Section 8 in Delaware and Camden Counties

[Nathan Milholin]

Hi everyone,

I'm particularly interested in affordable housing, both from a landlord and policy perspective, and would like to start acquiring units in the Philadelphia area.  The Philadelphia Housing Authority's website is fairly easy to navigate and I have seen enough listings for occupied properties and their current Section 8 rent to have a good idea of what to expect. However, information in the surrounding counties is harder to come by.

A few questions for those of you who have experience with the Housing Choice Voucher in Delaware County, PA and Camden County, NJ:

Are the payment standards for these counties published anywhere?  I have scoured their websites but have been unable to find them.

On a related note, what are the typical rents you are seeing for Section 8 in these areas? (zip code and number of bedrooms, if you can). I would like to compare to the Small Area Fair Market Rent chart on the HUD website to see how reliable the chart is. I know rent in Philadelphia can differ significantly even from the PHA's own payment standards, let alone the SA FMR.

A further related note--if anyone is looking for an exit strategy from a Section 8 portfolio in the area, I'd love to have a chat.