NJ Section 8 Question

[Account Closed]

I have a potential tenant for my 3 bed house in SJ.  The rent is $1,700.  

She gave me letter from NJ Dept of Community Affairs Housing Assistance Program.  These are the figures she has from a letter that was sent to her previous landlord.

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Total Monthly Rent: $1400

Amount housing assistance the program pays to owner: $1227

Amount of rent you pay: $173

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I the prior landlord drafted 2 leases one for $1400 (which was sent to HUD) and another $300 between them. She want me to do the same thing. Am I allowed to do this?

[Aly W.]

No! Unless the rules have changed, you cannot enter into a separate lease. I made this mistake with our first, and only, S8 tenant, who was more savvy than I was. NJ does not recognize more than one lease, and if the housing authority finds out, you (and maybe the tenant) can be kicked out of the program.

Most streetwise tenants know this, as ours did, and as soon as they moved in, they stopped paying their extra portion. If you do this, you will likely never see that $300 and there won't be anything you can do about it. If you want $1700 for that property, find a tenant that can pay the full $1700, either on their own or through S8.

We own a 4 bedroom, 2 bath house in Trenton, and we get $975 a month from a market rate tenant. I'm curious what kind of 3 bedroom house in Trenton is worth $1700 a month.