If you are reading this, you probably already know that Section 8 is a government sponsored rental assistance program for low income individuals. 

Everybody seems to be talking about how the great the section 8 program is.  It’s great for the person who getting the benefit because they get at least part of their rent paid by the government.  It’s great for the landlord because they get a check from the government that comes in as long as all the requirements of the program are met.

But just like everything else that sounds too good to be true, the devil is in the detials. 

I’ll give you an few examples.

Yesterday out office got a call from someone who very excited because she just got her section 8 voucher approved for a 2-bed rental.  She said her approval amount was $688 per month, and did we have anything available? 

Now first of all, section 8 doesn’t tell the individual that part of that money, approximately $150, is toward utility allowance.  But the tenat doesn’t know that.  They think the $688 is the amount of rent that section 8 will cover. 

Another bid one is their all bills paid deal. 

From a landlord’s perspective, you have to be careful about doing a contract with section 8 all bills paid.  We attempted last month with a one-bed unit.  The approved amount from section 8 was $565 per month. 

My plan was put a cap of $200 per month for the utilities (electric only, we included water at no extra charge), and make usage above that a lease violation subject to eviction.  Well, even the best laid plans get total messed up.  The day of lease signing, I found out from the housing authority that if we did it that way, we would run up again some affordability index for this person.  It would drop the total rent to $500, all bills paid.  Basically, the housing authority forces a landlord into complying with their model of how they think the world should work. 

Now I doubt the usage will be $200 per month on this unit, but I don’t think I would have agreed to this deal up front if I had all the details. 

The devil IS definitely in the details. 

And don’t get me wrong, I think section 8 is a heck of a good program.  If you are landlord, don’t do just one property like this because their is way too much of a learning curve about inspection requirements and other administrative hassles.  If you plan to 10 or 100, it can definitely be a fantastic money maker.