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PART II. HAP CONTRACTS 13-II.A. OVERVIEW The HAP contract represents a written agreement between SARA and the owner of the dwelling unit occupied by a HCV assisted family. The contract spells out the owner's responsibilities under the program, as well as SAHA's obligations. Under the HAP contract, SARA agrees to make housing assistance payments to the owner on behalf of a specific family occupying a specific unit. The HAP contract is used for all HCV program tenancies except for assistance under the Section 8 homeownership program, and assistance to families that own a manufactured home and lease the space. See chapter 15 for a discussion of any special housing types included in SAHA's HCV program. If SARA has given approval for the family of the assisted tenancy, the owner and SARA execute the HAP contract. See chapter 9 for a discussion of the leasing process, including provisions for execution of the HAP contract. 13-II.B. HAP CONTRACT CONTENTS The HAP contract format is required by HUD, specifically Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Contract, Form HUD-52641. The HAP contract contains three parts. Part A of the contract includes basic contract information about the name of the tenant family, address of the contract unit, names of all household members, first and last dates of initial lease term, amount of initial monthly rent to owner, amount of initial housing assistance payment, utilities and appliances to be supplied by owner and tenant, signatures of SARA and owner [HCV Guidebook, pp 11-10 and 11-11 ] . In general, the HAP contract cannot be modified. However, PHAs do have the discretion to add language to Part A of the HAP contract which prohibits the owner from collecting a security deposit in excess of private market practices or in excess of amounts charged to unassisted tenants. SARA policy on the amount of security deposit an owner may collect is found in chapter 9. In addition, PHAs have the discretion to add language to Part A of the HAP contract that defines when the housing assistance payment by SARA is deemed received by the owner (e.g., upon mailing by SARA or actual receipt by the owner). SARA has not adopted a policy that defines when the housing assistance payment by SARA is deemed received by the owner. Therefore, no modifications to the HAP contract will be necessary. 7/02/12 Page 13-8