The Biden administration's efforts to help more than 12,000,000 renters in America, 16 percent of whom are behind on their rent could not have come at a better time.Marcia Fudge, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, expressed hope that additional housing voucher funds would help low-income families living in areas of poverty where there are more options for them to move to better-off neighborhoods.What if the landlords are unwilling to accept vouchers for payment in higher-opportunity areas?This question can often be the difference between housing or homelessness in cities such as Cincinnati, where nearly a third of residents struggle to pay rent.My organization has hosted hundreds of focus groups over the last four years on local policy issues like tenant protection and access to health clinics. We have seen firsthand the failure of municipal governments to address these daily struggles, despite state budget cuts and declining federal support.Focus groups are held with people who have access to vouchers. Many, such as Jeneya, talk about how it is difficult to find landlords willing and able to accept their vouchers. Another parent in dire need of housing, Alicia, said that people believe that because they have Section 8 vouchers, it is easy to find housing. It is not. Since my landlord bought the house, I have been searching for somewhere to move ever since.Family members talk about how relief it is to finally receive a voucher. However, they feel panicked when they are unable to find suitable housing within the 60-day limit set by the HUD regulations and local public housing authorities. Most people either move to areas with high levels of poverty or to neighborhoods that are far from their social networks or have difficulty accessing public transit.The evidence isn't only anecdotal. More than 50% of Franklin County landlords, which encompasses all of Columbus, said that they wouldn't accept vouchers or public aid as a form rental payment in a 2019 survey.All across the country, cities, including Ohio, have made it illegal for people to discriminate against voucher users who are protected from income discrimination. These laws are not enforced, so they have limited impact. You can find hundreds of listings on Zillow that contain a version of "NO SECTION 8 ALLOWED" in a quick search.We interviewed landlords and renters who refused to accept vouchers. They cited a variety of reasons, including racism and stigma against voucher holders, difficulties and indignities of dealing with local housing authorities and too low voucher amounts in today's hot housing market. There is widespread belief that refusing to accept vouchers is a form of racial discrimination. Eighty-eight percent are Black, and 18 percent are Hispanic.It is often because the requirements can be too difficult for landlords. One landlord told me once that she used to accept vouchers but became tired of dealing with the local housing authority, and its strict code enforcement. Each time they checked, they found something wrong. Every time they found something wrong, I was forced to leave work and wait in their office for them start to approve my fix. It was just too much.It may be as simple as math for many landlords. Rents have risen to an average of $1,200 per monthly, which is the highest level since last summer. The prospect of voucher-assisted rental becomes less appealing when landlords are able to get so much from tenants on the market. This is because they don't have the same amount as what they can rent to the highest-paying tenants.If HUD does not ensure that local housing authorities address the shortage of landlords willing to accept vouchers in areas people want to live, expanding vouchers will not be able to solve cities' housing crisis.There are many ways to improve the system. There are many options to explore, including new incentives for small landlords, partnership models that encourage homeownership, updating voucher formulas to match market rates, and updated voucher formulas. This is particularly true in the rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods which form the heart of historically Black communities.HUD policies can even be used to meet the Biden plan's one pillar by increasing Black homeownership and decreasing racial wealth gap. Local housing authorities could offer HUDs support to encourage young people of color in multi-unit ownership. This could be done by offering down payment assistance and money for repairs in return for the guarantee that they will accept vouchers for the units they rent out.HUD could also apply for Community Development Block Grants to assist small landlords in making repairs to their properties and increasing their property's value, provided they accept vouchers for at most 10 years. HUD should look at higher landlord repayments and other incentives, paired with stronger inclusion metrics, to support small landlords. The city of Philadelphia and the local housing agency have piloted a Rental Improvement Fund to assist landlords with fewer then 10 units. A recent Urban Land Institute study found that this program has helped increase loan approval rates for landlords of color as well as women.Land banks, public entities that acquire, manage and repurpose vacant or foreclosed properties, and local governments, should only consider selling their properties to those who are willing to accept vouchers. While policymakers could also consider parallel efforts to improve the enforcement of discrimination laws, carrots are more appealing and feasible than sticks.Our evening Zoom calls over pizza with parents, workers, young people, and children need to see Biden's housing interventions. Like many other cities in the US, Cincinnati and Columbus have a pressing need for affordable housing that is safe. Any federal effort to address the nation's affordable housing crisis must include making it easier and more profitable for landlords to rent out voucher recipients.
