Section 8 : ezLandlordForms

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Deanna S

started a topic almost 16 years ago

I have prospective tenants that want to sign a separate agreement outside of their Section 8 agreement to pay the remaining amount of the rent that I'm asking. In other words, Section 8 only covers X and they want a separate agreement for the remaining $450. Has anyone ever dealt with that in MA? Am I being overly suspicious or is something fishy about this?

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Elijah O

said almost 12 years ago

Never and never go to the current landlord of any tenant to ask for his or her opinion about soon to be ex-tenant because he or she will not tell you the whole truth about the tenant. Secondly most tenant will not give you information about his or her current landlord rather they will give the telephone # of their friends to speak on their behalf. Instead try as much as possible to locate the previous landlord before this current one, and since he or she has nothing to loose he or she will give a close to accurate information about your soon to be tenant. On sect 8 tenant, ask the tenant to give you his or her voucher number and the previous addresses he or she has lived before this time, and you can then use that information to find out how many violations did his or her former landlord incurred during his or her tenancy. Any rent suspension or restoration notices should signal some potential problem though not in all cases but should raise your antennae.

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Patty H

said about 10 years ago

Each city has there very own section 8 laws, you can easily find and city HUD contact information with a quick search. If you have never done section 8 before make sure that you are prepared you will want to make sure that you and your property are fully taken care of in the lease. I have see landlords crash and burn because they wanted to try it to help out and get some of the perks like tax deductions. They found their properties destroyed. If done correctly it may be worth it but do all of you research and make sure each tenant and even occupant has a background check carried out on them.

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Hrs R

said about 10 years ago

Section 8 will require an inspection on the property. They have very specific requirements about what is allowable under their guidelines. Get the inspection BEFORE you sign a lease with a prospective tenant. That way you know what Section 8 may require you to fix/alter/replace, etc beforehand. It could become very costly to place a Section 8 tenant based on what the agency whats done to the property. I've had Section 8 tenants. It is nice knowing that you are GUARANTEED to receive your rent from the agency but the tenants themselves can be a bit more work. Stay on them and make sure they are maintaining the property.

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Judith M

said about 10 years ago

Very useful information. Thank you both!

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Thomas H

said about 10 years ago

Judith, I always open my properties up to Section 8. But, as the others have mentioned, it comes with its benefits and pitfalls. There are a lot of great section 8 tenants out there. Statistically, the average section 8 tenant will stay in a unit for 4.5 years. This is about double the time of a non-section 8 tenant. Here is the section 8 process - 1) post your property on GoSection8 website or on other sites like craigslist state that you accept section 8 2) Tenant applies to rent your unit 3) Landlord does normal background and credit check just like with every other tenant 4) If you determine that you would like to rent to the section 8 tenant then you have the tenant sign the lease but leave the rental amount and lease start date blank. 5) Take the signed lease to the the HUD. You need this to schedule an inspection of the property 6) They will usually take 2-4 days to schedule and have an inspector out to your property. They will check for things like making sure all electrical is correct, each socket has a plate guard, light switches work, heater works, windows all have locks on them, doors all have locks, entry and exit doors have dead bolt and handle lock, and all appliances work properly. And most importantly, that the price you are asking for the unit is market rate and not too high. 7) If you pass the inspection, then you sign a lease agreement with the city housing authority and complete the lease with the tenant 8) The tenant pays their portion of the security deposit and lease and moves in. 9) the split for the tenant's obligation and what the federal gov't pays depends on the income of the tenant. They are required to pay up to 40% of the gross income in rent/rental costs. So if they make 12,000 / year then they are required to pay $400 / month in rental expenses which means maybe they pay $200 to gas, electric, and water company and they pay you $200 each month and the rest is direct deposited to you on the 1st of every month. That being said, if the rent in your area for a 2/2 is $800, you can usually ask 10-20% more than that and still have the housing authority accept your rental rate. In this case, if you were able to charge $1000 / month for rent then you would get the $800 every month guaranteed by the Federal Gov't. Then the extra $200 / month is somewhat of a bonus. But, keep in mind that with section 8 you usually have to spend a little more $$ for fix-up upon moveout. It all comes down to getting a good section 8 tenant. If you can find one, you can have a great situation. Hope this helps, Thomas Tenantopia, Inc Tenant screening and online application tool

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Bea S

said about 8 years ago

Some states will not allow you to turn down those candidates. I would look up your area's laws

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Matthew M

said over 5 years ago

When you do Section 8 (I have ten Sect. 8 units in Chicago) Section 8 runs the show, I just collect the rent on the 1st like clockwork and deal with an inspection every six months. If I ever have an issue with a tenant (noise, damage, tenant vs tenant issues, etc) I just call the Housing Dept and the issue is solved without me lifting a finger. But, in exchange for those bonuses, I have to work with them on their own agenda (government). It takes them 90 days, it's going to take 90 days.

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Penolyn V

said over 5 years ago

Ok. I got a letter in the mail today telling me it's 90 days. Thank you for responding. Hopefully all goes well.

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Matthew M

said over 5 years ago

NP. Overall, it's a great program to get into and you should have no issues.

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Balkys S

said over 15 years ago

Start the eviction process ASAP. She is responsible for the remainder of the rent. If housing has stopped payments, it's a serious or they feel she's able to afford the rent on her own. It's advantagous for you to go to court to evict her NOW, IMMEDIATELY while you can prove that housing is no longer paying for her and she's unable to because she's on vacation in Jamaica. Good luck

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Val S

said almost 16 years ago

I would not sign a separate agreement for the balance. Just write on the lease the portion that she will pay and remember section portion might go up or down depending on the tenants income or if you raise the rent.

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Balkys S

said almost 16 years ago

Don't do it. If it boils down to going to court, it's illegal and I'm sure your this prospect knows that. They just want to get into the unit. I'm also sure they won't pay you or they'll give you a hard time about it.

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Deanna S

said almost 16 years ago

Thanks for the info. I actually called this tenants case worker and asked if it was okay and they told me it was fraud! I hope it doesn't get them in trouble as that wasn't my intention. I just wanted to know if what I was thinking of agreeing to was legal.

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Balkys S

said over 15 years ago

Tenats have more rights than LL. That tenant was setting you up for a law suit, don't feel bad. Sec 8 tenants know their rights better than most attorneys.

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Balkys S

said over 15 years ago

Not me- or any of the LL's I know. It's my experience that Sec8 is too high a risk for the small LL/homeowner.