What qualifications must people with section 8 meet at your communities?

UPDATE: Not trying to discriminate! Some people have said the voucher counts as income and the applicant needs to make 2.5-3x the monthly rent, based on their company’s policy. Other people have said the applicant’s income needs to be 2.5-3x their portion. Clarifying that if the voucher doesn’t completely cover rent, we can say they must pay the remaining balance or does this vary by state. I’m sorry section 8 is new to our community.

Let’s talk about not taking Section 8 at your market rate community. We have been getting a lot of Section 8 questions. I want to make sure our community is correctly following regulations. What qualifications must people with section 8 meet at your communities? Thanks for your input!

We don’t accept vouchers at our properties within my company and haven’t gotten in any trouble for it. I’m in Houston, Texas.

Lee Ann surprised no one has figured out and contacted HUD. You all are lucky.

Christine Allen Income is not a protected class in Texas.

M.A. Cumbie it's not about the income.

Depending on your city and state laws you may be legally obligated to allow section 8. Your application qualifications basically stay the same except income has a little more give since they are paying with a voucher. Now if section 8 offers $1,000 for a one bedroom that is $1,250 at market rate you are able to deny their voucher amount. Your questions make it seem like you want to go out of your way to deny or avoid rental assistance tenants. They are people and you should not discriminate.

Taylor Hauser You never deny their voucher. Your rent is what your rent is. The local housing authority is the one to make the determination if they will qualify for the rent of your unit.

Miles Scruggs you absolutely can deny to lower your rent to the voucher amount. I have asked this to my attorneys and to a section 8 rep.

Taylor Hauser I never said anything about lowering the rent. The rent is what it is, you simply screen the applicant but you don’t “deny the voucher”. Voucher eligibility for the rent isn’t done by you it is done by the housing authority.

Taylor Hauser I wouldn’t deny. I would fill out the voucher approval packet, send it in and let the housing agency deny it. I do tell the voucher applicant that the agency will likely deny it and it could be a waste if their app fee so they can make the choice to proceed with applying or not.

Megan Goodmundson that’s exactly what we do. We always complete the packet and either Section 8 says no or calls and ask us if we will accept a lower amount. At that point we deny. I didn’t want to drag out step by step instructions on a Facebook comment.

They still have to pass credit/criminal, but the income is only 3x their portion.

Nora Griffin this is what we say

Nora Griffin this is what we say as well.

Nora Griffin - Years ago I increased the ratio to 3.5 x Rent. I had too many people that once in the apartment could not afford utilities, etc. No issues, no pushback, etc. blessed by attorneys and several housing authorities. In fact, some of the housing authorities changed their own methodology to accommodate the higher ratio, issuing larger vouchers.

I don't mean to seem harsh but the way that your question is posed is more discriminatory in my opinion but that's just me. It just seems like you're seeking ways to disqualify them other than seeking ways to find out if you are obligated as a property to participate in the program at all.

My suggestion would be ...How can I help you

Seems like the question itself goes against the entire premise of what we do. We provide homes and communities to those that are looking for one, right? If an applicant qualifies under your criteria and your rental rates remain the same but you are looking for a loophole based on the “type” of payment you are going to receive ….feels like discrimination.

We do not participate in government funded programs.

Susan Steward this is illegal to say and do in Virginia. Source of funds is a protected class.

It depends on your state/local laws. Excellent question for an attorney;)

There currently is a company in Ann Arbor, MI that is being sued for discrimination based on them telling a prospective resident that they do not accept vouchers. The City of Ann Arbor is requiring ALL landlords to accept vouchers or be in violation of a city ordinance. Everyone in Ann Arbor is watching this one closely.

We are in affordable market rate company. In the city we live in housing vouchers are protected class, so it is illegal for someone to outright deny it. Applicants must meet are posted rental requirements for rental history, credit score and the income (3x rent) would be modified based on the amount that they pay, not the full rent, because rent assistance pays a large majority in most cases. For the record, we have never once had to evict a rental assistance resident. In fact, at least with us, their units are impeccably in great condition as they are inspected not only buy us once a year, but also by section 8 inspectors. ( I’m in southeast Wisconsin.)

Kathi Marie Same northern Colorado!

I work in affordable housing which they still have to pass credit and criminal. We have to accept their vouchers, but in our app we do inquire how all other bills will be paid… now this doesn’t deny them because if rent is paid and they have no other source of income we still have to accept them as long as they pass criminal/credit screen and we get their file approved by compliance

Remember fair housing !!!!

All qualifications should apply except the income to rent ratio. The voucher is the substitute for income. The biggest thing is if the voucher payment standard is enough to cover the rent. Some market rents are higher than what the voucher will cover. Communities that choose to not accept housing choice vouchers are opening themselves to being sued for discrimination based on source of income or receiving public assistance. Some states have that as a protected class now. And while many states do not recognize that as a protected class you know there are people who are itching to make new laws.

What State are you in?

In CA. Rude and offensive.Fair Housing was created for a reason!

We have to accept them if they meet criteria and the 2.5x the rent income they need only applies to their portion of rent that they're responsible for paying.

Ask your attorney. City, county, and/or state laws change constantly so it's best to get a drafted response from a legal professional per property locale...then compassionately answer the same way to all who ask.

Where I am, as long as the voucher covers the amount of the rent, and the rest of the criteria are met they are qualified. We are an upscale property. The paperwork is a bear, but it’s guaranteed payment.

In general I use there portion of the rent as the have to qualify for. They still need to pass non monetary qualification standard

At our communities, the voucher covers 70% of their rent, and the rent is based on their income, so we waive all income requirements if they have S/8. You could always call their housing specialist for a deeper understanding and to make sure the rent schedule is compatible with what your rents are. Also, you could reach out to upper management or your legal team to ensure you are handing this correctly.

Agreed with all above comments regarding state laws. Here in Virginia, source of funds is a protected class.

You'll need to ask an attorney about this in regard to your local laws, but we were able to set a minimum income floor of $400/month for our voucher residents. For example if the voucher covers 100% of their rent, or their portion of the rent was $100/month and the qualifications standards are income must be 3x's the rent, they would still have to earn at least $400/ month to cover utilities and other basic living expenses.

Yes, if you qualify

Colorado we have to accept section 8. If the voucher doesn’t cover their portion then they have to finically qualify with the remaining portion per your companies policy. So if they still have to pay $200 then they have to make 2.5X for that $200. That’s how I have was taught.

Why would their qualifications be specific to section 8? Their income is always 3X whatever their portion of the rent they are responsible for. As long as that is the criteria meets your guidelines then why would any other aspects be unique?

Some cities do have protected class that do not allow you to discriminate based on section 8. If that is the case you can deny them if their voucher does is not enough to cover the rent. You do not have to negotiate your rents.

Gosh there needs to be more rent control or so many more will be homeless. Enforce your rules, lease, and policies you won't have issues. Do evictions as needed. No one should know if your community has voucher holders. NO ONES BUSINESS!

You know in many areas Section 8 pays more than that average income person can afford to pay. This a big reason many can't afford to pay. Now if your company ups the rents to try and circumvent the system, well you could be that person not being able to afford rent yourself. Many good residents are low income. Open your mind.

People can pay the remaining balance they are responsible for with tenant based section 8. They have to make 3 times (based on your company policy) their portion and they still have to be qualified with the same criminal background check.

It depends on where you are renting, but our vouchers have the rental amount that they are approved for.

Have you asked your company what their policy is? Have you reached out to your attorney they are going to give you much better advice to follow.

They also have to qualify for your rents. If Section 8 is not willing to approve the rent you get from a non-voucher holder you do not have to accept their offer on rent.

In my experience over the years it honestly varies by company and property but most voucher holders wouldn't make 3x or they wouldn't have the voucher to begin with... your corporate office or compliance dept if you have one would prob have the best answer, as well as attorney for how to handle fair housing issues that could arise.

There are several jurisdictions where accepting Section 8 is required. When I was in Oregon, I often found that the other criteria, such as credit & criminal background would disqualify someone who didn’t have income, and would result in a denial. I think I had maybe 3 tenants out of 265 that were on Section 8.

Some states as in Arizona and other states have a new law that state you have to take them if they qualify so people should never say they don't take these programs just if they qualify

We lower income qualifications for voucher recipients. Everyone needs housing. We also lower income qualifications for affordable housing tenants. In HI, no income fair housing but we recently passed a law against stating we don't accept section 8. Everyone still has to go through the same screening process. Credit/background and then of course income. A lot of section 8 applicants don't make income.

If they qualify, which most won’t why would you want section 8? The program is strict, they do a series of inspections and your guaranteed your rent.

What if your community has never been approved for section 8?

Section 8 vouchers are not counted as part of their income at our properties. We require 2.5 x the rent in income. If they don’t have that then we say they do not qualify and have never had a problem.

I would suggest you talk to your attorney. If you are in California, then you must accept it and they would be declined only for the same reasons you would decline someone else. Their voucher is income. Your walking a fine line by already looking for reasons to decline someone before they have even applied.

At my old property we took it. They still had to meet property requirements.

You really should get with your local apt association or attorney to find out what you’re suppose to be doing. This is not the best format to get advise as we’re all in different locations with different requirements.

In Oregon we are required by law to take Section 8 vouchers. We have to include it as income.

In Minneapolis it’s been made mandatory so many of the owners of naturally occurring affordable housing just raised their vacant unit rents far enough above the voucher limits so that they’d be rejected by the housing case worker. You do not have to lower your rents to meet the voucher amount. At least for now.

We do accept vouchers. We count them as income. Our income requirement is 3 times the monthly rent plus you must meet all other criteria like all other applicants.