Understanding Section 8 Vouchers | Coastline Equity

You have a rental unit on the market, and you are fielding calls and scheduling tours to get it leased. Someone responds to your ad and asks you if you accept Section 8. You have heard of Section 8 and maybe have a general idea of what it is, but you have never dealt with it before and you do not really know how to answer that question. You may be thinking, “Should I just say ‘no,’ since I’m not familiar with it or don’t want to have to deal with it?” 

That could turn out to be a costly decision, particularly in states such as California where it is illegal to deny renting to someone based solely on the fact that they intend to pay rent using the Section 8 program.  That is why having even just a basic understanding of Section 8 and some specific tips to follow when communicating with a prospective Section 8 tenant, is highly advisable. 

We have written some separate articles (and even created some online videos) that go more in-depth into the Section 8 program and why it has become illegal to flat-out deny it, but for now, here are some of those tips to simply make sure that you are protecting yourself and your investment: 

1. When a prospective tenant asks if you accept Section 8, the answer should always be “Yes.” You can then go over any other leasing criteria that all applicants must meet. 
2. You can still require that applicants make a certain amount of monthly income in excess of the monthly rent amount, but you can only look at the portion of the rent that the Section 8 tenant will actually be paying out-of-pocket (not the entire rent itself and not the portion that the government will be paying on their behalf). 
3. Remove any language about not accepting Section from your marketing materials. 
4. If a voucher is going to be used as income, the prospective tenant must already have the voucher in their possession. Don’t agree to terms based on the likelihood that the voucher will be issued in the near future. 
5. Make sure the accepted number of bedrooms on the voucher matches the number of bedrooms in your unit. If the voucher is approved for a 2-bedroom apartment, it cannot be used for your 3bed/2bath condo. 
6. Do not do anything that can be perceived as purposefully making it harder for someone with Section 8 to apply for a lease. 
7. If you have concerns over Section 8, contact the prospective tenant’s previous landlords to make sure they had no major issues. Just be sure to incorporate this practice into all your tenant screenings across the board so that you are not making the process more difficult only for voucher holders. 

Keep this list handy and review it before your next leasing opportunity. We hope that it will put you in a better position to navigate the process. After all, the speed at which you can turn over your vacancies is important but so is protecting your investment from unnecessary liability!