Section 8 Request for Assistance

[Brian Kennedy]

Hello BP members. I am new to BP and have been a landlord of a SFR since 2012. I rent to a Section 8 tenant that likes to keep the heat at 80 degrees. Which is fine since the tenant pays the gas bill. I warned them that they should expect very high gas bills if the heat was kept that high. Well, last week I received a request to assist with paying a portion of the past due gas bill from the security deposit. I'm a reasonable landlord that is willing to work with my tenants, so I drafted a letter informing them that I will assist in the form of a loan that carries a monthly fee if not paid back by a mutually agreed date. So my question is, should I require the tenant to sign up for the gas companies monthly payment plan as a stipulation of the loan?