Funny you should mention this issue, and timely. Oregon just passed a law banning landlords from refusing to rent to Section 8 recipients.
The law goes into effect July 1st, 2014.
It will result in less affordable housing, not more.
If I was a landlord there, I’d ditch all my cheaper properties and just go high end.
How can that be? In order to rent to Section 8 you have to get inspected and meet all sorts of specs that a typical landlord would not have to. The majority of rental units in Oregon likely don’t qualify.
Landlords are actually lined-up trying to get approved for Section 8 because it means guaranteed on-time payment of rent.
An investigation by The Oregonian last year found that Section 8 recipients had limited opportunities to live in neighborhoods with low poverty. Over the span of a decade, voucher-use surged in impoverished neighborhoods east of 82nd Avenue, particularly impacting communities of color.
“I do think it will make a difference,” House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, said Monday. “It creates that door of opportunity” for voucher-holders to apply for housing close to work, kids’ schools and in thriving neighborhoods.
“How you pay for your rent should not be the determining factor of where you get to live,” said Kotek, who proposed the bill.
They have an opportunity to live in a better neighborhood; get a decent paying job and pay your bills!
My friend in CA bought a nice house in a good neighborhood. After the housing bust some of the owners in her neighborhood rented out to section 8. Not long after that the gangs took over.