CHAC Directory

This directory is designed to assist you in accessing service. It provides an overview of each department’s responsibilities and contact information for key staff members. Please have the tenant’s voucher number when conducting business by phone or in person and include it on all correspondence such as faxes, e-mail and letters. This will help to expedite service.

Finance Department
Inspection Department
Voucher Services Department
Intake Department
Housing Opportunity Program
Special Programs
Administration
Compliance Fraud


FINANCE DEPARTMENT
General Number: 312.935.2600
Fax: 312.786.3661

The Finance Department assists owners with issues related to payment of the voucher program’s portion of the tenant’s rent, also called a Housing Assistance Payment or HAP. The department also processes applications (for qualified properties located in Chicago only) for the Housing Choice Voucher Property Tax Savings Program.

Owners should contact Finance to:

• Replace a lost HAP check
• Request 1099 tax forms
• Report a change in ownership or management of a property subsidized under the program
• Report a change in the owner’s mailing address for HAP
• Submit an application or find out the status of an application for the Housing Choice Voucher Property Tax Savings Program
• Submit an application for the direct deposit program

Finance does not process requests for rent increases or lift payments stopped due to abatements. These functions are handled by the Inspection Department.

Finance cannot resolve issues related to zero HAP checks or adjustments to HAP. Those questions should be directed to the program departments.

Services related to processing/mailing Housing Assistance Payments:
To expedite service, these forms may be downloaded, filled out and faxed or mailed directly to the Finance Department.

For questions, more information or to request forms by mail, contact:
Lorraine Moment at ext. 3115 or Keesha Smith at ext. 3116

Services related to direct deposit
312.935.2600, ext. 3118 or directdeposit@chacinc.com

Services related to the Housing Choice Voucher Tax Savings Program
For questions about applying for the property tax savings program or to inquire about the status of an application, contact:
Ervin Lollar, ext. 3119
elollar@chacinc.com

For your convenience, applications for the property tax savings program may be downloaded from CHAC's Web site, but no photocopied or faxed applications will be accepted. Owners must complete the application, have it notarized and send the original notarized application to:

Ervin Lollar,
CHAC, Inc.,
Finance Department
P.O. Box 1406
Chicago, Illinois 60619-1406

To apply for the property tax savings, the property must be located in Chicago in a census tract where the poverty rate is less than 10 percent and at least one unit must be leased to a family in the Chicago Housing Choice Voucher Program. If you are applying for savings on more than one building, you must submit a separate application for each property address that has its own Property Index Number (PIN). The deadline for submitting applications for the 2008 tax year (billed in 2009) is November 1, 2008. For more information on the tax savings program, visit CHAC's web site at www.chacinc.com

DOWNLOADS:
Direct Deposit Form (2 pages, plus W-9 instructions)
Change of Ownership of Property (5 pages, including instructions)
Change of Management of Property (5 pages, including instructions)
Change of Address (1 page - form plus W9)
Request replacement check (1 page)
Tax savings program application (1 page)

The Inspection Department handles the following functions:

• Scheduling and inspecting units to ensure that they meet Housing Quality Standards (HQS)
• Stopping payments to owners (called abatements) whose units are in violation of HQS as determined by an inspection
• Lifting abatement of payments to owners once the unit becomes HQS compliant
  Determining rents for units new to the program
• Receiving and processing requests for rent increases
• Ensuring that units on the program comply with lead-based paint regulations.

To schedule an inspection, call the general number, 312.935.2600 and when prompted, press “2” for owners, press “1” for the Inspection Department, and then follow the prompts based on the reason for your call.

Area #2
Darryl Flenoy, Team Leader
60609, 60615, 60616, 60621, 60629, 60632, 60636, 60637, 60638, 60642, 60643, 60650, 60652, 60653, 60655

Area #3
Leon Duncan, Team Leader
60409, 60411, 60419, 60425, 60426, 60429, 60438, 60478, 60617, 60619, 60620, 60627, 60628, 60633, 60649, 60827

For questions related to quality control inspections performed by Derrick Ratliff, the Quality Control Specialist, please contact
Tamika Dobbs, ext. 3277

To find out the status of a new move rent determination, contact one of the following market analysts:
Ana Santa Cruz, ext. 3274   
Paulette Carthen, ext. 3279   
Kathie Shears-Lopez, ext. 3280

To find out the status of a rent increase request, contact:
Kirkland Harris, ext. 3278 or Paula Shadd, ext. 3282

For general questions about rent reasonableness and rent increases, contact
Kirkland Harris, ext. 3278

Requests for rent increases must be submitted on CHAC's rent increase form, available on CHAC's web site at www.chacinc.com. Owners may mail or fax the completed form directly to the Rent Market Analyst Team at 312.786.3667.

For inspection issues related to lead-based paint, contact:
Deran Dixon, ext. 3272 (for zip codes 60629 and higher) or
Yolanda Castillo, ext. 3333 (for zip codes 60628 and lower)

DOWNLOAD:
Rent increase request form

The Voucher Services Department handles tenant-related activities such as re-certifications, the initial portion of the transfer process and program terminations due to the tenant's failure to comply with Program Participant Family Obligations. Property owners handle tenant-related activities due to the tenant's failure to comply with their lease agreement. Lease violations by any tenant with a voucher should be handled in the same way that the owner handles lease violations by any market tenant. It is also very important to keep the tenant's team informed of any actions taken by owners for serious or repeated lease violations by submitting copies of correspondence, paperwork and legal documents involved in disposition of the violations, but only if lease violations have been actively addressed by the owner.

For fastest service, call 312.935.2600, and press “2” for owners, press “3” for calls about your tenant,” and press 3, which will say  “client services.” A team of housing specialists is waiting to assist you with voucher services matters. (NOTE: Rent increase requests should be submitted directly to the Market Analyst Team. See Inspection Department Directory.)

Deana N. Lewis, Front Office Operations Manager
Sylvia Y. Peterson, Back Office Operations Manager
Arlene Turner, Administrative Asst. to the Director of Voucher Services, ext. 3457

INTAKE DEPARTMENT
General Number: 312.935.2600
Fax: 312.786.3664

The Intake Department's primary responsibility is to determine the eligibility of all new applicants to the program. This involves calling individuals from a waiting list or receiving referrals for a special admission, then screening for program eligibility, issuing vouchers and leasing families in their first subsidized unit under the Housing Choice Voucher Program.

Intake is also responsible for completing a portion of the TRANSFER process--processing paperwork for families who are already leased in a unit under the voucher program and are moving from that subsidized unit to another subsidized unit. The transfer process is as follows: once the family has been determined eligible to move (transfer) to a new unit by the Voucher Services Department, the transfer team prepares the issuance briefing documents including a voucher, rent burden worksheet and moving papers called a RFTA or Request For Tenancy Approval. The briefing is conducted and documents are issued. After the unit has been approved by passing an inspection and a rent determination process, leasing documents are prepared (Housing Assistance Payment or HAP contract, Affidavit of Ownership and W-9) then mailed to the property manager or owner for signature and return to CHAC. Once received, they are processed to transfer the family into the new unit and generate the HAP to the property owner.

Intake's involvement with the tenant (and therefore with the owner) ends when the owner receives his or her first HAP check. At that point, all files are transferred to Voucher Services or Special Programs. In general, the Intake Department will initiate contact with owners, including calling the owner to determine effective dates of their lease with their tenant and the HAP contract with CHAC, Inc.

Owners who are leasing a unit to a participant in the program can direct questions about program rules and lease-up procedures to the following individuals:

Owners leasing to participants transferring from one subsidized unit to another in Chicago:
Contact the Customer Services Information Center. To reach the CSIC, call 312.935.2600, press “2” for owners, press “3” for calls about your tenant, and press “3”, which will say “client services.” A team of housing specialists is waiting to assist you.

Owners leasing to participants who are new to the program/coming off the waiting list:
Contact Jose Valcarcel, ext. 3162

Owners leasing to participants relocating from CHA developments:
Jackie Spain-Young, ext. 3161

Owners leasing to participants moving to Chicago from another city:
Sherrie Williamson, ext. 3166

Owners leasing to Special Admissions participants:
Garry Sturdivant, ext. 3139

The name of the team is always stamped on the upper right hand corner of the RFTA for identification.

HOUSING OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM
General Number: 312.935.2600
Fax: 312.786.3665

CHAC’s Housing Opportunity Program (HOP) helps voucher program participants find quality housing in Opportunity Communities. Opportunity Communities are defined as the top 40 neighborhoods in Chicago based on poverty rate, education (test scores and dropout rates), the incidence of violent crime, the presence of business, the incidence of children with lead poisoning and other quality of life measures. The program serves approximately 4,000 participants annually. HOP offers individual counseling, workshops on tenant and landlord rights and money management, neighborhood tours, a security deposit loan fund and post-move counseling to help families adjust to their new community.  HOP staff members do not administer Housing Choice Voucher functions. 

For general information about HOP and its services contact:
Joyce Bonner, HOP Team Leader, ext. 3181

To submit property listings on-line:
Visit CHAC’s web site at www.chacinc.com and click “List Your Property”
The properties you list at www.chacinc.com will be advertised in CHAC’s Resource Center and on the internet and viewed by participants in the voucher program as well as the general public.

Owners may also bring or fax property listings to CHAC’s Resource Center:
The CNA Building
Wabash & Van Buren
9th Floor
Chicago, IL
Fax: 312.786.3665

To check the status of a security deposit check for HOP participants, contact: 
Edgar Martin, HOP Clerk, ext. 3203

SPECIAL PROGRAMS
General Number: 312.935.2600
Fax number: 312.786.3665
There are approximately 2,000 participants served by CHAC’s Special Programs Department. These include participants in CHAC’s Family Self-Sufficiency Program, Family Unification voucher holders, and clients participating in CHAC’s Choose to Own Homeownership Option. These clients receive a variety of special services from the Special Programs staff. The department also administers their on-going Housing Choice Voucher functions. After these tenants are leased into a unit for the first time as a participant in the Chicago Housing Choice Voucher Program, their files are transferred to Special Programs.

A good way to determine whether to contact Voucher Services or Special Programs is by the stamp located on the paperwork, called a Request for Tenancy Approval form (RFTA). The name of the team will appear on the upper right hand corner of the form. 

Owners should contact Special Programs to: 

• Find out the status of their tenant’s re-certification
• Report program violations by the tenant 
• Inquire about HAP stopped due to an abatement or termination
• Request names & phone numbers of participants’ previous landlords (for tenant screening purposes)    

Veronica Rosales, ext. 3197
Eligio Garcia, ext. 3253
Irene Jones, ext. 3179
Michelle Givens, ext. 3178
Marilyn DeJesus, ext. 3177

For information about CHAC's Choose To Own Homeownership Program, call:
Rose Ann Zona at ext. 3196.

Lease Violations
Lease violations by a tenant in Special Programs should be handled in the same way that the owner handles lease violations by market tenants. It is also very important to keep the tenant’s housing specialist informed of all lease violations, by submitting copies of correspondence, paperwork and legal documents involved in disposition of the problem.

Marielina Vargas, Special Programs Team Leader, ext. 3175

ADMINISTRATION
General Number: 312.935.2600
Faxes: 312.786.3660

American Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator 
For services and matters concerning participants with disabilities, including the modification fund, contact:
Teresa Aguilera, the ADA/504 Coordinator, 312.935.2600, ext. 3259
ADA fax: 312.786.3660

Communications
To request program information, including a new owner packet, a copy of the inspections training video or a schedule of workshops, owners should call

CHAC’s owner information line, 312.935.2600, ext. 3602
Spanish-language owner information line: 312.935.2600, ext. 3603
Communications fax: 312.786.3660

COMPLIANCE/FRAUD
General Number: 312.935.2600
Faxes: 312.786.3663

Community Relations Office/Ombudsman
To request a speaker at a community event, propose a workshop topic, for assistance with resolution of owner-related problems or information regarding CHAC’s Owner Resource Council, contact:
Lana Balka, Community Relations Manager, 312.935.2600, ext. 3261
Gabriel Perez, Community Relations Assistant, 312.935.2600, ext. 3623
Community Relations fax: 312.786.3663

If you have reason to believe that a tenant in the program, an owner or an employee of CHAC is involved in any fraudulent activity, contact the
Enchelle Harris, Compliance Manager, 312.935.2600, ext. 3218

You can also contact CHAC to report fraud by:
  • Mail: CHAC, Inc.
    Attn: Fraud/Compliance
    P.O. Box 1406
    Chicago, Illinois 60690-1406
  • Fraud Hotline: 1.800.533.0441
    Compliance/Fraud fax: 312.786.3663

A report form can be downloaded on the CHAC web site at www.chacinc.com.  The web site also lists examples of fraud and instructions for reporting fraud.

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