section 8 landlord question rents below comps

[John Harrison]

where I am at HCV rents are aprox $200 lower then comperable Non HCV rents. They set the FMR at comprable but then they subtract a utility allowance from that. So for example all rents in neighborhood are $1000 and they set the FMR at $1000 but then they subtract utility allowance and what we get is $800???? I thought the tenant is suppose to pay utility allowance. I complain and they ignore. I complained to regonal HUD and no answer what can I do

[Steve Babiak]

That's how Section 8 works. The tenant gets a HOUSING voucher, not a rent voucher. The tenant paid utilities are subtracted from the voucher amount to result in the net amount paid to the landlord. Before I even do a showing to somebody on Section 8, I request that they get the utility allowance sheets from the Housing Authority and subtract the tenant paid utilities from their voucher amount, then if the remaining amount is at or above my asking rent they can see the unit.