• Simplify the subsidy payment process to function more like
the Electronic Benefi ts Transfer (EBT) system for the federal
Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP).
• Establish a pool of funding to mitigate risk for owners and operators
who rent to voucher holders—to recover lost rent or the cost of
repairs or damages caused by voucher holders.
• Increase owner participation through sign-on bonuses for new
provider participants.
• Offer re-rent incentives to participating housing providers;
encourage them to retain available housing for voucher holders.
• Provide prequalifying inspections to allow housing providers to
lease-up apartments more quickly.
• Allow for automatic annual rent increases that align with local market
rates and are not contingent on a request from the housing provider.
• Allocate more funding for vouchers to ease pressure on existing
waiting lists and allow more individuals to obtain assistance.
• Dedicate more funds to program administrators for the purposes
of increasing capacity and creating more consistent service delivery
across jurisdictions.
In the revitalization of the Section 8 HCV Program—whichever path is
followed—it remains critical to ensure that incentivizing participation leads
to successful outcomes for residents and operators alike.
“In a tight leasing market, it is diffi cult to hold a unit awaiting a voucher
inspection and paperwork processing knowing that there is no rent being
paid for that holding period,” says Michael Clark, Principal, Alpha Barnes
Real Estate Services, which has over 14,000 voucher holders in the company’s
portfolio. “The approval process moves much faster in the conventional side
of a leasing transaction, which results in the unit getting leased to another
family. Finding a way to pay a lease bonus to the owner to compensate for the
lost revenue would help improve the acceptability of the program to owners.”
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AUGUST 2019
TRENDS | 47