Providing the Landlord Forms to the Client

Clients who incur housing expenses are entitled to receive the shelter portion of their grant. The EW must provide the client with the necessary forms for adding a landlord as a provider and processing the landlord payment.

The EW must provide the following forms to the client:

GA 31 L - Includes important information for the landlord.
GA 31 - Completed by the landlord and the client to indicate the living arrangements, landlord information, and amount of housing expenses in order for the EW to determine the portion of the GA grant that will be paid to the landlord on behalf of the client for housing assistance.
W-9 - Completed by the landlord for tax purposes. The form must include the landlord’s SSN or Tax Payer Identification Number (TIN) in order for the county to provide Form 1099 (sent by Fiscal) to the landlord at the end of year so they can report their earnings and taxes to the IRS.
- Note: Landlord payments must still be processed even when the landlord refuses or fails to provide the W-9 or his/her SSN/TIN. The landlord will be activated as a provider without his/her SSN/TIN.
GA 11 - The EW must provide the “Client’s Housing Assistance Statement” (GA 11) to the client for completion only if the client reports that the landlord refuses to complete the required landlord forms above.

Responsibility to Submit Forms

It is the responsibility of the client to ensure that the required forms are completed; signed, and returned to the EW within 10 working days from the day they are requested.

The EW must review the forms for completeness prior to submitting forms to the designated staff in charge of adding the landlord into CalSAWS. The provider record for the landlord must be on file in order for the housing assistance payment to be processed and issued.

Refusal of the Landlord to Submit the W-9 or SSN/TIN

Vendor Payments must still be processed when a client reports that his/her landlord completed the GA 31 but refused or failed to provide the W9 or his/her SSN/TIN. In this scenario, the landlord must be activated without the SSN/TIN. Vendor Payments must be issued as a direct rent payment payable to the Landlord/Property Manager/Agent for the GA client. If the landlord does not provide this information, the county is unable to provide them with Form 1099 (sent by Fiscal) which means the landlord will not be able to report this income on their taxes.

Refusal of the Landlord to Submit All Vendor Payment Forms

Vendor Payments must still be processed when a client reports that his/her landlord refused or failed to complete both the GA 31 and W-9. However, in order to process the vendor payment correctly, the EW must provide the client with a (GA 11) for completion.

The provider record for the landlord must be activated without the SSN/TIN. Vendor Payments must still be issued as a direct rent payment payable to the Landlord/Property Manager/Agent for the GA client, based on the landlord information provided by the client in the GA 11.

Failure to Return All Vendor Payment Forms

If the client fails to return the required forms:

Disallow the housing costs and determine the GA grant amount for only the personal needs. A timely Notice of Action is required for a grant decrease.

Vendor Payment Forms Returned

If the client returns the required forms, the EW must:

Review the forms for completeness.
Complete the GA 38, indicating what action is required, (e.g. create a new Provider record).
Provide the completed GA 38 along with the applicable forms to the designated staff in charged of adding a Provider record for the landlord into CalSAWS.

Note: The EW will not be able to issue a housing assistance payment unless a Provider record for the landlord is added into CalSAWS.