ACOH now offers participant family engagement through the Housing Portal. You may have set up your portal when joining the program so you have the login or you might be an existing participant with a registration code. To sign up, take the following steps:

How to set up a Housing Portal account

1. Navigate to https://housingportal.albemarle.org/
2. Click Participant Login
3. If you do have a RentCafe account, enter your email and password to login. If you don’t know if you have one, know that the website will check, before you set up an account, and help connect your RentCafe account with our Housing Portal
4. If you don’t have a RentCafe account, click Register Now
5. If ACOH has given you a registration code, click I have a registration code and enter the code. Having a code is rare, so it’s OK if you don’t have one.
6. If ACOH has not given you a registration code, click I do NOT have a registration code.
7. Enter all personal details asked of you
8. Click Please read and accept the Terms and Conditions and Accept them
9. Click Register

If all works well, you will arrive at your Housing Portal home page, meaning you successfully registered.

I’m logged in – what do I do now?

Once in the portal, you will see several tiles, which take you to sub pages with specific information.

Some key tiles include:

• Certifications – you’ll visit this tile the most, as it is where you will do your Annual Recertification
• Basic Information – here you can see your current portion of rent, our portion of rent, your case worker, and the most recent certification we have on file for you
• Family Information – you can see all the information in your case file including household members, income, assets, and expenses
• Inspections – review all inspections on your units, including the results
• Report a Change – you can report a change in family circumstances through the portal.

The Annual Recertification

Once a year, you’ll get an email from ACOH asking you to complete an annual recertification, which will include updates to your income, assets, and expenses. You’ll need to gather new verification documents and be ready to sign (digitally) some documents. This is required, so please keep a lookout for an email and follow the required steps.

Can I still do a paper recertification?

If you need a reasonable accommodation, please reach out to our office. However, if comfort with technology is the barrier, that will not be considered as a reason to do a traditional paper certification. Our office can assist with the portal. We also encourage clients to contact family, friends, or other case workers who may be more comfortable with technology for assistance.

 Reporting a Change

If your income goes up or down, you want to add or remove a household member, or you come into a large amount of money, you are required to tell us about it. The Report a Change button allows you to review the information we have on file and add or remove information. We will need verification documents for changes, as well. These are called Interim Reexaminations.

What do I need to prepare?

Verification of all Income, Assets, and Expenses will still be required and must be uploaded to the Housing Portal before you can sign the required certification documents and submit your certification. If you are coming in to meet with a team member, please be sure to gather and bring the following documents before coming in.

• Income - verification of all household income
  • Benefit/Award letters must be dated within the past 30 days
  • Job wages
    • Employer Verification (third-party) must include rate of pay, hours per week, and pay frequency (bi-weekly, weekly, monthly, etc.)
    • Paystubs - minimum of four of your most recent, consecutive paystubs
  • For Social Security recipients, an award letter is now required. Please bring in your most recent benefits letter
• Assets
  • Verification of all assets (if over $5,000 worth). Please bring in bank statements for Checking or Savings accounts
• Expenses
  • Receipts or proof of payment of unreimbursed medical expenses (if applicable)
  • Receipts or proof of payment of unreimbursed childcare expenses

ACOH recommends gathering all documents before starting your certification.

Again, if you are coming in to meet with a staff person, please do not come in unless you have gathered all verification documents.

Click here to access the Housing Portal for Participants

Below, you will find a quick guide for Using the Housing Portal. Please check this guide before contacting our office. 

How do I create an account?

1. Navigate to https://HousingPortal.Albemarle.Org
2. Click “Landlord Login”
3. Click “Click here to register”
4. Enter your ACOH-provided registration code in the “Enter Your Registration Code” box and click “Go” (if you are missing a registration code, contact ACOH at askACOH@albemarle.org).
5. Enter Personal Details and Account Information
1. Note: an email address is required. If you do not have an email address, you can easily create one by visiting www.gmail.com
6. Click “Please read and accept the Terms and Conditions” and accept
7. Click “Register” 

What’s in the Housing Portal?

When you log into the Housing Portal, you will be able to see the following landing page: 

A few key tiles are Unit Info, Unit Inspections, My Ledger, Unit Holds and Abatements, and Landlord Resources. We’ll go into these in a bit more depth in the following sections.

 How can I access my HAP Ledger?

You can now use the “My Ledger” tool to search, view, and export your ledger details within any 12-month period. Simply log into the Housing Portal and click on the “My Ledger” tile. You can then filter by tenant name, timeframe, and/or transaction # to find specific HAP payments. Paper enclosures are no longer being included with mailed checks. The “Screen” dropdown will let you select Excel to export. The “Notes” section will include the tenant’s name, unit address, and rent month.

How else can I engage?

“Unit Info” – Search, view, and export information on your units currently being subsidized by ACOH.

“Unit Inspections” – Search, view, and export information on unit inspections. Filter by result type. View the current HAP/Tenant Rent breakdown for your tenants.

“Unit Holds and Abatements” – View current and historical HAP holds and abatements. Filter by time period.

“Landlord Resources” – View and download current landlord resources, including required ACOH forms, utility allowance schedules, inspection checklists, and more.

 Click here to access the Housing Portal for Owners.