How do you find section 8 housing in NYC?

[Joe Freeman]

This statement alone, could get you sued if you're a landlord. Get educated guy!!!

[Joe Freeman]

Landlords and renters alike, are in major, major trouble in 2009. Landlords keep discriminating and the workers are going to be experiencing massive unemployment, all the while the dollar is going to crash like this country has never seen.

Landlords, you have bigger problems coming your way then section 8 tenants.

Get educated!!!

[I_Love_LI_but]

Originally Posted by Joe Freeman

Landlords have a tendency to be highly un-educated... If a landlord owns a building with 5 or more units it is illegal for him to discriminate against section 8.

You say it is illegal under what jurisdiction? Federal? NY State? NY City?

I think if landlords of buildings with 5+ units HAD to accept Section 8, there would be a lot less problems finding Section 8 housing. It is really hard to find it around here for those in need of it. I know someone who is on it because she is disabled and if she were to move out of her building, she would have a hard time finding a new place. It also seems that somehow the landlord does not rent to more Section 8 tenants and she is like the last one. (However, they don't have trouble with her as she is a long-time tenant who always pays her share on time and she doesn't cause problems, so that's not a bad reflection on her.)

I live in Nassau County, and from what I understand, accepting Section 8 is ENTIRELY VOLUNTARY no matter how much property or how many units a landlord happens to own.

MAYBE if a landlord accepts Section 8 from 1 tenant in a building with 5 or more units, THEN they must accept more Section 8 tenants, although I am not entirely sure.

[I_Love_LI_but]

Originally Posted by Dorian

Yeah I have been seeing that "no programs" quote in a lot of ads. I live in Pittsburgh now and the section 8 listings are at least 20 times the amount of section 8 housing I have found that was available in NYC for a city that is probably one fourth the size of Brooklyn. It is kinda frustrating. Thanks for the info.

Well, for one thing, Pittsburgh has been economically depressed for decades, so perhaps the landlords face empty apartments if many don't accept Section 8. I lived in Pittsburgh a long time ago (college undergrad days) and really enjoyed the people there. I have fond memories of PGH! I lived in Westview. Do you know where that is?

I was pretty shocked though when I saw that the employment agencies charge the job applicant the fee and, if I remember correctly, it was like 15% of the yearly salary! (I couldn't afford that, so I ended up working in the gun dept. of Murphy Mart instead of an office job as thankfully retail didn't use employment agencies.) Now THAT shows economic depression when people pay thousands to the employment agency for a job! Does that still happen in Pittsburgh with the employment agencies? Here it is just the opposite: the employer pays the employment agency fee when they hire someone.

As for you moving here with your Section 8 voucher, I would respectfully advise you to give up on that idea. Even IF you could find a Section 8 apartment, it would most likely be in an unmaintained, rundown, dangerous building in the most horrible, horrible crime-ridden area ... absolutely a billion times worse than any Pittsburgh "ghetto" could ever be.

You mention you want to come to NYC for school, but not which one or what you want to study. If you are that needy that you have Section 8, couldn't you get a lot of financial aid, perhaps enough to live in the dorms while at school? Or can't you go to school in Pittsburgh and learn a trade that makes enough money that you don't need / aren't eligible for Section 8? I don't know how old you are, but I wouldn't count on Section 8 to help you for your entire life. It is much better to become independent if you can.

[newtoli]

In NYC, if your building is 6 or more units, you cannot discriminate based on Section 8, previous poster was correct.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/ny...27tenants.html

[Bronx Queen]

I read the section I ads quite frequetly and what I am noticing is that the landlords that will accept the program ask that your salary be 40x the rent (example: rent:$1500.00 x 40=$60,000.00). If I make $60,000.00 then I wouldn't be eligible for section 8 in the first place. This is how the landlords are weeding people out....which is not fair. If you call any lawyer in NYC they will tell you that it's legal I think it's a bunch of Mod cut: languageif you ask me. I am also seeing that the nicer buildings that are in Midtown that are actually affordable the Management Companies are telling people that the waiting list is 15-20 years long. The messed up part of this whole Section 8 ordeal is that they only give you 6 months to find an apartment. The landlords that take the section 8 without a problem or any stipulations are usually SLUM LORDS!!! If you have the section 8 apartment list by borough paper and you go to the site nyc.gov/hpd you can look up the address of the buildings and it will tell you how many VIOLATIONS THE LANDLORD HAS. I have seen so far landlord's with as many as 139 VIOLATIONS. Why would I want to live in this building this means that the landlord's not going to fix anything....he/she is just going to collect their rent check. NYC is just on some next level Mod cut: language . They now have this new program that allows voucher holders to move into the pj's with their voucher but the catch 22 is that the projects that are somewhat decent are not on the damn list of the 21 developements. The best one that I've seen in Manhattan is Wise Towers but they never come up when you have to pick, in The Bronx it's Marble Hill but you have to catch it on the list. I have tried midtown west to the uppers west from 54th & 11th Avenue to 99th and Amsterdam Avenue and the landlords that say yes charge well over the voucher amount and section 8 will not allow that at all. It's almost like saying we're going to grant you this voucher but you can only live in the most jacked up neighborhoods and like I said before there is not one lawyer that will back you when it comes to landlord discrimination. What is a person to do to get an apartment around her in NYC. Good Luck to anyone searching for a section 8 apartment like myself

[anders]

Originally Posted by newtoli

In NYC, if your building is 6 or more units, you cannot discriminate based on Section 8, previous poster was correct.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/ny...27tenants.html

Instead, when speaking on the record and un-anonymously: You just don't _say_ that Section 8 is a factor, or you set criteria that eliminate Section 8 tenants, or you don't publicize vacancies in venues that might attract Section 8 folks.
As with so many such laws --you "can't" do it ... but yes you can.

[Shizzles]

The big push away from rentals in the city was so that they wouldn't be strongarmed into renting to sec 8. I don't have beef with housing assistance, but to be fair, alot of people on it give it a bad name. Also, coming to NYC with that is going to put you into intense competition for public/private services.

Contary to the fable of how Bloomie is pushing out the poor, most of the poor are leaving becuase it's not really feasible to be American-born poor in NY anymore. Unless you want to live the welfare lifestyle (don't get me started on that), you have to fight for jobs/connections amongst the thousands of immigrants who come here who a) Work for less, b) Often have ethnic/family/other connections, and c) No offense, usually don't have the "ghetto fabulous" baggage that comes with the inner-city poor set.

NY isn't a place to be poor in, unless you are either a new arrival or you have connections. Plus, putting kids in the public schools as well as being in nabes that are less than desireable it really isn't worth it. I would look into Jersey (sans Newark).

[Platinum333]

Random Q...but why would you move to NYC if you can't afford an apt. here? Not to be rude..but the economy isn't that hot here, so it seems like a foolish move. My idea is..if you can't afford to live here...you shouldn't be here..you should be somewhere else that you can stand on your own two feet and enjoy the quality of life ya know?..like without government assistance.

[MHN]

Originally Posted by Dorian

I would think that with the economy the way it is that more people would except section 8 or any type of renter they could get for that matter. I guess I was wrong though.

The only thing worse that having an empty apartment is having a tenant in there who doesn't pay rent; destroys the apartment; uses heat and water; and you can't get rid of him.