How to Get a Section 8 Voucher -- What Landlords Need to Know — Tenants Too -- How to Bypass the Section 8 Waiting List

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Landlords need to understand who voucher holders are to be able to determine if someone with a Section 8 voucher is eligible to live in your property.

Is It True That a Tenant Just Needs to be Low Income?

That is NOT TRUE! There is only so much funding available to each Section 8 office to be able to grant vouchers to people. There are far more low-income people than there are available vouchers.

Who Qualifies to Receive a Section 8 Voucher?

Quoted from the HUD guidebook: https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/programs/hcv/guidebook Check this out for more details on each of these bullet points.

  • Family definition. Only applicants who meet a PHA's definition of family are eligible.

  • Income limits. The household's annual income may not exceed the applicable income limit as established by HUD.

  • Citizenship status. The applicant must meet the documentation requirements of citizenship or eligible immigration status.

  • Eviction for drug-related criminal activity. Persons evicted from public housing or any Section 8 program for drug-related criminal activity are ineligible for assistance for at least three years from the date of the eviction.

How to Find a PHA Accepting Applications

The first step a tenant needs to take is to find a Public Housing Agency or Section 8 office that is accepting applicants. In Michigan there is a nonprofit group that posts this, The Community Housing Network. As soon as a PHA has available vouchers, The Community Housing Network will send an alert.

https://communityhousingnetwork.org/other-services/section-8-wait-list/

Also in Michigan check out the Michigan State Housing Development Authority’s website for waiting list openings all over the state and a link to apply:

https://www.michigan.gov/mshda/0,4641,7-141-5555-270458--,00.html

Elsewhere you can Google Housing Agents in {Your State}. Here is the list of all the housing agents in Michigan:

https://www.michigan.gov/mshda/0,4641,7-141-5555_44739---,00.html

Elsewhere if someone wants to find a housing agency, I recommend contacting your local Housing and Urban Development (HUD) office.

Here is another resource I found searching the web. It’s a Long, Long List of how to get housing assistance:

http://bit.ly/longlistHowToGetS8

Required Documents to Apply

If you are a tenant, there is a great resource with more details about this list. I’ve copied this person’s list here. The man who made this website has been homeless so he knows the system from that angle. https://hudhousing.weebly.com/applications--documentation.html

  1. State ID must be current

  2. Social Security Card

  3. Birth Certificate

  4. Gather all income documents -2019 Income Tax – income verification

  5. Paystubs or SS, SSDI, or any type of income

  6. Bank Statements

  7. Gather all Bills -Rent, utilities, phone, internet, car payments

  8. Any medical Bills

  9. Medical and Mental Records & Diagnosis

  10. Homeless Letter

  11. Gather all award letters- SNAP. FOOD STAMPS, TANF, SS, SSDI, VET, HUD

  12. DV police reports & court paperwork

Application Done — Now What?

If her application is accepted, that Section 8 office or PHA will typically put her name into a lottery. If and when her name is drawn, then she gets a voucher. I have had tenants tell me they have been on waiting lists for up to 7 years. I always say “her” because it is incredibly rare I have had male voucher holders contact me.

How to Bypass the Waiting List

There is a ranking order of who will be granted a voucher the soonest. PHAs are required to supply vouchers to a percentage of the lowest income applicants. The ones who rank above the lowest income are those who are low income AND elderly, veterans, victims of domestic assault, and displaced or homeless people.

Domestic Assault

Domestic assault is the hardest one to prove. Each PHA has its own requirements and criteria when it comes to domestic assault.

I have heard from an applicant that she had to live in a shelter, take several classes through the shelter, live in a small subsidized apartment for a time, pursue a job and/or further her education and apply for all assistance available before she was even granted a Section 8 voucher. She told me when other women saw the big binder they needed to work through to get Section 8, they just dropped out. Very few made it through the program.

The PHA’s Background Check

The PHA goes through HUD’s list in Chapter 5 (link above) to determine if the person qualifies. When it comes to the criminal status, the PHA has discretion beyond drug-related crimes whether or not to grant a voucher. When I do my own background check and I’ve found crimes and I’ve questioned the applicant about it, I’ve always agreed with the PHA’s determination.

My own background check for a voucher holder is slightly different than how I run a background check for other applicants. Check out that blog and video here too.

My favorite part of what Section 8 will do is determine the voucher holder’s true income. Once the true income is determined, the PHA states how much of the rent the tenant has to pay to the landlord. It comes to between 30-40%. The PHAs try to keep it close to 30% but if the rent is a little high for that, the PHA can go up to 40% at its own discretion. It’s good to know if they deny the landlord renting to their applicant. There is wiggle room if you know how to dispute it.

Look for my video and. blog about that too. Determining the Rental Amount.

The PHAs are able to verify much more than I am by going through this list and using their own search engines. Tenants think they can hide assets and other income but they will be found. Be sure to look at that HUD Housing Choice Voucher Chapter 5 for more details on each of these.

How Do I Know the Tenant Can Pay Her Portion of the Rent?

I don’t! She may have spent her portion of the rent that month on a funeral, back to school expenses, marijuana, or other life circumstances. It happens. I even had one tell me she would not pay rent that month because she had to spend it on her daughter’s prom. I evicted her. When we cleaned out the house there were several souvenirs from Las Vegas too.

But I do like knowing that Section 8 is regularly checking her income to adjust that amount. If the tenant is not paying her portion, I don’t feel so badly starting the eviction process.

The Catch to Trusting that 30-40% of Income Determined by the PHA

It does take one to three months for the PHA adjustment in the rental portions. I have had tenants tell me they lost their job, they have told Section 8, but they can’t get their caseworker to respond or set up the appointment to show the records of the change. Meanwhile, the tenant cannot afford to pay me her full portion of the rent. I have to make a judgment call if I believe the tenant. If she pays what she can, I’m less likely to start an eviction. It’s awfully unfair to have an eviction on someone’s record when I know how long it takes for some caseworkers to process the change. When the change is a loss of income, the PHAs are supposed to prioritize that and make the adjustment. But I know from experience, it doesn’t seem to be much of a priority or the caseworkers have too many other pressing issues at the time. Regardless of how late the tenant is with her portion of the rent, I will send eviction papers for the tenant to present to her caseworker to motivate the caseworker to make an adjustment. I always make sure the attorney drops the case before the court date though so it will not appear on the tenant’s record.

To help you decide if you should rent to someone with a Section 8 voucher or not, check out my blog and video on the Pros and Cons of Section 8.