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I have mixed feelings about section 8.
First off – let’s not get section 8 confused with low income housing. I’m sure by now someone has pointed out the difference.
I’ve been on section 8 in the past when I was in this gap where I made too much money to live in subsidized apts but not enough to live in others. I think I was making like 23K and the cutoffs for a 2bdrm was 21 and the minimum for a regular was 3X the monthly rent which would have meant I needed to find something under $650. So I got on section 8, I lived in a duplex that was renting for $740 but I only had to pay 400 something. I lived in a normal neighborhood that was mixed with homeowners, renters and a few other section 8 properties. My home didn’t look any different from anyone else’s. When my lease was up, I stayed there but didn’t reapply for section 8 because I didn’t need it, but without it me & my son would have either had to live with relatives or in the projects. So I feel there needs to be a system in place to help people when they truly need it.
Now my issue with section 8 is that it’s too easy for people to take advantage of the system. I know people who have section 8 and then they move in their boyfriends (working) and friends (working) and then do a under-the-table daycare thing (income). And nobody checks this out. Also, more often than not the people living with them have a criminal background or some other reason why they couldn’t get a place in their name. And nobody checks this out. In my experience, section 8 has become too easy to get and too easy to keep. These girls have babies, apply for all the assistance in the world, move their baby daddy and his friends in with them and then live the high life off the county.
And I’m not directing this at a particular race or age group because I know and am related to females who do this of various races and ages.
Section 8 is supposed to be a temporary tool to help people until they can help themselves. There need to be more requirements – if you can’t get a better job because you only have a GED then you need to go to school or get some training. There won’t be any money involved because I’m more than sure those people qualify for grants. Also, there needs to be some guidelines on the kids – your kids shouldn’t be able to rip and run the streets all times of night. If they put a curfew clause that would result in eviction if not followed (same goes for school – your kids need to be in school) I’m sure more of these parents would find the time to take an interest in their children. I think all the women who receive section 8 – especially the single mothers- need to be on birth control. You can’t afford the kids you have now – you don’t need to have any more! There needs to be a time limit – no one should be on section 8 for more than 5 years (I picked 5 because of the school thing – wouldn’t be fair to say go back to school and then only give them 2 years of assistance).
I’m young though and a naturally idealistic person so I know that none of these will ever ever ever happen but it’s nice to think "what if"
what a great feeling i get after a 10 hour work day. to drive up to my home here in lancaster ca and see 6 section8 home on my block now it makes a warm fuzzy feeling inside knowing my wife and I work so hard to pay for them to sit on there lawn's and drink beer and smoke pot all day ohhh did i forget to say how nice it is to hear loud BOOM BOOM rapping songs all day and nite and dont forget all the cool burn out mark's on my street. so i say thank you to all my city Rep's for letting Lancaster become a secation8 heaven so now that i said thank u. i will be moving and taken my taxes with me to another city
I'd really like to know how, if you are not told directly, you people "know" which properties are Section 8 and which are not?
I live in one of the poorest zip codes in the COUNTRY. Seriously. We have a per capita income here that is about 1/3 the average for the city..... yet we also have home ownership hovering NEAR 60%!
My biggest "problem neighbors", the ones with constant sewage leaks, broken windows remaining that way for months, drug deals, overgrown weeds, all night traffic, and police calls, are neighbors who OWN the house outright and whose family has lived in this neighborhood for 30-plus years. I hope and pray every night that they'll get behind on their taxes.
The last set of problem neighbors came from an old house split up into 4 or 5 apartments. None were rented Section 8, just cheap rent with a slumlord owner and no screening of tenants at all. Yes, you can't be super picky when you're doing the low rent thing but you can have SOME standards. The owner knew it would never qualify for Section 8, too rundown, but he did the rest of us the same disservice by renting it out to anyone with the cash and not caring at all what they did to the property or the neighborhood.
The point is, there are always going to be "problem renters", Section 8 or otherwise. My mother has a couple rental properties, one a lower income unit (mobile home) and the other a single family 2 story home in a "good" area (my childhood home), where her renters all undergo credit checks, background checks, and have to meet stringent income criteria. She's had MORE problems with people skipping out on rent, trashing the place, having dogs without paying the pet deposit, tearing up the hardwood floors, etc., in her "pricey" rental, rented to so-called "professionals". I know, because I am always the one to help her clean/paint/repair when someone moves out.
I received section 8 housing when my son was small. I lived in a 'housing project' type situation. Yes, there were a few of the stereotypical sorts who moved everyone in, were dealing drugs, and let their kids run wild.
There were MANY more residents who worked, took good care of their kids, kept their houses clean and were good neighbors. There were some scummy people as there are everywhere but there were good, hardworking people too whose jobs just weren't enough to make ends meet. They still paid rent, just a reduced amount. And as for the first post about inspections and such, all that stuff already happens.
I think everyone has an equal right to live in a safe, non-crime ridden neighborhood with decent public schools and housing that at least isn't falling apart, including people who qualify for Section 8 housing. That property values decline is unfortunate but often these people are coming in from areas where they have far more to worry about than low property values.
To be fair, I am on section 8, but I'm also employed and without a single arrest. This may sound like a back-handed comment, but many poor neighborhoods are crime-ridden for a reason. All this does is shift the problem around. A poor family from the ghetto isn't going to clean their yard simply becuase their neighbors do. If anything, we'll hear bull**** about "Being uppity" (or if race is a factor: "Acting White") and then drama begins.
In the end, all Liberal programs stemm from one flawed reasoning: That economics/social engineering can make individual human beings better. It doesn't.
I think that may not be true, the repairs for Section 8 housing appear to be the responsibility of the landlord:
Housing Quality Standard (HQS) Inspection
HPD is required to perform an HQS inspection of all Section 8 apartments before entering into a Housing Aassistance Payment contract with an owner, and at least annually. The inspection confirms whether an apartment meets minimum physical standards established by HUD.
All Section 8 families are required to provide access to HPD employees to allow them to perform the inspection. This is a program obligation that is listed on the voucher. A family that repeatedly fails to provide access may be terminated from the program.
Through the annual inspection process, HPD ensures that Section 8 units meet the HQS guidelines by requiring owners to correct deficiencies with a specified timeframe. Special or complaint inspections are also performed on occasion. If you believe that there are HQS deficiencies in your apartment and your landlord has not indicated that he/she will correct them, you may call to report the problem.
The poster you quoted was talking about damages the renter did, and the renter has to pay for those damages, not the owner. The renter of section 8 is just like anyother renter, they have to put up the same deposit as anyone else would. The have to pay their part of the rent to the owner and on time and the section 8 pays the other part.
As the owner I have to sue the section 8 renter for any damages above the deposit.
And above is why I WILL NOT rent to section 8 renters. If you can't even pay your own rent I will never collect for all the damage you might do..
True a lot of section 8 renters are....well, they just trash the place and don't care.
But every now and then a rare case emerges.
An older woman I used to work with lived in section 8 and collected welfare many years ago. However she did attend nursing school because she wanted a better life for her and her two daughters.
How did her then neighbors react?
"Do you think you're better than us because you want to get out of the projects?"
Crazy.
And above is why I WILL NOT rent to section 8 renters. If you can't even pay your own rent I will never collect for all the damage you might do..
Versus the guarantee that you get from a non-section 8 occupant, right? Renting is a risk period because you’re agreeing to trust someone that you don’t know anything about.
People with all these stereotypes are hilarious to me. Oh you’re a college student? You’re going to have wild beer parties every night. Oh you’re a single mother? You won’t be able to pay the rent on time. Oh you’re black? You’re going to run illegal businesses out of your house. Oh you’re on section 8? You must be some lazy welfare recipient who is going to trash my property. A chunk of these landlords didn’t even bother to meet me, just looked at the stats and said “oh no, she’s a risk” despite the fact that I had a letter from my previous apartment complex stating I’d been on time with my rent every month for 2 years and a referral letter from my manager.
I was on section 8 for 9 months; but stayed in my duplex well after my stay was over and the only damage that was done to my home was a few handprints on the walls and a juicy juice stain on the carpet. The duplex next to me was owned by someone else and it seemed like every three months the landlord was putting someone out because they were behind on rent or had pets or had moved extra people into the home and none of them were on section 8. After a group of guys moved out he had to practically gut the whole place because they’d trashed everything. I like to chalk that one up to karma cause he was one of the landlords who turned me down without even so much as a phone call
Section 8 in my opinion is being abused like our welfare system! We (Americans) need to shout out against this abuse! Maybe we can use the money for the Poor who really need it and the Elderly.
Section 8 should have restrictions! Here's a list of mine.
a. If any member in your house commits a crime it's (section 8) cut off.
b. You must live clean, there is no excuse to live Poor and Dirty! NONE..
c. 6 year restriction, after that the tenants need to look to rent elsewhere.
Section 8 is creating projects in neighborhoods all across America. I'm so tired of seeing people that are able to work take advantage of the Elderly and the true Poor.
End Section 8 now!
That doesn't go far enough.
Unless a person is deaf, blind, on SSI or 65+ and below the poverty level, you get 3 years life-time max on Section 8.
Also, anyone under 35 who is not deaf, blind, or on SSI would have to share space with someone else.
There's no reason to have an 18-year old unmarried woman with 2 children in her own apartment. She can share. In fact, I would bar those under 21 from Section 8 unless they were deaf, blind, or on SSI.
There's no reason to have an 18-year old unmarried woman with 2 children in her own apartment. She can share. In fact, I would bar those under 21 from Section 8 unless they were deaf, blind, or on SSI.
And what would that prove? A 18 year old is probably going to have parents in their 40’s who are not going to want to be bothered with 2 infants in their house, grandkids or not. Denying them housing for 3 years is either going to lead to a lot of homeless families or a rise in prostitution and female drug dealers. Really, what can an 18 year old with 2 kids do for a living?
I think section 8 needs to be limited to 5 years. The reason I chose 5 is because usually a person is on section 8 because they don't have a diploma or just a GED with no real skills and can only work crappy jobs so I say make them go to school.
I think it should be a requirement for the person on section 8 to be in a trade school, career placement program or a state university. I'm sure if they qualify for section 8 then they will qualify for federal grants and daycare assistance. After that it becomes simple; you drop out of school - you forfeit your assistance. You flunk your classes - you forfeit your assistance. And since I'm suggesting state universities, it's all tied into the government so it's a lot easier to track than all the "rules" they try to reinforce now.
I think if we make getting an education or a skill a requirement that we'll see a clear divide between those who want to do better and truly need assistance and those who just have no goals or ambitions in life.
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gezzs thanks for more section8's in lancaster ca
