Wait hold on. I get the non Sec 8 rules but interested in how Sec 8 works in your jurisdiction. So, there you can do a month to month contract for Sec 8? That, I don’t know about, even for say Oakland or Alameda County. I have always assumed a year contract was mandatory or minimum.
I am confused with #2. In order to get the Sec 8 tenant online, you have to sign a contract with the Housing Authority, yes? So there is a binding contract out there. You can’t get around that. So are you saying that you can tell the Housing Authority that I want to not extend the contract with Sec 8 Tenant A. Would they say ok and then presumably Tenant A has to find another place after the anniversary date?
Yes, it is possible to do a month to month agreement with the Housing Authority. I accepted a new section-8 tenant last October. I knew they were going to raise their payment standard in February or March this year. So, why would I fix the rent for 12 months if I could raise it 6 months later already. They got their RRI (request for rent increase) last month a few days after the new standards were published.
I never gave a section-8 tenant notice “after the anniversary date” since I work really hard to avoid anniversaries. In California it’s a 90 day notice then.
Thanks for the info. I always learn something on here each day. I can see why one might consider Sec 8 then in your area since it sounds like you are not locked in once the tenancy has started.
I think it’s easier to get a section 8 tenant out than a regular tenant in SF and Oakland. Financially, section 8 tenant has no incentive to live in your house forever since they pay the same amount when they move. For regular tenant, they would save a huge amount by staying in your place forever.
For section 8 tenant, the only difficulty is to find a replacement rental since many landlords do not want to rent to them. But you can buy another rental property and move your section 8 tenant over when you need to vacate the current property.
No, that is not necessarily the case which is why I am suggesting to folks wanting to maybe do it to probably check their jurisdiction. In Oakland, you CAN NOT terminate your participation in the Sec 8 program. Come on, don’t you think we all would have done so with the skyrocketing rents seen in Oakland? The reason why we still have Sec 8 tenants is because we can’t legally end the relationship. If the tenant wishes to continue on, it continues on. I am in the process of making a deal with a Sec 8 tenant to end the relationship. It will cost me some money short term but she gets what she wants (to be closer to her family) and I get a vacated apartment.
I see the same person keeps mentioning Latinos always in a demeaning way when s/he should keep not mentioning races or nationalities to not fall into discriminating or bigoted statements.
Where’s the outrage from people who once berated me for mentioning the stupid drivers ignoring the speed limit on my street were Asians? Oh well…Now I can say it without any repercussion, right?
When it comes to section 8, as I said, it has to hit your pocket as a landlord in order for you to address it. But when we the neighbors or tenants living nearby a section 8 tenant from hell, you landlords are always playing dummy.
One thing I know: Good luck with eviction on a section 8 tenant.
?? Unless the search isn’t working, the only other mention of “Latino” here was a neighbor who got upset about a section 8 resident:
" I was considering section 8 years ago, an angry Latino neighbor threatened me so I dropped the idea for fear of retaliation if I accept a section 8 tenants. "
I would say in this case, it adds information given that the prospective section 8 renter could have also been Latino and makes it less likely that the neighbor’s motives would have been racial so much as really disliking section 8 tenants themselves.
A timely article going over the pros and cons of Sec 8
One of the cons:
Finally, in our experience, Section 8 tenants can be more difficult to manage than their unsubsidized counterparts. We’ve typically found that Section 8 tenants cause more damage to the property and often allow more garbage and junk to pile up than our other tenants. Perhaps this is due to the fact that (in their mind) they aren’t financially responsible for what happens, or perhaps it’s simply a correlation between low-income tenants and cleanliness. But whatever the reasons, whether financial or socio-economic, Section 8 tenants are often harder on a property, which is the number one reason why we don’t jump to rent to Section 8 unless a weak rental market makes it advantageous.
Actually there are plenty of these section 8 or Navy 401K folks. They are perfectly fine except their default can wreck your plan to have them move out.
Met a family they are selling their 1M joint home and have 1/6th of the equity. With 166K in the bank soon I am sure they can afford a $3K rental for a few years. The problem is husband makes little by choice wife just start working. Home owner would not take them and home is on the market with no takers.
Silicon Valley rental market has softened a lot. Plenty of condos unoccupied. Will let applicants to move in with free rent for 1-2 months. Those landlords wanting high rent are quite disappointed. If you check MLS you are surprised how long they stay on the market with no taker.
Anyone would like a subsidy if they can qualify. If someone wants to pay your rent, what’s the reason to refuse? If government wants to pay my mortgage, I would have no complaint.
Economic theory can prove that people like subsidy a lot. Free handouts with a value will always find plenty of applicants.
In SF and Oakland, majority of the section 8 tenants seem to be black. I think section 8 programs are full mostly and almost no one can get a new section 8 now. (My last mention of “Latino” has attracted unwanted attention. Hope this comment won’t attract more criticisms. I’m just an average citizen, not someone running for an office. Am I allowed to state my observations?)
Which cities do white/hispanic/asian section 8 tenants concentrate? (Did I miss anyone? Better cover all the races to be politically correct)
