Denver approves law that would force landlords to accept section 8 vouchers (legal, financial)
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In Denver, landlords with 1 rental property can turn down Section 8 simply for being Section 8 even if all other criteria is met.
A single family home or a duplex where the landlord resides. It appears a landlord that owns one rental duplex or three-family apartment must abide by the rule. Small landlords, for whom rents might be their main source of income, get swept up in these laws.
Those vouchers already are fairly useless in an overheated housing market such as has existed in Denver and other parts of the Colorado Front Range for quite some time now.
Fair Market Rent prices in Denver-Aurora-Lakewood are very high compared to the national average. This FMR area is more expensive than 98% of other FMR areas. Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Denver-Aurora-Lakewood is $1,418 per month.
For those unfamiliar with the term "Fair Market Rent" (FMR), it is the amount that local housing agencies deem appropriate for someone with a Section 8 Housing Voucher to pay to rent an apartment or house in a given city/neighborhood. The FMR is almost always lower than the average rent that families who have a normal income and don't need a voucher will pay - on average $2,100/mo for a 2 bedroom.
This means that voucher recipients are looking at a difference of negative $682.00/mo for what they are allowed to pay in rent. If they try to come up with this additional sum on their own, then they are in defiance of Federal law and will be punished accordingly. Some are forced to live in substandard housing and/or questionable neighborhoods if they wish to use their voucher - and that's if they can find a landlord who will accept a voucher. Many do not.
OP wants us to believe that the City of Denver is forcing landlords to rent $2,100.00/mo properties to voucher recipients for a crummy value of $1,418/mo. Nope, wrong, negativski. AS usual, OP has allowed his dislike of Denver and Colorado in general to cloud his thinking.
Authorities in Denver are merely asking Denver Landlords that if they have a rental that goes for the price of $1,418.00/mo that they rent to voucher recipients instead of just passing them over for no good reason. Many landlords are skeptical of Section 8 recipients. Perhaps the landlord had a negative experience in the past or just as likely if not more so, people with vouchers are discriminated against because they are viewed as more likely to belong to minority groups, are not reliable, are more likely to damage their rentals, not pay on time, etc.
Actually, HUD does a lot of screening and background checks on people who apply to the voucher program. A single run-in with the law or a history of late payments is often enough to disqualify someone, and studies have shown that Section 8 recipients are no more likely to become problem tenants than anyone else.
Of course those who would rather throw their less fortunate neighbors to a pack of wolves rather than help the poor get a hand UP of so much as a lousy dime, do not care to believe in the above explanation, so folks like OP continue to get away with their half truths, lies of omission, and just plain outright lies.
God forbid that we do anything to help American low income families, the elderly and the disabled, and of course the outright homeless. Let's hear it for the GOP - the party that has the guts to give tax breaks to billionaires and the Evangelical Trumpanistas - the faithful who would be delighted to crucify Jesus a second time if he ever showed up to preach the Sermon on the Mount in one of their mega-churches crammed with money lenders and Pharisees.
As of 2016, there were 42 juristrictions that do not allow property owners/ managers to discriminate on the basis of Source of Income ( SOI) meaning the value of the Housing Choice Voucher is included as verifiable income. This includes the entirety of 8 states, plus DC.
Connecticut
Maine
Massachuttes
New Jersey
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Oregon
Vermont
There are dozens of city/ county municipalities with other states that have laws against SOI discrimination.
Texas is the only state that prohibits a municipality from enacting SOI laws. When they did, it put an end to Austin’s law.
Cook County encompasses all of Chicago and dozens of suburbs and does not allow property owners to discriminate on the basis of SOI- thus a Housing Choice Voucher has to be counted as income. The property owner may use credit score and/or criminal history as a basis to deny an application so long as it is uniformly applied. The Housing Choice Voucher holder is responsible for the security deposit which is typically one month’s rent although in some cases it’s more.
My town is split into 2 counties, Cook and Lake. It’s not an issue because most properties are single family and owner- occupied. Rents are typically higher than the FHA threshold of the 40th percentile for typical units in the entire metro area.
I am aware of a handful of old homes converted to duplex units decades ago in the Lake county part of town. The owners have a strong preference for Housing Choice Voucher holders because there is absolute certainty that the majority of the rent will be paid. Sooner or later these properties will be sold for tear- down value.
If the government thinks they can dictate who landlords rent to, the government should be responsible for those they force the landlords to allow to rent. NOT the taxpayers-the arrogant azzhats in office that are passing these laws should personally be made to pay.
The owner continues to have the ability to set a minimum credit score and deny those with criminal convictions so long as it is uniformly applied to all applicants.
Of course the higher the credit score threshold the more applicants who will not be able to qualify, regardless of the source of income.
I agree it's a violation of property rights. Landowners should be able to decide who to rent to, based on their own decisions. Including first renter through the door with the cash should get the apartment.
...this...
Quote:
Originally Posted by No_Recess
Example #68263469 proving that you own nothing.
We are merely groveling at the feet of government in hopes that you may be allowed to live.
...and this.
The quotes say enough, I have nothing to add to the summation.
I agree it's a violation of property rights. Landowners should be able to decide who to rent to, based on their own decisions. Including first renter through the door with the cash should get the apartment.
That ship sailed 50 years ago with the Fair Housing Act that prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, disability, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin.
A single family home or a duplex where the landlord resides. It appears a landlord that owns one rental duplex or three-family apartment must abide by the rule. Small landlords, for whom rents might be their main source of income, get swept up in these laws.
Rental property has an inherent risk of non- payment. The Housing Voucher provides a guarantee of income not possible when renting to non- voucher holders. For this reason, many landlords prefer to rent to voucher holders.
The landlord continues to retain the right to establish a minimum credit score threshold, not rent to those with criminal histories or unverifiable references. The landlord also can require a security deposit. All is fine so long as criteria is uniformly applied to all applicants.
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