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For Landlords | Useful Forms | Section 8 | Responsibilities | Submit Rental Listing
Congress allocates funding and passes laws for all general housing programs. HUD's role in the Section 8 program is to allocate money to the local housing authorities and to develop policy, regulations, and other guidance that interprets housing legislation.
Landlords participating in the program operate in the same way as a landlord in the private rental market. The owner must sign a lease (can be month to month) with the Section 8 recipient. A principle benefit to the landlord for participating in the programs is that the federal government guarantees a good portion of the rent.
The tenants must provide the Housing Authority income and family information necessary for determining their eligibility to the program and the portion of the rent they will pay. The tenant must find his/her housing much like any unassisted family. A tenant must pay his/her portion of the rent, adhere to the lease and HUD's Lease Addendum requirements, and cooperate with the Housing Authority in its annual inspections and recertification exams. The tenant-based rental assistance programs ensure that families are not forced to spend an unreasonable portion of their monthly income on shelter. The family does not have to stop paying the rent in order to meet unavoidable or emergency expenses and can live without constant fear of eviction.
HUD's 1999 "picture of Subsidized Households" shows that households have been in the program for an average of six years, and recent arrivals had been on waiting lists an average of 21 months before receiving subsidies.
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