Landlords don't want vouchers, the hurdle keeping people on the streets | Part 3: The Causes 

They didn't explain the aftermath of allowing a section 8 tenant in the rental home. The destruction is unreal. Section 8 will not pay for the repairs. A lot of people will blame the landlord for letting things get that bad. A lot of people will make excuses for the bad behavior of yhe tenant. What we are seeing now is that landlords have been burned way too many times. They don't want to deal with the destruction and costs associated with. Also, the expectation of higher income and credit requirements apply to ALL tenants, they are not discriminatory.

Folks, Never ever accept section 8, unless you have a load of cash in the bank. I took in a section 8 in October 2022. Today is 02/22/2023. I still haven't received a single payment from the Newark HA. I can't reach anyone on the phone. It's so unfair.

One reason landlords do not rent to Section 8 is because many of them damage the property and do not respect it. That makes it hard to trust other Section 8 renters who may treat the properties great. Don’t blame landlords. Blame fellow Section 8 renters.

It's disingenuous for them to pretend like they don't know why landlords will not accept vouchers/section 8. The news always tries to shows the decent ones like the mothers with kids in school who work a part time job and the elderly. Put the real ones on camera because it's like night and day. Every apartment complex I've seen where they started letting them move into turned into the slums. Litering, robbing, breaking into other tenants apartments while they were working a full time to pay full rent. They bring delinquent males with them who are quick to pull out a gun and start shooting. And it's the same thing when they move them into houses in neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods start being unsafe and they don't upkeep the home either. They let their grass grow and look a mess. And if you are a homeowner your property value will drop. In addition those government programs were not meant to be long term with the exception of the disabled and the elderly. And the government does more for young adults than they do for the elderly and disabled. Put the elderly and disabled top on the list and let the young able-bodied individuals get out here and work.

I suppose it’s time to find all those missing daddies and move in with them

If I were a landlord, the only way I would accept any tenant, voucher or not, is if they can pass my criteria (including validating references). If the voucher program doesn’t permit that, then I’m not accepting them.

This wouldn't be a problem if landlords had more laws protecting them from the damage, etc that occurs from people like this. And those kind of S8 tenants should lose their vouchers

So you been sitting waiting on a section 8 home for over a year and you two have not gotten jobs or better your situation?

If the community wants to help those with vouchers, the community should build some apartment buildings and let those with vouchers stay there. Maybe then the community will figure out why most landlords won't rent to those with vouchers.

One of the hurdles are the voucher holders themselves. They have become so entitled that they would risk losing a voucher rather than lease an apartment vs a house. In Chicago you must have modern renovations with stainless steel appliance and hardwood floors. A 2 bedroom voucher holder holds out for a house (there are not many 2 bedroom houses. A 3 bedroom voucher holder would not be caught dead in a 3 bedroom apartment (House ONLY for them). Voucher holders are particular. Not to mention the vouchers don’t keep pace with market rent. And the HUD contacts are horrible in timely communication. Try reaching one of them by phone or email with a question.

And section 8 isn't a life time home.....work to get your own

The real problem with Section 8 is the tenants. From what I've seen, most of the Section 8 users treat the property like trash. An friend who was a landlord had his Section 8 tenant do $12,000 worth of damage to his house and lot. He had to pay for all the repairs because neither Section 8 or the tenant would pay. After the repairs, the owner sold the house and said "never again".

"Stable Housing is the door to a stable job"?? Really?? Then why do Section 8 people receive Housing Vouchers for Y-E-A-R-S, instead of weeks or months, until they get a job?? Many of them NEVER get a job, and receive other sorts of government subsidies IN ADDITION to Housing Vouchers!

They need to have a training class for tenants once they are approved of how to treat landlords property and have a program that would have consequences if not followed. I believe more landlords would be more open because they would feel like they have more support!!

My boss has a big heart....gives a lot to his self funded charity for blind children in Panama. He took section 8 for a while...Trashed the places- I had to do repairs. I am certain there are a lot of good, deserving people who need section 8, but the bad ones ruin it for those few. No more.

who wants to have irresponsible people inside their homes? It's not about money, it's about sanity

Many landlords have experienced S8 tenants who DO take care of their properties while living there, so that's not necessarily the reason they won't accept the vouchers. I'm a regular 9-5er who owns a rental - and I can tell you from experience, the housing authorities take WAY too long to even get anyone out there for an inspection, approve it, etc. It can often take weeks & weeks - time that we don't have when it comes time to paying our mortgages. So, we go ahead and rent it out to a market-rent tenant because it's simply quicker and less hassle. These little media outlets need to talk about THAT. Also, housing authorities need to hold the bad S8 tenants more accountable (as in taking their vouchers away for good), streamline their systems and offer more support to landlords.

Keep your place clean.....stop selling drugs out of section 8 houses......

Blame it on the people who abuse the gift they have been given. I’ve seen my friends section 8 homes and most of the time it was trash! Now with social media you can see the unbelievable living conditions!

Nobody wants to bring free loaders to there property and have all the problems that come with crime and unsafe complexes…… I feel for these people but they have to understand that more crime comes with this and people don’t want to live in unsafe conditions!

I tried section 8 tenants once. Never again. The rent got paid, sure, but the problem was they brought in their "street" friends. I had 12 people living in a 4 bedroom house the week before the eviction went through. It took me 3 months to get them out, and I had to prove to the judge by video that there were 10+ beds in this house when the lease said no more than 5 people. There was also a registered offender living there without my permission, alongside 2 children. Disaster in the making.

Can Section 8(the voucher issuers) guarantee the landlords that their property will be treated with respect and left the way it was before being occupied??!! Not only that. What kind of tenants/neighbors will they be??!! There are people who have people living with them not included on the voucher, shady dealings (I once lived across the hall from a woman doing an illegal daycare/babysitting gig), drugs/drug selling, public exposure of drinking/drug use/selling, prostitution, gang activity, etc.

Many of those Voucher People----You would NOT want anywhere near you!

I agree people need classes and Training on how to keep and maintain the properties. People need ongoing training and support with being stable for employment and self suffiency.

when u r poor u find out real fast what kind of country usa truly is

No Landlord is turning down: Well Behaved, Non-Problematic, On-Time paying Tenants. So if Landlords are rejecting you as a potential tenant it probably has something to do with you NOT being Well Behaved, Non-Problematic, On-Time paying.

It is up to the Government to build Affordable Housing and have it run by a non-profit. Take all this voucher money, Money we spend founding a war, and money they want to use to pay down student loans and build affordable housing with RULES. I have three rental units and I won't take section 8 tenants. I'm not taking a chance on my property trashed like two of my friends have.

So let me understand this, you have a voucher where you only pay 30% and you don't feel you should be subject to a credit check and minimal income requirement? Who in their right mind would Section 8 out their unit and have to jump through government hoops when they can just least the unit out at a market rate? This defies logic.....

Notice how Ruth didn’t mention men, if that ain’t sexist idk what is. Men make up the bulk of homelessness and are equally vulnerable. Start teaching these strong and independent women they need a husband. Every other race does it just fine.

It's not the vouchers, it's the people who use them. Not all, but MANY of them could careless about other people's property

This is happening in cities everywhere. Average one bedroom apartment in Nashville is around $1700. Section 8 will not pay the increases therefore making the Section 8 vouchers worthless. Our homeless rates have increased 200%. More than half of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and one crisis away from homelessness.

The mistake section 8 made is giving the vouchers to people with low or no credit and poor work histories. Those are the ones that destroys the properties while the opposites never get a chance. Now section 8 is coming to an end because the bad made it bad for everyone.

I think residents should be required to work 20 hours a week or volunteer 20 hours a week if you get section 8. I was a landlord who had a Section 8 tenant. Because the tenant didn’t work at all, she & her family kept different hours. ( up all night making noise and playing music/birthday parties in the middle of the week) My paying tenants (one family of 5 where dad worked two jobs and mom worked one job) moved because the noise during the week was too loud and didn’t want issues with the section 8 tenants. I will help folks who are cleaned ( one day week clean the house; don’t leave trash on the back porch, take it to the garbage cans!!!) , clean up after themselves in the laundry area and socialize on weekends … but home training and basic common civility is a must!!!!!!

That's Why It's Paramount For Folks [Especially Black Americans] To Focus On Gaining Skills For Increasing Incomes... And Getting Off Of These Useless Government Programs. Good Luck To Everyone!

If section 8 tenants took care of the property more landlords would be willing…. Don’t blame landlords for this disaster 😢

The housing authorities are so slow and unresponsive. The rates the authorities pay is sometimes hundreds below market. They also nitpick and demand unnecessary and expensive repairs. They also don’t give the residents money for deposits and they don’t pay for damages by the residents. Very risky and discouraging policy for property management.

Look up section 8 tenants trash home on YT thank me later

Instead of depending on the government these people need to learn how to manage money, get a job and keep their credit score up. I understand its not all of them but the last thing you want to do is depend on the government.

I lived in Atlanta as a disabled senior citizen I was not able to find an apartment that would take my voucher. When I did find a unit the housing authority denied the unit because it was 2 bedrooms and I am single. Literally I notice complexes only commit 20% of their units to voucher program, but if they can lease all their units at market they will not consider a voucher. That is the avenue I had to take to keep from becoming homeless, again...

i was not suprised when my psychiatrist told me 2 years ago she knew several mentaly ill people who were severely harmed and in each case our law system did nothing to the people who severely harmed them

Rent should only be 30-33% of income. That is normal.

years of section 8 but got Eye Lashes fresh long nails and her hair done SMH

That land that they built. Those apartments does not belong to them. It belongs to god everything belongs to god even the breath that comes out of our mouths belong to god and they won't rent to certain people

They fuck up your rental , that’s why.

How about getting an actual job? People on public assistance don't value the property, what landlord wants that?

That sociology student is the embodiment of "study long, study wrong"

because even w govt money it is unaffordable for landlords, infestations , property damage and cant get rid of poor tenants. landlords still have to pay their mortgage and maintain the property what exactly do you expect.

There is a stigma that section 8 are low class and trash your apartment. I felt that way for years. Now, almost half of my tenants are section 8. Getting 75%+ of my rents being direct deposited by the state you can’t beat. I’ve yet to get burned by it, but even if I did - I know I have others on section 8 that are good tenants.

Be careful who you vote for, and hold the new winners to fix this! The poor don't own most of the homes, so where do the poor and poor working folks sleep?

My dad bought a place as a rental, didn’t take long before behind on rent. Sold the place to current renters with my dad’s help and government down payment. Payment was less than rent by $175.00, drove by the place a year after sold and was abandoned. The house I’m sure was uninhabitable watching the garbage build up and mice and roaches, free rent for over a year thanks to us and Federal government.

They should allow people who have family who own homes to be able to live in the family members' homes with the housing voucher....

Why, exactly is this 30-something man on sec 8? Why can’t he support himself? Why can’t he secure a job good enough to pay for a studio apartment?

Logic of Section 8 tenant: - Move to 3-bedroom house because you have 2 kids from different fathers - Pay 10% of rent out-of-pocket, say, $200, everything else including utilities will be paid by voucher aka taxpayers money. - Rent another bedroom to someone else for $700 cash. - Adopt 2 pittbuls, 3 cats and guineapig - Let your boyfriend spend couple nights a week - Trash, trash and trash again this house - Complain to landlord about old faucets and ceiling fans, demand new and latest model - After landlords finds this out, delay eviction as long as possible. Trash property again before move out, flush tampons to the toilet - GET ANOTHER VOUCHER FOR THE NEXT HOUSE, YAY!

Section 8 is NOTORIOUS for not paying and damaging the property.

I used to be a property manager. Then my employer changed hands and they began accepting section eights. We were paid on time but those tenants were nothing but trouble.

This lady can save gas and time. I have 17 houses and don’t rent section 8…the process is cumbersome and the tenants damage my houses. The neighbors don’t want sec 8 tenants next door and I DONT want a 1099….that’s the biggest issue BTW, o landlord wants to deal With a 1099

Try getting rent increase as a sec 8 landlord

I would rent my property out to section 8. I have before, and I regret it almost every time.

Why should I have to pay these peoples rent for the rest of their lives. There would be more houses and vouchers if there was a time limit to being on it. How long does it take to get on your feet. Learn to live within your means. She said stable housing leads to a stable job. But these people are on vouchers for life, so a stable job is a lie. They just want to live off other people for life

Landlords are backing away from Section 8 because way to many tenants do not pay their part of the rent, do not take care of the property, disturb other tenants or neighbors, move additional people in who are not on the lease, and have criminal activities going on at the property.

many white middle class americans tried to make me homeless by not renting me an apt i stood up to them and rented an apt from teh arabs the white middle class americans lost i won i love my new apt in the new building the arabs rented me our government pays for no bugs everything works and im white disabled american

As a landlord, no on section 8. Protect yourself

That's a bargain you only pay 30% of the rent and the rest is on the government. With these types of benefits what is the incentive for people to work these schemes keep people in poverty.

Screening people, and quality management, will ensure quality tenants..

Just ask working class and middle class folks OF THE SAME RACE what babymamas and their Section 8 Housing Vouchers have done to their neighborhoods.

The vouchers will soon run out?

While at the same time cities spending over $500 per day housing migrants in luxury hotels. And the covid still running lose with everything else. Land lords who evict, unless the tenants are a danger to the community, aren’t worth the trash the evicted left there.

Wouldn’t want them either. Is it by force?

If you’re not paying for it, you don’t value or respect it😂😊

They should just create a neighborhood for just section 8 people so they can see why landlords aren’t accepting their vouchers.

I even got verbally threatened by a vouch 8-tenant relative. My stress and blood pressure Was over the roof.

If the state would insure property damage that would likely fix the issue of landlords not taking section 8.

Took a voucher one time. Property trashed after they quit paying rent from 4/21 thru 9/22. NEVER EVER AGAIN! 🐻

When a person does not pay a appropriate amount of money to live somewhere. They will not respect or appreciate that space. You only respect what you pay for. If you pay market rent then you expect to live at that standard of what you pay

Some people on section 8 do live like decent human beings.

That is what is happening NOW! Elderly women living in cars or on the street!

Sad when our own citizens can’t find housing, but illegals can!!

I live in NY. They are liberal as can be. I lived in a beautiful complex, trashed by section 8 renters. Why? They would not pay 300 in rent.

I feel for tenants like Nikita. My heart goes out to her and anyone in that boat who's trying to keep their head above water and be good citizens in our troubled country, who for a variety of reasons need assistance. There are some people, to include corrupt landlords and bad tenants, who are driving this from what I am witnessing here in Washington DC. Good tenants, whether Section 8 or not, will always be the casualty. Additionally, those who pay without subsidy from the government, start to become resentful due to the upward pressure in the market that drives the rents up as landlords like mine fill the neighborhood with vouchered tenants from whom they can command the maximum rate. At some point, as crime goes up in the neighborhood, those with goodwill and kindness will start to withhold support for such programs. Good tenants like Nikita are punished and a lot of punks are rewarded for their bad behavior while corporate landlords like mine make killer profits from the government. This situation sucks all around.

As soon as a section 8 house is rented out the crime gos through the roof then comes the trash in the yard loud music and junked cars and trucks and overgrown lawns and dead grass and the drugs come then the partys everynight then you see 3 pitbulls barking all day and all night long then houses in the area go down in value if people worked for what they have they would respect it more section 8 is a nightmare for any neighborhood

"We want to know why landlords won't accept Section 8". . Easy. Ask a landlord. I can give you a dozen reasons off the top of my head. . The other way to know why is for YOU to buy a rental house with YOUR money and rent then it out to someone with Section 8 voucher. You'll figure it out yourself in 1-2 years.

They moved in on January 2023 and 2024 they took up my rugs and took off the door of my closet loud music bad ass bae bae kids don’t rent to section 8 they will tear up the neighborhood it will become the hood don’t do it

Sorry but you rent to one and 5 move in.then dome are not drugs or selling. Some don't even want to pay their percentages. To much damage to the home. On top if that the calls from the neighbours call in you to complain about the tenant. Nope, I am done with that. I don't want the tax payers paying my rent. To much stress.

Id rather work 60 hours a week and not collect section 8. May have to work alot but i will live in a nice area.

The big hurdle keeping people on the streets is zoning.

Why would I want to rent to irresponsible people who will mess up my rental property? I will absolutely NEVER rent to section 8 people.

Can somebody tell me why Section 8 tenants cause unsafe neighborhood conditions once they move in???

Women children and men. Please don’t forget men can be homeless to

Section 8 is the Ghetto

I find this video ironic because my section 8 tenants are my best renters.

They destroy the properties. That's an issue, and it needs to be resolved. There are good people with these vouchers. They need a rating system based on past rentals.

No apartment is "home." It is a place to stay only

I call bs, some landlords prefer vouchers, the money is guaranteed by the Feds

If you are dealing with this; write to your US Representative and/or Senator. HUD and Housing Authorities only pay attention to complaints that come in under Congressional letterhead.

Accepting Section 8 is like being married to 2 crazy people at the same time. The Section 8 tenant will not pay their share of rent and the Housing Authority will not back up the landlord. DO NOT take the bait on this smoke and mirrors shit show.

Ive never been a landlord, but could tell you immediately why they don't want section 8 tenants, because they probably trash the places they live in and I doubt the government pays for it. So getting a guarantee on the rent payment is useless if the property is destroyed.

Sad for all involved

Section 8 inspectors are too slow to approve a unit often costing the landlords a couple months rent while waiting each time they rent to a voucher. Its not the landlords, its the housing authority. They want to force this on landlords they will lose rentals, less housing will be available to those who can't buy. Forcing them to take risks on tenants who cant afford to pay for damages or recover from in court. Cant juice a rock. Tenants with money can pay for damages.

To me, the issue boils down to why I'm covering my mortgage while psying for someone else benefits (rent). I put in a lot of effort to provide a better life for my family, yet the government continuously takes a larger share of my hard-earned money to distribute it. With the current shortage of employees, the push for more immigrants arises to fill those jobs. I believe it's essential to fortify regulations, decrease the count of beneficiaries in social programs, and allow diligent American citizens to retain a greater portion of their earnings.

This is really common sense. Landlords don’t want to deal with accepting vouchers because they're limited on how much rent they can charge in a market with high inflation, everything cost more money, taxes are higher, and a lot of landlords probably got hit with tenants that refused to pay their portion of rent due to Covid relief. If I were a landlord, I feel the same way. I'd rather take my chances on the open market with people that come afford to pay market rent vs deal with the government subsidize programs and all of their rules and regulations Asked and answered! 🎻💥🎯 if I were a landlord, I feel the same way I want to take my chances on the open market and deal with people that come afford to pay the rent then to deal with the government subsidize programs. Where are you headed?