Housing providers should not be required to join program
The City of Dayton has been planning to push through legislation on the HUD Housing Choice Voucher Progam despite the combined efforts of the following housing providers in Dayton area: Greater Dayton Real Estate Investors Association, Greater Dayton Apartment Association, Dayton Realtors, the National Apartment Association and the Ohio Real Estate Investors Association.
These housing providers recently met face-toface with Mayor Mims and commissioners Shaw and Joseph for an hourlong conversation. They also met separately with commissioners Fairchild and Turner-sloss for an hourlong zoom session to express why this legislation may lead to unintended consequences that might make the city’s housing shortage worse.
Here are some salient points as to why we oppose this legislation, Ordinance No. 32024-23:
■ This legislation would require housing providers to join the HUD Housing Choice Voucher Program, where HUD required voluntary participation only.
■ The City of Dayton should not be mandating providers to join a voluntary program.
■ This program is riddled with bureaucratic hurdles at Greater Dayton Premier Management housing authority that will cause many providers to leave the city rather than be subjected to the burdensome requirements of the program.
■ It will only result in further increases in rents and decreases in affordable housing inventory, which is the reverse of what city is intending with this legislation. We need more affordable housing in Dayton, not less.
■ Although this legislation would not require housing providers to take vouchers, it would make it illegal for providers to reject an applicant due to them having a voucher, effectively requiring all housing providers in the city to join the HUD Voucher program, which would require them to jump over massive bureaucratic hurdles.
■ The CEO of GDPM, in her meetings with Commissioners Joseph and Shaw, openly admitted to the delays and inspection inconsistencies we quoted in our meeting and promised to work on fixing them moving forward. Instead of waiting for the performance reviews, the commission moved forward with this resolution in the hopes it would elevate affordable housing supply, thus driving up rents and causing hardship to already financially challenged renters.
It will only result in further increases in rents and decreases in affordable housing inventory, which is the reverse of what city is intending with this legislation.