First of all, as a landlord, you need to familiarize yourself how the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 Rental Voucher Program works. Families with low incomes are qualified applicants for this housing assistance program. The approved applicants are given vouchers to pay for their rent. Then you would be paid by the Federal Government through the local Public Housing Agency (PHA).
The rental payment to be made to you depends on the tenant-based voucher assistance PHA approved the family to have. The rent amount is the difference between the income and the PHA-determined payment standard for the location of your property. The family’s capabilities are as follows: 30% of monthly adjusted income, which is equal to Annual Income minus Allowable Income Deductions; 10% of monthly income, which is equal to the Total Income before deductions are made; or portion of welfare rent.
As a landlord, you could also avail of project-based assistance under Section 8. You could apply for subsidies you need in rehabilitating your property. Note that you would only maintain the subsidy if you are allowing eligible Section 8 voucher holders to rent your unit.
PHA would conduct annual certification for the eligibility of both your and the renters’ subsidies.
If you are willing to take part in this program, immediately make your intentions of allowing Section 8 rentals known by the PHA. You should inform the PHA about the availability of your unit and that it is open to Section 8 voucher holders. There are over a hundred PHA offices that endorse and approve Section 8 rental vouchers for low income families and project-based subsidies for landlords like you.
Your property would then undergo PHA inspection. There are Housing Quality Standards that includes thirteen categories of performance requirements. As Section 8 voucher holders consider your unit as their rental home, they would take part in some of the inspection details. Their assessment points could be either about general good working conditions or specific personal preferences. The inspection also includes the acceptability criteria of both the PHA and the possible renters.
The local PHA could also guide you in understanding the income information of the Section 8 voucher holder who wants to rent your unit. You could obtain the following information from the PHA: the tenant-based voucher assistance extended to the family; and the verification of the family’s accurate income information.
As the HUD and PHA certify equal opportunity for all applicants, you should also do the same. When screening possible renters with Section 8 rental vouchers, you should screen them as you screen renters with no subsidies. Race, color, national origin, handicap, sex, religion and familial status should not in any way hinder you from allowing them to rent your unit.
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