, please do your research first. We are in an affordable housing crisis in Central Florida. Available units are hard to find.

Please read this page in its entirety so you are informed of the process. Further down this page is the process for once we receive your paperwork. It is important that you are informed of our policies. 

We do not offer assistance in locating units, this is the responsibility of the participant. You can find a list of apartment complexes here. **Be advised when speaking to landlords, if you use your current income to determine if you qualify for a unit and your income does not transport with you, you may not qualify for the unit when you get here. Landlords know the calculation and will use current income to qualify you for the unit. If your income changes with the move, you will no longer qualify for the unit. We are not permitted to calculate what your rental amount is and what you qualify for until we receive your paperwork. 

General Information regarding portability:

  • Portability is the ability of a family to move from one Housing Authority's jurisdiction to another location. If you want to consider using the portability option, you must inform your current Housing Authority of your intent and complete the "portability request form". 
  • The receiving Housing Authority will decide if they will administer your assistance either by absorbing you into their program, or by billing your current Housing Authority for your assistance. (We are currently billing for our port in families). 
  • There may be some areas of the country that you will not be able to transfer to.  You will need to check with your current Housing Authority to get help in identifying these areas.
  • The receiving housing authority's administrative plan will determine your occupancy standards, or bedroom size, and their fair market rent or payment standard will apply. Your current Housing Authority determines how many days' notice they will require for your intent to move. SCHA requires a thirty (30) days' notice. You must also give the owner proper written notice as specified by your lease and provide your current Housing Authority with a copy of the notice.

For proper delivery of your port documents please provide the following information to your case manager:

Seminole County Housing Authority                                      

PHA Code/HUD ID#: FL033

Phone Number: 407-365-3621                                                  

Fax Number: 407-830-0398

Address: 145 W Pine Ave. Longwood, FL 32750

Email port packages to: dramirez@schafla.org. This is for port packages only. You will have your questions answered at your briefing.

VASH participants email Judy Gosen; jgosen@schafla.org 

Please contact our office to confirm receipt of your port package and provide your contact information to our agency including an email address. 

What happens once we receive your port in paperwork:

  • A Housing Specialist will email you paperwork that must be completed fully. 
  • The Housing Specialist may require you to provide paperwork that you provided your initial agency. The initial agency is not required to send that paperwork to us, however, we are required to have it in your file. It is your responsibility to provide us all paperwork we need to process your file in a timely manner.
  • Once the paperwork is received and processed you will be scheduled to attend a Thursday morning "Briefing" class. The class begins at 8:30 am and can take as long as three hours. 
    • All adults in the household are required to be present
    • No children are allowed to attend 
  • You will receive your voucher, RFTA, and estimator for your allowable rent amount at the Briefing. Rent amounts will not be provided prior to this meeting. 
  • The RFTA will be explained to you when issued. This is your Request for Tenancy Approval. 
  • Once a port family has moved into a new unit, we require the family to remain in our jurisdiction for at least one year unless there are unusual circumstances, as determined by us. We do require that the participant and landlord agree, in writing, mutually to terminate the lease.

Repayment Agreement

If a participant owes money to a Housing Authority, the participant must sign a repayment agreement to pay back any amounts owed.  Any repayment agreement must be completely paid before porting to another jurisdiction.

Voucher Size-Subsidy

Bedroom size will be determined using the following guidelines:

  • Children of the same sex will share a bedroom.
  • Children of the opposite sex, both under the age of six (6), will share a bedroom.
  • Persons of different generations will not be required to share a bedroom. Exception: A single parent household will share a bedroom with a child under the age of 3. (Example: One adult and one child under age 3 will be issued a 1-bedroom voucher, the voucher size will change at annual re-certification after the child's 3rd birthday)
  • Foster adults and children will be included in determining unit size only if they will be in the unit on a permanent bases, as verified by the placement agency.
  • Live-in aides will get a separate bedroom. No additional bedroom will be provided for the child/children of a live-in aide.
  • Two adults will share a bedroom unless related by blood. (Example: Brother and Sister, or Adult Parent and Adult Child.)
  • A bedroom will not be provided for a family member who will be absent most of the time, such as a member who is away in the military or a member who is away at college for longer than 6 months of the year.