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Does a Landlord Have to Accept Section 8 Vouchers?

By
Property Manager with HomePointe Property Management, CRMC 00691121

While HomePointe does accept any legal source of income, our clients reserve the right to not participate in the Section 8 Program. The Section 8 Program involves signing a government lease, not ours. It also involves submitting to mandatory inspections both at move in and annually. Finally, it also mandates longer notices than currently in force in the State of California.

Here is a quote from the California Apartment Association for your review.

"Can I turn down a prospective resident because he/she receives a federal or state subsidy?"

No. State law, defines source of income as “lawful, verifiable income paid directly to a resident or paid to a representative of a tenant.” The intent of this law is to protect residents from discrimination in housing based upon their source of income. The law, however, does not require an owner to participate in the Section 8 rental assistance program.

www.caanet.org

Posted by

Robert A. Machado, CPM, MPM

HomePointe Property Management

Sacramento, Yolo, El Dorado, and Placer Counties

We manage residential and commercial property.

916-429-1205 x 105

rmachado@HomePointe.com

Jim Cheney
Saint Francis Property Santa Rosa, CA - Santa Rosa, CA
Rincon Valley Realtor 707.494.1055

I didn't think you had to accept sec 8

May 24, 2009 04:49 PM
Wallace S. Gibson, CPM
Gibson Management Group, Ltd. - Charlottesville, VA
LandlordWhisperer

Several states and localities REQUIRE that landlords accept Section 8 as well as military residents under the "source of income" class.  Explaining why a landlord or property manager does NOT want additional government intervention in their BUSINESS is an art so that callers/applicants realize it is not THEM that landlords do not want, it is the government intrusion that they are rejecting!!

May 24, 2009 11:17 PM
Robert Machado
HomePointe Property Management, CRMC - Sacramento, CA
CPM MPM - Property Manager and Property Management

Wallace has it right, some states require it, others do not.  I would not mind accepting subsidiy payments if it did not come with all the other things like their lease, inspections, and repair requirements.

May 25, 2009 04:28 PM
Diane Rice
Rice Prprty Mgmnt & Rlty, LLC, South Holland, IL - Lansing, IL
SFR, SRES, CNC

We have had owners that ONLY wanted tenants that received the Section 8 vouchers because their outlook was that it's "an easy check every month".   We have heard from many frightened owners who have heard the horror stories from others and decided they did not want to deal with it.

In Chicago, it is considered against fair housing practices if you reject someone because their income source is from Section 8, however, in the surrounding communities in Illinois, owners can advertise that they will not accept it.  As their management company, we advertise that the housing is not approved for Section 8, meaning the places have not been inspected through their program.

Diane

 

May 27, 2009 02:49 PM
Chris Wechner
CW Health Inc - Waterford, MI

In the Detroit Area, there are a lot of landlords who want a Section 8 Tenant because of the "guaranteed" money.

In Michigan, we are allowed to advertise "Section 8 Ready."  You can handle an incoming call from someone by stating that the ad did not indicate that the property is Section 8 Ready.

Locally, it's a pretty good program, because the demand is so high.

Mar 12, 2010 07:27 AM