Section 8 & Vouchers · Cleveland, OH

Who Pays the Security Deposit on a Section 8 Rental in Cleveland?

You do. The Housing Choice Voucher covers rent, not the deposit: 24 CFR 982.313 puts the deposit squarely between the owner and the tenant, and CMHA has chosen not to limit it, stating in its Administrative Plan that the owner may collect any deposit amount the owner determines is appropriate. What protects you is Ohio law — Ohio Revised Code 5321.16 requires an itemized written statement and the balance within 30 days of move-out, pays 5% interest on any amount above one month's rent after six months of tenancy, and gives you double damages plus attorney fees if the landlord ignores it.

The federal rule: what 24 CFR 982.313 lets an owner charge

The entire federal security deposit rule for the voucher program fits on half a page. 24 CFR 982.313 says the owner "may collect a security deposit from the tenant," and that the PHA "may prohibit security deposits in excess of private market practice, or in excess of amounts charged by the owner to unassisted tenants." Note the word: may. Capping deposits is a local option, not a federal mandate.

The rest of the section is about what happens at the end. Subject to state and local law, the owner may apply the deposit and any interest on it, in accordance with the lease, to unpaid rent, damage to the unit, or other amounts owed under the lease. The owner "must give the tenant a written list of all items charged against the security deposit, and the amount of each item," and after deducting those, "must refund promptly the full amount of the unused balance." If the deposit does not cover what is owed, the owner may pursue the balance from the tenant.

Why CMHA does not cut a deposit check

Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority took the federal option and declined it. Its FY2025 HCV Administrative Plan, under the heading "Security Deposit [24 CFR 982.313 (a) and (b)]," states: "The PHA will allow the owner to collect any security deposit amount the owner determines is appropriate. Therefore, no modifications to the HAP contract will be necessary."

That single policy line is the answer to the question most Cleveland voucher holders actually ask. CMHA is not holding the deposit, not capping it, and not writing it. Its role is the housing assistance payment to the owner and nothing more. We read CMHA's voucher holder page, applicant page, portability page and find-housing page in full: none of them mentions security deposits at all.

One more thing CMHA does police: side deals. Its plan lists "charging a security deposit other than that specified in the family's lease" as evidence of owner program abuse, and lists "payment to the owner in excess of amounts authorized by the PHA for rent, security deposit, and additional services" as evidence of family program abuse. If the deposit an owner asks for at signing is not the deposit written into the lease CMHA approved, that is a reportable problem — for both of you.

What you actually owe on move-in day with a voucher

Budget for three things, and know which are legitimate:

• The security deposit — set by the owner, written into the lease, paid by you.
• Your first family share — the tenant portion of the rent, prorated if the HAP contract starts mid-month. If you are still working out what that number is, see how CMHA calculates your share of the rent.
• Utility deposits and hook-up fees — your gas, electric and water providers may each want a deposit or a hook-up fee before service is on. The unit fails its inspection if tenant-paid utilities are not in service, so this is not optional.

What is not legitimate: extra money on the side. Under 24 CFR 982.451(b)(4) an owner may not demand or accept any rent payment from the family in excess of the approved rent to owner minus the housing assistance payment, and under 24 CFR 982.510(c) the owner may not charge extra for items customarily included in rent in the locality or provided at no additional cost to unsubsidized tenants on the premises. A "voucher fee," a "processing fee" for CMHA paperwork, or a second month of rent labelled as something else does not become legal by being called a deposit.

Ohio deposit law still applies: 30 days, itemization, interest

Your voucher does not move you out of Ohio landlord-tenant law. ORC 5321.16 has three divisions and every one of them matters:

• (A) Interest. "Any security deposit in excess of fifty dollars or one month's periodic rent, whichever is greater, shall bear interest on the excess at the rate of five per cent per annum if the tenant remains in possession of the premises for six months or more, and shall be computed and paid annually by the landlord to the tenant." A deposit equal to one month's rent earns nothing; a deposit of two months' rent earns 5% on the second month, paid to you every year.
• (B) Itemization in 30 days. Deductions are limited to past due rent and damages from the tenant's noncompliance with ORC 5321.05 or the rental agreement, and "any deduction from the security deposit shall be itemized and identified by the landlord in a written notice delivered to the tenant together with the amount due, within thirty days after termination of the rental agreement and delivery of possession." The clock starts at the later of those two events — turn in the keys.
• (C) Penalty. If the landlord fails to comply, "the tenant may recover the property and money due him, together with damages in an amount equal to the amount wrongfully withheld, and reasonable attorneys fees."

The trap is buried in division (B): "The tenant shall provide the landlord in writing with a forwarding address... If the tenant fails to provide the landlord with the forwarding or new address as required, the tenant shall not be entitled to damages or attorneys fees under division (C)." A tenant who moves out without leaving a written forwarding address gives up the double-damages remedy. Send it in writing, keep the copy. Our Ohio security deposit law guide and the walkthrough on getting your deposit back in Ohio go step by step.

Where to get deposit help in Cuyahoga County

Be careful with what you read online here, because a lot of it describes programs in other counties. Two facts we can verify: CMHA publishes no general deposit assistance program for regular Housing Choice Voucher families, and its own Administrative Plan acknowledges that HUD, in Notice PIH 2022-18, permits PHAs to use administrative fee funding for "strategies and undertake activities beyond regular administrative responsibilities to facilitate the successful leasing and use of housing choice vouchers by families, such as through the use of security deposit assistance and landlord recruitment and incentive payments."

In other words, the authority to fund deposit help exists; whether CMHA is funding it in any given month is a question for CMHA, not for a blog. Ask your specialist in writing, and ask the Client Information Center at 216-431-1471, option 1. Then work the local network: our deposit and move-in assistance page tracks the Cleveland-area organizations that handle this, and we update it as programs open and close.

A note on names, because it costs people real time: cmha.net is Cuyahoga (Cleveland). Search results constantly surface cmhanet.com, which is the Columbus authority, and cintimha.com, which is Cincinnati. Their deposit programs are not yours.

Deposit help programs tied to specific voucher types (EHV, VASH, FUP)

Where CMHA does have written deposit policy, it is attached to a particular voucher, not to the regular HCV program.

Emergency Housing Vouchers. CMHA's plan sets out the EHV service fee — $3,500 allocated per EHV — and names the eligible uses, which include housing search assistance, application fees and refundable application deposits, holding fees rolled into a deposit, utility deposit assistance, and security deposit assistance. The cap is specific: "The amount of the security deposit assistance may not exceed the lesser of two months' rent to owner, the maximum security deposit allowed under applicable state and/or local law, or the actual security deposit required by the owner. The PHA will pay the security deposit assistance directly to the owner." This applies only to families holding an EHV.

Family Unification Program. For FUP youth, CMHA's plan requires the public child welfare agency to provide supportive services for 36 months, and the required list includes "counseling on compliance with rental lease requirements and with HCV program participant requirements, including assistance or referrals for assistance on security deposits, utility hook-up fees, and utility deposits." If you hold a FUP voucher, that referral is something you are entitled to ask for by name.

HUD-VASH. CMHA's plan covers VASH at length — referrals, preference points, project-basing, moves — but we did not find a security deposit assistance policy for VASH families in it. Route that question to your VA case manager rather than assuming the EHV rules carry over.

Getting the deposit back when you port or move with your voucher

Moving with a voucher adds a layer, because two clocks run at once. On the CMHA side, you may not move during the first year of the HAP contract, and to port out you must be in good standing — annual recertification complete, not in an eviction process, not under a proposal of termination — and CMHA specifically requires you to bring a copy of your 30-day notice to vacate — or, in the alternative, a letter from your landlord acknowledging your intent to vacate the unit. On the Ohio side, ORC 5321.16(B) starts its 30-day itemization clock at termination of the rental agreement and delivery of possession.

So the same notice does double duty: it satisfies CMHA's port-out packet and it fixes the date your landlord's deposit clock begins. Date it, deliver it in a way you can prove, and include your forwarding address in the same document. Then read moving with a Section 8 voucher in Cleveland before you give notice, not after.

One narrow protection worth knowing: if the property changes hands and CMHA cannot make payments to the new owner, its plan allows the authority to use the funds for "the family's reasonable moving costs, including security deposit costs," and to refer the tenant to legal aid. That is a foreclosure-and-successor-owner provision, not a general benefit, but if it describes your situation, name it.

Disputes: what a landlord may deduct and what counts as normal wear

Ohio's statute never uses the phrase "normal wear and tear." It ties deductions to two things: past due rent, and damages from your noncompliance with ORC 5321.05 or the rental agreement. That section lists your duties — keep the space you occupy safe and sanitary, dispose of rubbish properly, keep plumbing fixtures clean, use electrical and plumbing fixtures properly, comply with housing, health and safety codes, refrain from and forbid guests from intentionally or negligently destroying or damaging any fixture or part of the premises, and maintain any appliances the written lease puts on you.

CMHA closes the loop with a definition that points right back at state law: in its HQS chapter, "normal wear and tear is defined as items which could not be charged against the tenant's security deposit under state law or court practice," and elsewhere, "damages beyond ordinary wear and tear will be considered to be damages which could be assessed against the security deposit." Practically: a faded carpet in a 1920s Old Brooklyn double after three winters is wear; a burned countertop is damage.

If a disability-related modification is involved, the rules shift in your favor. CMHA's plan restates the Fair Housing Act position that an owner "may not increase a customarily required security deposit" for a modification, though the owner may negotiate a restoration agreement and, where necessary, a reasonable escrow paid over time into an interest-bearing account whose interest "accrues to the benefit of the tenant" — and CMHA requires any such agreement to be submitted to the PHA for review. See also our guide to normal wear and tear in an Ohio rental.

Documents to keep from day one so you get it all back

• The signed lease showing the deposit amount — the figure CMHA approved is the only figure that may be charged.
• A dated receipt for the deposit, and for any utility deposits.
• Move-in photos and video, timestamped, room by room, including the floors, the countertops, the tub, and every appliance the lease makes you maintain.
• Your CMHA initial inspection result — the pre-lease HQS inspection is a dated third-party record of the unit's condition before you moved in.
• Every repair request in writing, so a pre-existing defect is never mistaken for your damage.
• The dated 30-day notice with your forwarding address, plus proof of delivery.
• Move-out photos taken after the unit is empty and cleaned.

New to the program and working through move-in for the first time? Start with how to use a Section 8 voucher for the first time.

This article is general information about renting with a Housing Choice Voucher in the Cleveland area, not legal advice. Ohio landlord-tenant rules and CMHA policies can change and individual situations vary — consult the cited sources or a qualified professional before acting. Rent Finder Cleveland is an equal housing opportunity provider. Rent Finder Cleveland is not a property manager, landlord, or broker — the homes we list are owned and managed by third parties.