Some 10.2 million Americans use some type of federal assistance program to offset the cost of their rent. To afford modest housing in the US, 4 out of every ten people use over half of their income to cover their rent.
With rental shortages and soaring rent prices, it can be difficult for low-income individuals to find affordable housing.
Landlords might wonder about the benefits of agreeing to rent their properties as Section 8 housing and wondering how to become a Section 8 landlord.
Read on for these landlord tips and benefits you can take advantage of when you become a Section 8 landlord.
What Is Washington's Section 8 Housing Program?
Washington State's Section 8 housing program is set up as a voucher program.
This means a low-income individual must apply for a housing voucher. Once approved, the individual can use the housing voucher to rent properties registered as Section 8 properties.
From a landlord's perspective, they must complete the paperwork to have a property listed as Section 8 housing.
It's the renter's responsibility once they have an approved voucher to find housing that will accept the voucher. The state's public housing authority can provide a list of approved properties for Section 8 vouchers.
Becoming a Section 8 Landlord
There are some benefits to becoming a Section 8 landlord. If you're interested in registering your property as a Section 8 rental, contact your local public housing authority office first.
This is the office that will have the application you need to register. The application will ask for specific contact information, including both the owner of the property and the property manager.
The application will ask you to provide some specifics about the property. This may include the size of the property, the number of bedrooms, and even the current rent price.
Before the property can be listed as a Section 8 property, it must first pass a health and safety inspection.
Benefits of Becoming a Section 8 Landlord
As a landlord, you know that one of the biggest challenges of property management is collecting monthly rent payments.
As a Section 8 property, a third party is involved, easing the burden of rent collection. Since the government is subsidizing rent payments, up to 70% of the rent will get delivered to you on the same day each month without the hassles of rent collection.
You're also less likely ever to have vacancies in your properties. There's typically a long waiting list to get into a Section 8 property. The public housing authority will also have the property listed as a Section 8 property.
They almost handle the advertising of the property for you. You will also benefit from the Section 8 screening process for your tenants. Because tenants must also apply for Section 8 vouchers and be approved, they are screened as part of this process.
It's good for a landlord to know that the waiting list to get into a Section 8 home can be long, sometimes several years. The benefit for a landlord is that the tenants will work hard to be good tenants who don't want to find other housing once they get a Section 8 rental.
Landlord Tips for Section 8 Property Management
The landlord tips and benefits to Section 8 housing may have opened your eyes to considering becoming a Section 8 property.
If you own property in the State of Washington and Vancouver area and are interested in property management services, we can help. Contact us today to learn more about how we manage properties for owners.
