Renting to an evicted person, now on HUD?

[Donald S.]

Hi all, 

I currently have a 3 bed 1 bath apartment in a C or C- neighborhood that we're trying to get rented out. I'm realizing why people say it's harder to rent in the winter. Well I have an applicant who has evictions (2) on her record, one from 2012 and one from 2017. Normally that would be end of discussion, we don't rent to evictions. However she is now on a HUD program that pays for 90% of her rent, not Section 8 (or HCV as it is really named), but a similar program.

So my question is this: If an applicant meets your other standards, but fails the eviction standard, but now has the government flipping the bill for most (or all) of their rent, do you make an exception?  

I'm pretty sure the answer will be 'No', but I wanted to gather thoughts and opinions on this. 

[Michele Fischer]

If an applicant has an eviction on their record, that means that when things go south, they are not going to vacate, they are going to hang on to the bitter end.  When things go south, your top priority is getting possession back so you can move on and get back to cash flowing.

Having a section 8 voucher may make it less likely that things will go south, but housing authorities won't help you get her out.  

We give a lot of second chances, but not on evictions.  Especially with one so recent.  That means the applicant has repeatedly and recently forced a landlord to take additional time and expense to get them to move on.