Anyone here doing section 8?
With rents going up so fast I might consider getting in the program.
Well you are one hell of a devil and Iām ok with dealing with you no problemā¦ so if I can deal with you I can deal with anyoneā¦ 
Rent going up fast so you are getting interested in section 8. Is it because normal tenants have difficulty to pay?
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The only real, real knock is that if a participant is in the program and renting from you, you canāt terminate your participation. You will have to do like I did, buy them out.
I never know that I am a problem to deal with. Is my honesty a problem?
In non rent controlled cities without just cause eviction, you can easily terminate.
I have a section 8 tenant. Whenever she canāt pay rent, she would tell me there are problems with the house and refuse to let me inspect when I try. Iāve been patient but it sometimes concerns me since itās hard to be sure that her claims are false
I donāt think that is correct. We are talking about Sec 8 right? You can not terminate a Sec 8 contract if it is fine otherwise.
I bought a triplex in Oakland in 2017 and it came with a section 8 tenant in one of the units. They are a young couple with 3-year-old twins. They are reasonable people and cooperated well with the purchase process, which I very much appreciated. They do have their own issues, and have given my some trouble, but overall the experience was better than I had expected. After I finished remodeling of the other two units, and a successful $700 rent increase of the occupied unit (it was way below market before), we decided to go section 8 top to bottom for this property (and missed out on the sign-on bonuses).
I also have a section 8 tenant in SF since 2012. She is a single mother with 3 kids, and the reason she got the voucher was because she was a domestic violence victim from easy bay and SF has a program to help such victims resettle in the city. She had her own house before so she isnāt like the typical section 8 voucher recipient. I fully believe that her kids will grow up to attend college and definitely not stay in the system.
In non-rent-controlled areas you can terminate section 8 tenants in the same way as non-section-8 ones, maybe with extra 30 days of notice. If what you said was true then nobody is going to rent to section 8 in those areas.
Right, unless you have cause you canāt terminate the Sec 8 contract at anniversary. Think about it, if that were the case that you can, ALL OF US owners would have terminated our Sec 8 contracts at anniversary to get market rents then.
Is going the approval process painful and expensive?
How long. Does it work for existing tenants ? I want to raise the rents on two long term tenants 30%
They would have to leave without section 8
I inherited them and hate to kick them out.
Only in rent controlled cities. Rent control is the source of all evils, as always
You can go talk to housing authority and find out whether they have a rent ceiling. If not, you can raise to market rent.
Approval process does not cost you anything, but you need to make sure your property meets all the HUD requirements, it could be a pain but probably not for an experienced builder
My building was just inspected by the city per city ordaince annual inspection. Should be ok. What agency handles section 8?
Have you actually done one to be suggesting this? I canāt seem to find a definitive answer via internet.
Itās not an issue with honesty, but an issue with showing compassion or lack thereof. You said āmy section 8 tenants are angels to deal with Iām sureā, which is sarcasm plus deriding all section 8 tenants that are out there. And it really does show some true colors of what kind of a person you really are.
The rent increase process was pretty straightforward in my SF and Oakland experience. You send in a request letter and they will evaluate the market rent and decide whether to honor your request or approve a smaller amount (or not approve at all). For Oakland there is standard form you need to fill out which asks you to list the improvements you have made since the last increase. No inspection is needed for rent increase but the unit must pass the latest annual inspection, which can be a real pain depending on the inspector you get but since you already have section 8 tenants this shouldnāt be any new pain for you.
Go to whichever agency that pays rent for your existing section 8 tenants.
Just to add to your comments, frankly, I have seen all kinds, Sec 8 or not. Some of my favorite tenants were Sec 8 participants. Yes, the stereotypical Sec 8 tenant is out there but some are just disadvantaged or single parents. I have one now who is a single mom but has managed to get admitted to Cal and will be graduating next year. That doesnāt sound too bad right?
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