Housing authority needs tenants, landlords for Section 8 program
The NWGHA has a shortfall in its occupancy rate to continue federal funding at its current levels.
The Northwest Georgia Housing Authority is looking for a few good landlords. In fact, they not only need landlords, but they need potential tenants as well.
Director of Housing Kimberly Lewis told authority board members Wednesday that she needs to sign up at least 134 more people for Section Eight housing voucher assistance by the end of September.
“We’ve got to get 134 more housed to get us up to 98 percent of our allotment per HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) regulations,” Lewis said. The Northwest Georgia Housing Authority has 741 Section Eight vouchers available to it and Lewis said Wednesday that she is investigating the possibility HUD may allow the authority to increase that by 10 percent.
She confirmed her office has 75 individuals who are actually seeking housing right now but the big problem is inventory. “Its difficult finding units within our payment standard rental range,” Lewis said. “It’s all about finding landlords that provide safe and decent housing within a rental range that qualifies through HUD for fair market value.”
Lewis said the 98 percent occupancy rate is all about funding. “We have to stay at that percentage to stay where we are at and actually get more funding and administration fees,” Lewis said.
Last month Lewis told the board she attended a meeting of the Floyd County Landlords Association where she quickly found out that just a handful of them participated in the Section Eight program. She speculated that some may have had a bad experience with a tenant in the
past or preconceived notions about the quality of tenants in the program.
The landlords have to offer their homes within parameters of what HUD considers to be Fair Market Rent values. In Floyd County, the FMR cap for a two-bedroom home is $666 a month and up to $885 a month for a three-bedroom. Of course here in Floyd County that rent is normally $100 to $150 a month below that level,” Lewis said.
The Section Eight program provides that tenants pay 30 percent of their adjusted household income for rent with the government picking up the remainder of the rent.