SECTION 8 : PRO's AND CON'S: s.sdcpm.com/s8

Section 8 is a federal program where the government pays most or all of the rent directly to the landlord. Tenants have to be on the Section 8 program and to qualify they must be on low or no income and they have to go on a waiting list for approval

The amount paid each month by the government can change depending on changes in tenants income and household size

The main advantage to landlords is that as the government pays most of the rent, it is less likely that the tenant will default on the rent as their share is usually less than 40% of the full rent, although Section 8 do not guarantee the tenant's share.

SDCPM processes their application in the same way they do for non-Section 8 tenant's see SDCPM APPLICATION POLICIES

As most Section, 8 tenants are on a low income they often have poor credit and if the property uses our "Gold" standard for processing rental applications most Section 8 tenants will not qualify.

MARKETING OF VACANCIES

SECTION 8 WEBSITE is for landlords to post listings and tenants can view. SDCPM pay Section 8 a monthly fee (not charged to owners/tenants) that enables SDCPM listings for rent to appear higher on this website than others who use the free service only.

DAMAGES BY TENANT AND EVICTION

Section 8 does not pay for any damages caused by the tenant, although a tenant under Section 8 may lose their Section 8 benefits if the landlord obtains a money judgement against the tenant and the tenant fails to pay for it or make reasonable payment arrangements. landlord, so this gives the tenant an incentive to pay any assessed charges. Section 8 however, will never pay for rent that is

owed by the tenant for the tenant's portion

MINIMUM LEASE

Section 8 requires a minimum 6-month lease to start with, and if you wish to ask a tenant to move out normally 90 days notice is required for a reason. A lease of over 1 year is possible too. Non-Section 8 tenants you may choose a month to month agreement and give the tenant 30 day notice to vacate (60 days after the tenant has been in occupancy for 2 years) and do not need to give a reason to terminate the rental unless the tenant has resided in the City of San Diego for over 2 years

WHAT CREDIT REVIEW DOES SECTION 8 PERSON NEED TO PASS?

The same as for non Section 8 tenants (See Follow s.sdcpm.com/credit)

INSPECTIONS

Every 1-2 years Section 8 will do an inspection.

SAN DIEGO CITY SUMMARY :s.sdcpm.com/s8check and DETAILED CHECKLIST s.sdcpm.com/S8list to ensure the property, it is habitable, and any faulty items must be resolved by the landlord, otherwise, the payments to the landlord will stop, and the tenant will have to pay the full rent.

MARKET RENTS

PAYMENT FOR NEW SECTION 8 TENANTS

When a new Section 8 tenant is signed up, Section 8 may take them up to two months to provide the first check to the landlord but then they pay promptly on the 1st of each month in advance.

WHO COLLECTS SECTION 8 RENT?

SDCPM will arrange for Section 8 to collect their portion of the rent directly to SDCPM by direct deposit in the 1st of the month.

WILL SECTION 8 PAY THEIR PORTION DURING AN EVICTION? s8evict.sdcpm.com

HOW MUCH OF THE RENT WILL TENANT PAY?

Section 8 use tenants income and other factors to calculate the portion of rent Section 8 will pay and the portion to be paid by tenant. This may change if tenants income/circumstances change during the tenants. See RENT PORTION CALCULATIONS and UTILITY ADJUSTMENTS

WHAT IS THE BASE RENT AT THE START OF THE LEASE?

The same as for a non Section 8 tenant

CAN I ACCEPT EXTRA PAYMENTS FROM THE TENANT THAT SECTION 8 ARE NOT AWARE OF?

WHO ADMINISTERS PROGRAM?

For properties in the City of San Diego (see BOUNDARIES FOR CITY OF SAN DIEGO BY Zip CODE

Administration is done by the CITY OF SAN DIEGO SECTION 8.

SECTION 8 CITY OF SAN DIEGO: DETAILED POLICIES FOR TENANTS

County of San Diego Section 8

WHEN CAN A TENANT LOSE THEIR SECTION 8 DESIGNATION

If due to their income increasing, they start paying all the rent themselves, the following would occur

Housing Assistance Payments Contract for your tenant, on page 4, Section B.4.b.(4) which states “The HAP contract terminates automatically 180 calendar days after the last housing assistance payment to the owner.”

What this means is if the tenant remains in the rental unit at $0 housing assistance payment, after 180 days, the file would close. The reason HUD allows the file to remain open for 180 days at $0 housing assistance payment is because they know things can happen which may result in a reduction of the tenant’s income. If the file closes, then the tenant would need to reapply to the waiting list if the needed assistance in the future.

DO TENANTS HAVE A PORTAL FOR SECTION 8 ?

No

PAYMENT STANDARDS BY ZIP CODE (City of San Diego Section 8)

See s.sdcpm.com/s8limits

For properties outside the City of San Diego but elsewhere in San Diego County see COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO SECTION 8.

SPECIAL RULES FOR SECTION 8 RE WOMEN's VIOLENCE ETC

OTHER INFO: CITY OF SAN DIEGO SECTION 8 and CITY OF SAN DIEGO : NEW RULES EFF AUG 2019

See also SECTION 8 LANDLORD HANDBOOK 2018.sdcpm.com/s8handbook