Providing the Landlord Forms to the Client

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

The SSBS must provide the following forms to the client:

Important Information for Landlords Regarding General Assistance Vendor Payments (GA 31L) - Includes important information for the landlord.
Housing Assistance Verification (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 SSBS to determine the portion of the General Assistance (GA) grant that will be paid to the landlord on behalf of the client for housing assistance.
Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification (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.

Responsibility to Submit Forms

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

The SSBS 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 to the landlord.

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

When a landlord is unwilling to cooperate in completing the GA 31 or unwilling to accept vendor payments, the SSBS must explore eligibility for the Director’s Exception category: “ A GA recipient who would otherwise qualify for the shelter payment portion of GA benefits but whose landlord is unwilling to cooperate in establishing or accepting vendor payments.” Refer to Shelter Payment Issuance to Clients for further information.

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 SSBS 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 SSBS will not be able to issue a housing assistance payment to the vendor unless a provider record for the landlord has been added into CalSAWS.