Subsidized Housing Truths

CompleteLandlord.com often receives requests for information about subsidized housing and Section 8 tenants. The following is a list of facts about Section 8 guidelines that every landlord should know.

A Section 8 housing development can reject a qualified applicant.
Applicants with a history of drug use and drug-related criminal activity can be rejected. Also, landlords are not required to rent to applicants with a poor credit rating. A prospective tenant with no credit history, however, cannot be rejected on this basis.

An applicant can never be rejected on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, disability or age. A single-parent household or a family receiving welfare benefits cannot be rejected for their status as well.

In addition to low-income families, there are others who are entitled to receive Section 8 rental vouchers.
Elderly and disabled individuals can also qualify for vouchers.

A private landlord does not have to rent to a tenant with a Section 8 voucher.
Only landlords who participate in the program (including companies that own and operate apartment complexes) are required to take tenants with vouchers.

A landlord can evict a Section 8 tenant.
A Section 8 tenant can be evicted for good cause. Good cause includes failure to pay rent, criminal activity and repeated behavior that seriously affects the health and welfare of other tenants.

Section 8 tenants have certain rights if a landlord attempts to evict them. The tenant can contest the notice of eviction by requesting a hearing with the local housing authority.