HUD-52517 RFTA PDF download (Request for Tenancy Approval)

The RFTA is how a family tells its housing authority (PHA) which unit it has picked and gives the PHA what it needs to decide on the tenancy. HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Guidebook (Housing Search and Leasing chapter, June 2025) says the family submits a request for tenancy approval and an unexecuted copy of the lease, and that PHAs must collect the information on Form HUD-52517. The same chapter says the PHA can set the procedure, and the family submits the request in the form and manner the PHA requires. The form itself says that the owner of the unit completes it to give the PHA information about the unit, and both the owner (or owner representative) and the head of household sign it.

The PDF on hud.gov is marked HUD-52517 (10/2026) and says previous editions are obsolete. It is a flat PDF with no form fields, and RepeatForm cannot yet carry answers into it. The earlier 04/2023 edition had form fields and OMB approval number 2577-0169. The new edition adds email address lines for the owner and the household head. Ask your PHA which version it expects.

The RFTA form is the two-page HUD-52517. A "packet" (sometimes called an RTA package) is what a housing authority bundles around it, and it varies by PHA. For example, one authority's page asks owners for the RFTA plus a W-9 and a direct deposit form, and for units built before 1978 a lead-based paint disclosure signed by owner and tenant and an acknowledged lead pamphlet. The Guidebook says the family also submits the lease with the HUD tenancy addendum. RepeatForm works with the HUD-52517 PDF only. Ask your PHA for the rest of its packet.

HUD's form says the owner of the unit completes it to give the PHA information about the unit, and that the PHA uses it to decide if the unit is eligible for rental assistance. The family signs too. Follow these steps.

1. Get the form. HUD's forms page says the family gives the RFTA to the landlord. Download the current PDF from hud.gov. Ask your PHA if it wants its own version or packet.

2. Owner: unit and lease start (items 1 to 3). The PHA's name, the unit address, and the requested lease start date.

3. Owner: unit details and rent (items 4 to 8). Number of bedrooms, year constructed, proposed rent, security deposit amount, and the date the unit is available for inspection.

4. Owner: structure and subsidy (items 9 and 10). Tick the structure type, and any subsidy the unit receives, such as Tax Credit or HOME, with a line to describe other subsidies.

5. Owner: utilities and appliances (item 11). A table with a fuel type for heating, cooking and water heating, and a "paid by" column for each utility, where the owner marks O and the tenant marks T. The form says that unless it specifies otherwise, the owner pays for all utilities and provides the refrigerator and range/microwave. Appliances are marked "provided by".

6. Owner: certifications (items 12 to 15). 12a is about rent: the PHA must certify the rent is not more than for comparable unassisted units, and owners of projects with more than 4 units list recently leased comparable unassisted units (address and unit number, date rented, rental amount). 12b is about whether the owner is related to a member of the family. 12c is a choice of three lead-based paint statements. Items 13 to 15 are statements printed on the form: the PHA has not screened the family and that is the owner's responsibility, the lease must include the HUD tenancy addendum word for word, and the PHA will arrange an inspection and tell the owner and family if the unit is not approved.

7. Owner and family: names, signatures and dates (bottom of page 2). Both sides print a name, business or present address and telephone number, then sign and date, under a statement certifying under penalty of perjury that the information is true and correct. The head of household completes the family side. The form warns that knowingly submitting a false claim or statement can bring criminal and civil penalties.

8. Send it to the PHA. The owner returns the completed form to the PHA, in the way the PHA asks. See "Where to send it and what happens next" below.

Send it to your housing authority, in the way it asks. Methods differ: one authority asks owners to use its online portal, says not to email the form because it contains personal information, and also takes paper by mail, fax or in person. Check with your PHA. The form says the PHA arranges an inspection of the unit. The Guidebook adds that the PHA must determine the rent is reasonable, and that the PHA and owner then sign the HAP contract (Form HUD-52641). On timing, the sources RepeatForm read give no single timeline: it depends on your PHA. One authority says its inspector contacts the owner within 2 to 7 business days of receiving the RFTA to schedule the inspection. The Guidebook notes that the voucher expiration date is the deadline for submitting the RFTA, not for approval or move-in.