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2-4. EARLY TERMINATION OF A CONTRACT

HUD Section 8 Renewal Policy Guidebook · 2026 edition · updated 2026-07-29 · United States

  • A. Non-MAHRA Contracts.

HUD will permit the early termination of a non-MAHRA contract (i.e., a contract that has not yet been renewed under MAHRA) for an owner wanting to enter into a MAHRA contract only if the owner:

  1. Renews the Section 8 contract for 20 years under Option One, Two, Three or Four; and

  2. Agrees to:

    • a. The Preservation Exhibit, as contained in HUD Notice 2013-17 which provides for the renewal of the HAP contract at the end of the 20 years for a term that is at least equal to the term of the original terminated contract.

Note: In determining the amount of time to put on the Preservation Exhibit, the AE should round down to the whole year for any term less than six months and up for any term six months or greater. For a contract with less than six months remaining, no Preservation Exhibit is required .

  • b. Sign the HUD 93184 “Rider to Original Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Contract.”

Chapter Two – Published March 2023

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  • B. MAHRA Contracts.

Owners may request the early termination of an existing non-MUTM MAHRA contract only for the following reasons:

  1. A for profit owner or a housing authority occupying the status of a “public body corporate and politic” under the state legislation under which it was created, wishes to renew the contract under Option One, MUTM.

  2. Any owner wishes to renew the contract under Option Two and preserve long term affordability by signing a 20-year contract.

  3. Under Option Three:

    • a. An owner has an Interim-Lite or Interim-Full M2M contract and Recap has completed processing before the expiration date of the interim contract.

    • b. An owner with a Watch List contract that meets one of the requirements listed in Section 5-6. B.4. of this Guide.

    • c. The contract was previously renewed as a Lite contract and the owner wishes to complete a full MTM debt restructuring.

    • d. An owner requests referral to Recap based on a RCS that demonstrates that current rents are above market.

    • e. An owner wishes to refinance the project and wishes to renew the contract for 20 years or the remaining term of the use agreement, whichever is less.

  4. An owner with an Option Four contract who wishes to subsequently renew the contract under Option Four using a 20-year contract to preserve long-term affordability if the project is still eligible for renewal under Option Four at the time of the request for subsequent renewal.

  5. An owner with an Option Five contract who wishes to renew the contract under Option Five using a 20-year contract to preserve long-term affordability. (See Sections 7.3 and 7.4 for more information.)

  6. To combine multiple contracts or stages. (See Section 2-10.C.2 below.)

Note: An owner with a MUTM contract that has fulfilled the minimum five-year term, can terminate the contract early and renew the contract under any option for which the project is eligible for 20 years. An owner with a MUTM contract that has not fulfilled the minimum five-year term may terminate the contract early but only if the owner agrees to renew the contract under MUTM for 20 years, assuming the project is eligible for MUTM when the first contract is terminated.

  • C. The owner’s request for early termination under A or B above must be in writing and submitted to the AE/CA.

  • D. The owner agrees to the terms of the Preservation Exhibit, as contained in HUD Notice 2013-17 which provides for the renewal of the HAP contract at the end of the 20 years for a term that is at least equal to the term of the original terminated contract. If an owner of a project with an existing Preservation Exhibit wishes to terminate the contract and renew

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Chapter Two – Published March 2023

early, the new Preservation Exhibit will replace the existing Preservation Exhibit and include only the number of years remaining on the contract being terminated.

Note: In determining the amount of time to put on the Preservation Exhibit, the AE should round down to the whole year for any term less than six months and up for any term six months or greater. For a contract with less than six months remaining, no Preservation Exhibit is required.

  • E. An owner is not allowed to terminate a contract early to Opt Out of the Section 8 program.

Note: The AE/CA should document the project file by including a note that reads: “By mutual agreement, the owner and the CA have determined to terminate the Renewal Contract that runs from _____ to _____ and, instead, to enter into a 20-year contract, which will run from to. The owner has also agreed to the terms of the Preservation Exhibit.

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Contents — HUD Section 8 Renewal Policy Guidebook
HUD Section 8 Renewal Policy Guidebook
  1. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
  2. SPECIAL ATTENTION OF
  3. TRANSMITTAL
  4. A. Purpose
  5. Explanation of Changes
  6. Section 8 Renewal Policy Guidebook
  7. Office of Multifamily Housing
  8. Table of Contents
  9. Chapter One
  10. Introduction
  11. Chapter 1: Introduction
  12. Chapter 2: Section 8 Renewals
  13. Chapter 3: Option One: Mark-Up-To-Market
  14. Chapter 4: Option Two: Contract Renewals For Other Projects wi…
  15. Chapter 5: Option Three: Referral to Recap
  16. Chapter 6: Option Four: Renewal of Projects Exempt from or not…
  17. Chapter 7: Option Five: Renewal of Portfolio Reengineering Dem…
  18. Chapter 8: Option Six: Opt-Outs
  19. Chapter 9: Rent Comparability Studies
  20. Chapter 10: Residual Receipts
  21. Chapter 11: Tenant Issues
  22. Chapter 12: Physical Condition of the Project
  23. Chapter 13: HUD’s Refusal to Renew Section 8 Contracts
  24. Chapter 14: Rural Housing Service (RHS) Section 515/8
  25. Chapter 15: Section 8 Preservation Efforts
  26. — Chapter 16: “Old Regulation” State Housing Finance Agency Pr…
  27. 1-2. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
  28. 1-3. RULEMAKING
  29. 1-4. ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY
  30. 1-5. APPLICABILITY
  31. 1-6. PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT
  32. Chapter Two
  33. Section 8 Renewals
  34. 2-1. INTRODUCTION
  35. 2-2. OWNER OPTIONS
  36. 2-3. TYPES OF RENEWALS
  37. 2-4. EARLY TERMINATION OF A CONTRACT
  38. 2-5. RENT COMPARABILITY STUDY (RCS)
  39. Note: The AE/CA shall not lower the comparable market rents in…
  40. Note: A RCS is not required at any subsequent renewal of an EL…
  41. 2-6. CONTRACTS
  42. 2-8. SHORT-TERM CONTRACT RENEWALS
  43. 2-10. COMBINING CONTRACTS
  44. 2-11. REQUEST FOR A CONTRACT EXTENSION
  45. 2-12. DISTRIBUTIONS
  46. Note: The conditions listed above for receiving access to incr…
  47. 2-13. RENT ADJUSTMENTS
  48. 2-14. OPERATING COST ADJUSTMENT FACTOR (OCAF)
  49. 2-15. BUDGET-BASED RENT ADJUSTMENT REQUESTS
  50. 2-16. INCREASES IN DEPOSITS TO THE RESERVE FOR REPLACEMENT
  51. 2-17. PROCESSING INSTRUCTIONS
  52. Note: If the project has a budget approved by the AE/CA less t…
  53. Note: HUD does not accept the RHS utility analysis. The owner …
  54. 2-18. WAIVERS
  55. 2-19. DUNS NUMBER
  56. Chapter Three
  57. 3-1. OVERVIEW
  58. 3-3. OPTION ONE-A ENTITLEMENT MARK-UP-TO-MARKET ELIGIBILITY
  59. Note: Nonprofit controlled for profit entities as described in…
  60. 3-4. 150 PERCENT RENT CAP FOR OPTION ONE-A
  61. 3-5. EXCEEDING THE 150 PERCENT OF FMR CAP
  62. 3-6. OPTION ONE-B DISCRETIONARY MUTM ELIGIBILITY
  63. Note: Non-profit owned projects that meet one of the three cri…
  64. 3-7. RENEWAL REQUESTS
  65. 3-8. PROCESSING INSTRUCTIONS
  66. 3-9. ANNUAL RENT ADJUSTMENTS DURING A MULTIYEAR CONTRACT
  67. Chapter Four
  68. 4-1. ELIGIBILITY
  69. Note: Projects currently renewed under either Option Two or Op…
  70. 4-2. CONTRACT RENEWAL
  71. 4-3. ANNUAL RENT ADJUSTMENTS DURING A MULTIYEAR CONTRACT
  72. 4-4. PROCESSING INSTRUCTIONS
  73. Chapter Five
  74. Note: WAIVERS TO CHAPTER FIVE WILL BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH RECAP…
  75. Note: Risk Sharing Projects do not meet the definition of “eli…
  76. 5-2. BINDING COMMITMENT
  77. 5-3. ENTRY INTO RECAP
  78. Note: In cases where a CA makes the determination that contrac…
  79. 5-4. CONTRACT RENEWALS — RENT OR DEBT RESTRUCTURING
  80. 5-5. SUBSEQUENT RENEWALS
  81. 5-6. “WATCH LIST” MTM PROJECTS
  82. 5-7. GENERAL INFORMATION
  83. Chapter Six
  84. 6-1. ELIGIBILITY
  85. Note: State and local government financed projects that are no…
  86. Note: In cases where referral to Recap is necessary, CAs must …
  87. Note: Section 202 and 811 Capital Advance projects are not eli…
  88. Note: Projects financed under the risk-sharing loan programs u…
  89. 6-2. RENEWALS
  90. Reminder: For projects (including 202 projects) that are being…
  91. 6-3. RENT ADJUSTMENTS FOR MULTI-YEAR CONTRACTS
  92. 6-4. SECTION 202 REFINANCINGS
  93. Chapter Seven
  94. 7-1. ELIGIBILITY
  95. Portfolio Reengineering Demonstration Program Projects
  96. 7-2. RENEWAL OF PORTFOLIO REENGINEERING DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS
  97. FIVE
  98. Note: Owners can request that the existing Demo Program Use Ag…
  99. 7-4. PROCESSING INSTRUCTIONS FOR DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS
  100. 7-5. PRESERVATION PROJECTS (LIHPRHA AND ELIHPA)
  101. 7-6. OWNER’S SUBMISSION FOR PRESERVATION PROJECTS
  102. Note: Owners can request that the existing Preservation Use Ag…
  103. 7-7. PROCESSING INSTRUCTIONS FOR PRESERVATION PROJECTS
  104. 7-8. PROJECT SPECIFIC RENTS (PSRS)
  105. Chapter Eight
  106. 8-1. OVERVIEW
  107. 8-2. OWNER REQUIREMENTS FOR TENANT NOTIFICATION
  108. 8-3. PROCESSING INSTRUCTIONS
  109. Note: If proper notification was not provided, the owner must …
  110. Chapter Nine
  111. 9-1. BACKGROUND
  112. 9-2. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER NINE
  113. 9-3. ROAD MAP TO CHAPTER NINE
  114. 9-4. ALTERNATIVES TO RENT COMPARABILITY STUDY
  115. 9-6. METHOD TWO: COMPARING PROPOSED SECTION 8 RENTS WITH RENTS…
  116. 9-7. PREPARING A RENT COMPARABILITY STUDY
  117. 9-8. APPRAISER QUALIFICATIONS
  118. 9-9. ANALYZING THE SUBJECT PROJECT
  119. Note: Appraisers should not take into consideration demographi…
  120. Note: Government boundaries like state or county lines often d…
  121. 9-10. SELECTING COMPARABLE UNITS
  122. 9-11. COLLECTING AND DOCUMENTING DATA ON COMPARABLE UNITS
  123. 9-12. COMPUTING ADJUSTED RENTS FOR COMPARABLE UNITS
  124. 9-13. DERIVING ESTIMATED MARKET RENTS
  125. 9-14. PROCEDURE FOR MANDATORY MARKET RENT THRESHOLD
  126. Example Project in ZIP code 76469
  127. 9-15. HUD REVIEW OF RENT COMPARABILITY STUDY
  128. 9-16. INITIAL AND SUBSTANTIVE REVIEW OF OWNER’S RCS
  129. 9-17. COMMUNICATING RESULTS OF HUD/CA REVIEWS
  130. 9-18. OWNER APPEALS
  131. 9-19. IMPOSING SANCTIONS ON APPRAISERS
  132. APPENDICES
  133. - Instructions for Completing the HUD Form 92273 S8
  134. Part A: Rents Charged (lines 1 through 5)
  135. Part B. Design, Location, Condition (lines 6 through 10)
  136. Part C. Unit Equipment/Amenities (lines 11 through 23)
  137. Part D. Site Equipment/Amenities (lines 24 through 32)
  138. Part E. Utilities (lines 33 through 39)
  139. Part F. Adjustments Recap (lines 40 through 43)
  140. Part G. Adjusted Rents (lines 44 through 45)
  141. Required Contents of a Rent Comparability Study
  142. Comparable Project Profile

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