Section 8 rules in Massachusetts

[Faraz Mog]

Hi,

We are considering turning one of our vacant apartments into a section 8 and was wondering if people can share their positive/negative experience. I have zero experience on section 8 so I have some questions. Any guidance is appreciated.

1. Can someone please explain the process or is there any resource to learn about this peocess? We have listed our property and people are sending inquiries saying that they are voucher holders from different housing authorities. Can we select any of them? Or should we first register with one housing authority and only accept tenants with vouchers from that housing authority?

2. Are there any requirements for eligibility? Like the apartment should be deleaded, etc? If so, where can I find the information?

3. Is there a difference between different housing authorities like Boston housing or Salem housing in terms of their rent rates and smoothness of process? If so, how can I find out which housing authority is good to work with?

Thank you all in advance!

[Casey Howe]

Hi there.  My company does a good deal of work with various agencies and voucher holders.  The process is as follows:

1. We list the available unit.

2. We accept viewings from anyone that is pre-approved (self-identifies as meeting our criteria, this should NOT include income as it is a Fair Housing violation.

3. We review each application in the order it is received and IF the tenant selected is with a housing agency we work with the agency to submit paperwork, and schedule an inspection.  If the first tenant that meets our criteria is not a voucher holder, we would move forward with them.  In short, whether or not they are a voucher holder should not in any way play into the application process or you are in violation of Fair Housing.  

4. Once the paperwork is submitted and inspection takes place, we write up the lease which the tenant signs along with a bit of paperwork from the Section 8 office, and we schedule a move in.

In our experience, tenants who hold vouchers are statistically just as good as any other tenant.  The waitlist for vouchers is long, and so generally, people don't want to lose them through lease violations.  Additionally, the maintenance requirements are generally overblown.  The inspectors generally just want the unit to be safe, and meet health codes - stuff most landlords are doing anyways.

I would recommend leveraging a good property management company who is clear on how to work with the housing agencies.   Not only can they ensure you find a great tenant, but they also can work with housing to ensure you're getting fair rent for the unit that is available.  They also should be petitioning the housing agency for an increase each year, just as they do with tenants that do not hold a voucher.