Somerville Housing Authority

Accepting Section 8 vouchers can have several benefits for property owners, including:

1. Guaranteed Rent Payments: The Housing Authority pays a portion of the tenant's rent directly to the property owner, so the property owner is guaranteed to receive a portion of the rent on time each month.
2. Larger Pool of Potential Tenants: By accepting Section 8 vouchers, property owners have access to a larger pool of potential tenants, including low-income families, elderly individuals, and people with disabilities who may not be able to afford market-rate rents.
3. Reduced Vacancy Rates: Since there is a high demand for affordable housing, property owners who accept Section 8 vouchers often have reduced vacancy rates.
4. Lower Tenant Turnover: Tenants who receive Section 8 vouchers are often looking for long-term stable housing, so property owners who accept these vouchers may have lower turnover rates.
5. Tax Credits: Property owners who accept Section 8 vouchers may be eligible for federal tax credits, which can help offset the costs associated with renting to low-income tenants.

When conducting inspections, the housing authority will follow a checklist like this one. Units are required to meet criteria like:

1. An alternative exit in case of fire
2. A cooking stove or range
3. A kitchen sink with hot and cold running water
4. A refrigerator that is of appropriate size for the unit
5. Space for storage, food preparation, and serving
6. Facilities and services for food waste disposal
7. At least one window in living and sleeping rooms
8. A working light fixture in the bathroom and kitchen
9. At a minimum of two electric outlets in the kitchen, living room, and each bedroom
10. Adequate air circulation
11. Free from dangerous levels of sewer gas, carbon monoxide, dust, fuel gas, and other harmful air pollutants
12. A flush toilet
13. A fixed tub or shower with hot and cold running water
14. A fixed basin with hot and cold running water
15. A kitchen, living room, bathroom, and at least one bedroom or a living-sleeping room
16. Screens on all exterior doors and windows that are accessible from the outside
17. No serious defects, such as large holes, bulging or loose surface materials, on floors, ceilings, and walls
18. A firm and weathertight roof

Voucher eligibility, found in every AffordableHousing.com premium pre-screening application, is determined by calculating the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP). The HAP is based on several factors, including family income, family size, and local housing agency payment standards (or local market conditions), the cost of utilities, your requested rent, and more.

Below is a step-by-step explanation of how AffordableHousing.com displays HAP and Section 8 Voucher eligibility in the pre-screening application.

Voucher Status: The pre-screening application clearly lets you know when an applicant has a Section 8 voucher. A section 8 logo will only appear next to applicants with vouchers.

Voucher Size: Section 8 vouchers are bedroom specific. The voucher size represents the number of bedrooms the applicant is eligible for. In some circumstances a voucher holder can rent a property with more bedrooms than their allotted voucher size. However, the reverse is rarely true. The applicant’s renter score will take these factors into consideration. If an applicant is not eligible for your property because of a voucher/bedroom size mismatch, they will have a significantly lower renter score.

Eligibility Determination: pre-screening applications use simple red, yellow, and green color codes to represent whether or not a voucher holder meets the necessary section 8 eligibility requirements to rent your property. It is important to note that eligibility requirements do not apply to lease renewals, they are relevant only to new leases.

1. Green: your requested rent is below the maximum allowable rent for the applicant.
2. Yellow: your requested rent is within 10% of the maximum allowable rent for the applicant.
3. Red: your requested rent is greater than 10% of the maximum allowable rent for the applicant.

Who Pays How Much: this section breaks down the Housing Agency's portion of the rent versus the prospective tenant’s portion of the rent. These amounts use your listings’ asking rent and information provided in the pre-screening application to determine the HAP, so they may vary from property to property and from applicant to applicant.

Trying to understand if a voucher holder is eligible to lease your property can be a confusing and cumbersome process. Making this determination early in the leasing process is critical to saving owners time and headaches.

1. List your property on AffordableHousing.com to have your listing syndicated to the suitable housing authority on your behalf. This platform ensures that Section 8 renters can easily discover your property listing online at affordablehousing.com.
2. Reach out to your local housing authority to express your interest in joining the Section 8 program.
3. Arrange a viewing of the rental unit with the Section 8 voucher holder and establish mutually agreeable terms for the lease.
4. The rental rate needs to meet the criteria of reasonableness set by the Housing Authority.
5. The housing authority will conduct an inspection of the unit to ensure it complies with the program’s standards and requirements.
6. Complete a lease agreement with the Section 8 voucher holder and a Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) agreement with the housing authority.

Learn More