Section 8 Tenant Questions

[Abigail K.]

Hi There, 

Me again. I'm scouring the internet and can't seem to find a straight answer on a few questions regarding Section 8 tenants, I'm not sure if any of you have dealt with the specifics of the below but I would appreciate your guidance:

• If my unit is listed at $1,850 (for example) and I receive an application from a section 8 tenant, would the part of rent not covered by a section 8 voucher be paid by the tenant? Or am I now under scrutiny for the original rent amount?
• What happens in the case of a rent increase? I understand I am to apply through the housing authority who will assess if the increase is fair, is there anything else I need to know?

Thank you in advance for your help!

[Ryan B.]

Each tenant that has a voucher provides the housing authority with their income.  That income is used along with the payment standard for your area to determine how much the tenant can afford for their rent+ utilities.  The authority has sheets that estimate what they think utilities will cost for your area, that varies by the house size.  So, for a given tenant, once you fill out an Request for Tenancy Approval (RTA), the authority will take the tenant's approved affordability for rent plus utilities, subtract off the estimate of utilities for your house, and then come up with an amount of rent that is affordable for that tenant.  If that amount is more than what you are asking, great... it will be allowed to proceed.  If your requested rent is more than what the tenant is approved for, they'll ask you if you will accept the lower rent.  

If you work through all that, then a portion of the rent each month will come from the tenant and a portion will come from the housing authority.  

If you want to raise the rent, the'll usually only allow it after the tenant has been in place for a year.  You have to apply to raise the rent.  Usually you have to apply 60 days before the end of the 1-year term.  

So, when dealing with section 8, figure out what the utilities are going to be set at by the housing authority for your property, and determine what "Maximum Affordability for rent plus utilities" a tenant would need to meet the rent you require.  In my area, the tenants are given a paper with this number.  So, I ask.  If a tenant is clearly not going to have enough affordability for it to work, I politely explain that the housing authority isn't going to approve enough rent.  That screens out 80% of the Section 8 tenants in my area... but I'm working with B+ type homes.