Section 8 and Assisted Rent/ Renters Do All Properties Have to Accommodate?

If this were happening to me, I would be making noise complaints to the city every time this happened. I would also complain to the city that she is apparently running a business (daycare) in her apartment. Keep making complaints until this is investigated and dealt with.

I had a time last year where a person rented the apt next to mine to house his dog. Yes, his dog, a 90 lb German Shepherd who constantly barked. The poor dog was left alone all day and he would stop by twice a day to walk it and feed it. I and others in the building complained, he was investigated, fined, and eventually moved the dog out.

Firstly the complex gets perks for allowing section 8. Secondly, the complex is supposed to notify employees that they do allow section 8 housing, she can simply ask the office up front if they offer it. Almost any complex that I have lived in that has allowed section 8 has gone down hill fast, not that ALL section 8 people live like this woman's neighbor (I have had pleanty that are almost respectful) but those that are as bad as she make it bad fast. My understanding is that the complex has to notify the tennants (can not lie about it) and that they get perks for allowing them in. It is VERY difficult to get them (sec 8) out due to government red tape, once they are in they are in. Here is some info on it http://www.fff.org/freedom/0996d.asp

She can complain to section 8 about it. They have VERY strict rules about this kind of behaviour. They might be able evict if nessesary. I was on Sec. 8 when my 1st was a baby and I got an eviction notice b/c they thought my boyfriend was visiting too often. I cleared it up, but like I said, they are STRICT!

Cops.

A suggestion for your friend - peace disturbance is a crime. Stop dealing with the landlord (as they obviously made their choice) and when it gets loud after 10 - call the police.

Kids unattended - call CPS and then call the police.

Running an unlicensed daycare - call the agency in your state that deals with daycares.

Time for waiting for the landlord is over. Time to call real help.

I doubt that they HAVE to rent to Section 8 recipients. Maybe they are willing to do that because the income is guaranteed and/or maybe they get some type of tax breaks. I don't know.

No matter whether or not it's the law, I'm sure all tenants have to abide by the rules of where they live regardless of the cost. So let's take the focus off of income because someone paying the same amount or even more than your friend could have moved in and been just as bothersome as her current neighbor. Someone else on the Section 8 program could have moved in and been wonderful.

Has your friend spoken with the management regarding these issues? If this lady is providing childcare that would most likely be a lease violation because rentals usually prohibit you from running a business out of your rental residence. On top of that all the noise and traffic sound like violations as well.

I am a landlord who rents out a unit. I'm in it to make money. Section 8 renters are great because they are guaranteed income. If you rent to someone who pays out of their own pocket, you always run the risk of getting stiffed or late payments. If the complex is having a hard time getting in residents who are willing to pay $3k per month, then in order to stay profitable, the landlord will rent out to Section 8 renters even if it's just a few units. Some money (guaranteed money especially) is better than vacant units. It could also be that if your sister is in an affluent area, that area MUST offer so many housing units for the low income. Sarcastically speaking, why should the rich have all the luxuries, give some of it to the poor too...share the wealth and redistribute!!:) Unfortunately, not all Section 8 renters are good renters. Whenever you rent an apartment, you always risk the chance of getting lousy neighbors even if you are paying through the nose.

I hope November comes fast for your sister.

No, properties do not have to rent to section 8 renters. It is a program that is participated in my land/property owners. My parents used to rent out a home, and they were asked multiple times to Section 8 their property. In fact, they were approached by several would-be renters who told them that if they were willing to Section-8 their property, she would be able to pay much more rent than they are asking. So I would assume that this is why properties choose to participate in the Section 8 program. The government will pay above & beyond what other people are willing to pay, for one, and two, it's basically guaranteed payment. So yeah, I can see why they aren't willing to mess with the tenant.

However, I'm surprised your friend's sister could gather that info from one passing conversation with a stranger in the hall. Seems sorta strange to me. It's not like I'd offer up that sort of info to a complete stranger. I'm more likely to believe that the info was concluded by some wild assumption, but I suppose it's possible, I mean if she really is the "crazy lady" then she just may have revealed her life story to a complete stranger.

Anyway-- I feel for your friend, because I'd be irked by that too. It doesn't really matter that she's Section 8, the fact of the matter is that she's paying $3000/month for rent to live in a luxurious complex, just to be bothered and inconvenienced the exact same way that she would be if she paid $700/month to live in a crappy one. That's a shame. If I were her, I'd be making some serious noise. Tell her to check over her lease. The property is most likely bound by some clauses in there on how they will handle nuisances. If they are unwilling to abide by the contract that they wrote up, then your friend can either request that they respect the terms of the contract or she can legally terminate the contract pentalty-free.

Call the office that administers section 8 rentals. Sorry, I don't know the name to look for. Perhaps Housing Assistance Programs.

Google section 8 housing and your city or county. This may get you to the right office. http://www.lowincomehousinghelp.com/start.php?tid=42649&a...

I do know that in our community, a landlord can declare a certain number of units for low income housing. This is not section 8. The whole building doesn't have to be in the program but then these apartments are not luxury by any means.

Section 8 is a program that gives renters an voucher and they can rent anywhere the landlord will accept that amount.

Any landlord can rent any apartment as a section 8 and all the county has to do is inspect it. They usually base the rent on the square footage. Not all landlords will accept section 8 because they expect them to all act this way (not all section 8 tenants are like this).

If these men are staying the night you can call the county and complain and/or complain about how many children are in the house, but she will then lose her benefits. They do have strict rules with section 8 benefits along with long waiting lists. If you keep having problems then complain to your landlord or management company. They will not renew the lease if all the other tenants are complaining.

I have one tenant that is section 8 and she does not act this way. She takes good care of the property and it is only her and her daughter living there.

Also, section 8 only pays part of the rent and she does not have to pay the balance. So I doubt they are getting the 3k a month in rent.

Landlords voluntarily sign up their properties for Section 8. For landlords, especially in these tough economic times, signing a contract for Section 8 guarantees them a set amount of rent on the unit. Local Housing Authorities set rent within HUD guidelines based on fair market value. There are income limits for tenants, along with size guidelines (i.e. number of people per bedroom size of the unit).

The tenant signs a lease with the landlord, pays their portion of the rent directly to the landlord and the housing authority pays the difference to the landlord. Leases are for one year terms, and Section 8 vouchers are portable - meaning someone can get one issued in Mississippi then after a year, take the same voucher and move to California.

That being said, in an apartment complex the assumption is that every tenant, be they open market or Section 8, signs the same lease. If your sister is having problems with the neighbors she needs to take her complaints to the management of the complex, and put the complaints in writing. Also, she can send a copy of the complaint to the Housing Authority that holds the Section 8 voucher.

There are rules and expectations of Section 8 tenants, but it is up to the landlord to enforce the lease. Section 8 is a monetary assistance program, all the Housing Authority really does is verify that the tenant is eligible for the program, inspect the property to ensure it is up to HUD standards, and provide rental assistance for the tenant. Enforcing the terms of the dwelling lease is up to the landlord.

The point of Section 8 is to give people greater choices in assisted housing and to help move away from concentrated areas of all low income units.

Unfortunately, people are people, and sometimes you get crappy neighbors.

Hi! I think there are different rules in different states. Here, they are given different amounts depending on the number of people and there is a program of rent help, they get a certain amount and can pay more if they want. The section 8 isn't the problem, the people are. I can see you know that. Sadly, once ensconced they are hard to move. The state always lands with the tenant over the landlord. Your sis needs to keep complaining to management and if the opportunity arises (late night, loud parties, strange people loitering in the halls, unattended children, etc) call the police as often as possible. Call Social Services and ask how many kids she can watch in her home. They may not like the undeclared income and number of children in an unlicensed space. She should tell the apartment manager that she intends to move because of them. I wish her luck! Oh, I used to be a nice person, then I became a landlord...

u dont have to rent to anyone u dont want to. period. but on the landlords side it is guaranteed rent...

No, there's no requirement. The landlord chose to rent to her because the section 8 program picks up the difference between what the tenant pays and the actual market value of the apartment. There probably aren't many properties that can accommodate a family with four children - granted, we have our 4 kids in our 1100 sq ft house, but the gov't isn't in charge of square footage minimums for people not relying on their services.

Ah, the hazards of apt living.

We own our co-op, but our downstairs neighbor has taken to complaining about the "noise" DS makes. The neighbor has gone so far as to bang on his ceiling/ our floor, to knock at our door and yell, and to suggest that we only have "soft toys" available to our son. DS is only awake in the apartment for a total of 3 hrs each week day, and probably no more than a total of 5-6 hours each weekend day. Really, how much cumulative noise could he possibly be making?

Needless to say that his complaints and the manner in which he voiced them were upsetting to me, and caused our son to melt down. Hubs intervened, explaining that we were allowed to make a reasonable amount of noise during reasonable hours, and that any further complaints on his part need to be addressed in writing to the board or management. Kids and noise go hand in hand.

Apartment dwellers need to have a thick skin. We don't complain about the man who lives two stories below us but practices on his kareoke machine all day. We turn a blind eye to the overweight shut in who chain smokes and blares her t.v. We don't say boo about the guy upstairs who freelances and works all hours of the night, he rolls around on his office chair.

If you want the peace and comfort of your own four walls, then get a house on some large acreage.

Good luck to your friend and to finding a better housing situation.
fangedbunny

Apartments rent to section 8 when they need to fill units.

We have three overbuilt, under rented complexes about five miles from here. It used to be 20% section 8 now it is closer to 90%. That is 90% of the renters, the complexes themselves are only around 50% full.

At least in that case they thought it was an easy way to fill the unused units. Little did they know the paying renters would them move out because they didn't want to deal with the riff raff.

No you don't have to accept section 8 clients. There is no law requiring it. THe reason that landlords like section 8 is that rent is basically guaranteed. The lady pays on 800, but the state pays the rest.

No, landlords DO NOT have to accept Section 8. And a lot of them don't because they have too many hoops to jump through with the inspections and all AND because you cannot charge a Section 8 renter a deposit so they have no recourse other than the Section 8 program to pay for repairs. You know what it's like to get money out of a governmental entity!

Your neighbor is another one of the reasons why landlords won't accept Section 8 - I don't think you can just evict them like you can any other tenant. The Luxury Apartments probably didn't know what they were getting themselves into and probably won't do it again!

it's a good thing for some landlords because it's guaranteed income, and frankly most section 8 renters are just people on hard times who need help for a while. it's the awful ones who create the stereotypes that everyone thinks apply to all of them.
section 8 renters have to abide by the same rules as everyone else in the complex, and more besides. your sister needs to keep reporting her, and let the apartment management know that she's also going to report her to section 8. but the apartment is also bound by the laws that protect renters. if the woman is simply a bad tenant but smart enough not to violate the rules, your sister is in the same situation as any other renter with a crappy neighbor. sometimes moving is the only option.
i have issues with anyone who is that inconsiderate of others. that's an american societal problem, not a section 8 one.
i've got a friend who is renting a house to section 8 renter. a grandmother raising 6 of her grandkids. when she moves out the house will need all new carpets, paint all the way through, and probably some appliances replaced. well worth it.
khairete
S.

I agree it is time to involve the police (or appropriate authorities) when there are parties late at night or unsupervised children or unlicensed daycare. If you see her young kids using the pool unsupervised and if the building has rules posted, record date/time (even take pics or video) and then present the information in writing to the building management and owners. Unsupervised kids is a HUGE liability for the building owners so approach it from that view point. Read over the building rules and lease terms to figure out their specific offenses and then record dates, times, etc and report in writing. It is very difficult to evict someone so they need LOTS of proof.

nice to see where our taxes go huh?..ive seen and dealt with this time after time on properties i work on.its hideous.tell her to call cps(child protection services) sec.8,and police..go around mgt.if there is a corperate number-tell her to call them also.its really sad when ppl that really need these public services cant get them-but these slum whores get the full silver platter treatment.she shouldnt have to move because of her slummy neighbor and poor mgmt.tell her to keep calling these higher up ppl.the squeaky wheel gets the attention.