I have a house for rent and I have been asked by a possible tenant if I accept housing vouchers. I have never dealt with this before.

It can be an effective tool if you have a lower end house that might not be in the best location attracting at best so-so applicants. You will be sleeping with the devil to make it work and sometimes the tenant issues are thrusted upon you when you don't want them.

Say no while you still can in Ohio. In tenant friendly states such as California and New York, you are unable to deny based on subsidization which is crazy.

Just saw a court youtube video where the tenant in a new build apartment building was having ALL her rent paid for her by subsidization, yet she opted for the "do you want fries with that package" which an extra $50-$80 a month and she defaulted on THAT payment, never paying a penny for almost TWO YEARS for her luxury package. She found herself in eviction court for this.

My advice is to look into the S8 program that you will be working with. Find other landlords that deal with the same place and see what they say.

For me it was not worth all the hassle that was heaped upon me. The housing authority in my area was just there to run as many people thru as they could. It was all a numbers game. Tenants would break the rules and then there were no consequences for their unruly actions.

That being said, there are a few on here that actually thrive using the S8 program.

Thus the reason that you need to look at your particular area and see how they deal with problem tenants or inspections or any other of many things that could cause problems.

In VA, we may not discriminate based on the applicant's source of income.

So, my response would be "of course we accept vouchers".

I believe there still may be a few responsible people who truly fell on tough times & are using the program as intended, as a hand up. But, the system/employees is broken & does little to help them-makes it more difficult.

Every applicant goes through the same, thorough screening.

Those who are scamming the housing voucher system/are irresponsible probably have evidence of other bad behavior in their lives that will cause them to fail the qualification process.

If the application does pass screening, then the housing inspection needs to be scheduled & all the paperwork has to be processed by the housing office - I'm told this can take quite a long time. In the meantime, another applicant may be approved.

Understand, this is third-hand info. I have spoken to others who take vouchers. I never have.

I have been told it makes a big difference where the property is & what office you are dealing with.

I don’t have a choice but I can be selective still. It’s not my preference but the few I have are great tenants.

Be very careful of the person you let in though.

My response is a cheerful "Of course, happy to accept a voucher. Housing assisted applicants must pass the exact same screening as a regular applicant. I check credit report, criminal background, landlord references, work references, verify income, and all the usual stuff that landlords normally check. Application fee is $45, deposit is $2600 (or whatever the deposit is) Utilities are not included in the rent

I never hear back from them.

I watched it. At least she got the boot.

What I don't understand is that for $250 she can appeal the judges decision. Does that just mean an added 30 days?

Why do they keep getting more and more hand outs?

Surprised when the lawyer said they were not going after any of the money owed, including court costs and lawyer's fees.

Zero, I think it was in Michigan so even if they did go after a money judgement, it probably wouldn't make a difference and you'd just be wasting your time. If it was Florida or Texas then it would be worth it.

Thank you for inquiring. We do not accept vouchers at this time but welcome you to check back with us in the future.

Only use that if you are not required to take section 8 in your area.

"In VA, we may not discriminate based on the applicant's source of income."

Is section 8 an income or a subsidy?

Aren't subsidies based off of income?

Would that not make them 2 separate things?

Income:

: a gain or recurrent benefit usually measured in money that derives from capital or labor

Subsidy:

Our local program allows me to use my regular agreement. They want one paragraph added that says my agreement complies with all of their rules. If we get this far then it means the tenant has already met all other criteria. That has happened only one time in the last 15 years which was just a few months ago. I have a couple of others from before that. The most recent individual has excellent credit and references. The home where they lived was being sold. The previous landlord absolutely raved about the person. Seems that it was all factual. So far everything has been perfect.

I was forced by my City, Los Angeles, to accept Housing Vouchers by Section 8, HUD and a few other agencies. Then the City Attorney found out that my tenants boyfriend was a drug dealer and I was given 30 days to evict the drug dealing boyfriend, not on the lease.

My City requires that I send Housing a notice if any document given to a tenant "could" end up with eviction. So within 3 days I sent the Los Angeles Housing Department a Copy of my Notice to Quit, only the boyfriend, and a copy of the City attorney's threat, get him out of We will take away your property.

Then Housing Contacted the drug dealer, giving him access to Free Legal Aid and a $15,000 fund. Also saying he deserved a $22,000 relocation fund, at my expense.

Look for her court records. Google her name. Check social media. Most importantly look at her job history. Is she stable with work? I like to see who people are associated with and if they have pets. I dont accept pets.

Visit their home if applicant has passed all other research. If you meet with her and think this is a person you can deal with then proceed. Some move often and some will stay decades.

Note: Sometimes on lease renewal the home needs repairs that weren't needed before they moved in. You are responsible for their yearly maintenance issues. At the first sign of drama, look into eviction. If they are evicted they lose the ability to transfer voucher to a new landlord.