In Depth: Mifflin County Housing Authority holding a Landlord Workshop for Housing Choice Vouchers

If you're a property owner in Mifflin County, find out about the Housing Choice Voucher Program on Wednesday, June 17th from 9-11am at the Mifflin County Annex Building, 101 West 3rd Street.  Light Refreshments will be served.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

This is Radio Novo News in Depth, along with Tiffany Walters and Jackie Marshall, both from the Mifflin County Housing Authority. And our topic is the Housing Choice Voucher Program. Because, ladies, uh as you have made me aware, there is going to be an event coming up this Wednesday, June 17th, because it is quite important. So let's talk about this housing choice voucher program. I presume most people that are aware of the Mifflin County Housing Authority would probably know it better by, would it be fair to say its former name, Section 8 Housing? Yes, that would be correct. When did the name change or why did the name change, I guess?

SPEAKER_00 0:46

So the term Section 8 originates from the eighth section of Housing Act of 1937. So this authorized the payment of rental assistance to private landlords on behalf of low-income households in the U.S. So the shift from calling the program Section 8 to Housing Choice Voucher or HCV was part of a broader effort to modernize and clarify the federal housing assistance system. Trying to modernize.

SPEAKER_01 1:12

Just trying to modernize. Okay. And did I hear you correctly? This has been around since 1937.

SPEAKER_00 1:18

That is correct.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

Wow. I I was not aware that uh programs like that existed back in the what I like to call the olden days. So um, you know, I think also, and I I think it would be fair to say, ladies, that also Section 8 housing is sort of a loaded term and kind of comes with a lot of baggage. Would that be fair to say?

SPEAKER_02 1:44

Um, I think that is a common misconception that people have. Um so units that are on the program, they are inspected annually. Um they have to pass inspection under Inspire guidelines. So they are being checked regularly. Is that done locally? Yes. Our housing authority does the inspections.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

So in Mifflin County, how many units do you have that are currently enrolled in the housing choice voucher program?

SPEAKER_02 2:15

178.

SPEAKER_01 2:17

Is that a low number, average, high number?

SPEAKER_00 2:21

Um, it really can vary based on the current budget authority that we are um allowed to utilize. Um 178 is um you know a little lower than we'd like to see, but it again it just is all based on the funding that we have available to us.

SPEAKER_01 2:37

Well, y it's gotta sort of be a two-part thing, doesn't it? Because it's gotta be available funding to help uh the the residents pay the rent, but it there also have to be units available that are enrolled in the program.

SPEAKER_00 2:53

Um so how the program works is the housing authority administers a voucher. So that is what determines how many vouchers are out there, and then that voucher holder would locate a unit. Um so we don't have specific um units that we have to find folks for. We have vouchers that we issue and folks find units at that point in time.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

And am I correct in assuming that you know the voucher is good as long as the landlord will accept it?

SPEAKER_00 3:21

Um there is um criteria. So once we issue a voucher to an individual, they are issued a landlord packet as well with some information that are to take to a potential landlord or maybe their current landlord if they're already residing somewhere. Um and the landlord has to complete a request for tenancy approval and return that to the housing authority. And on that request for tenancy approval, we are able to determine if we can approve it or not. So things like utility responsibilities, rental amount, um, voucher size for the participant, those are all things that we have to look at to determine if we can approve it or not.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

And would it also be fair to say the the condition of the unit itself?

SPEAKER_00 4:04

Absolutely. So once we are able to approve that request for tenancy approval, we schedule an inspection of the unit. So we have um a trained staff person here that goes out and conducts an inspection based on NSPER standards. NSPIR's national standards for physical inspection of real estate. Um and then that um inspector will let us know whether or not it's passed. If there's things that need repaired, um we will present those items to the landlord. And um there are times that landlords are unfortunately unwilling to make those repairs, but most times landlords are wonderful and they're they're willing to make those small repairs in order to enroll that person on the program.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

At that point, does the housing authority send the the rent money, the voucher money directly to the landlord, or do you issue it to the tenant and then the tenant pays the landlord? How does that work?

SPEAKER_02 4:55

So once the unit passes the inspection, we're ready to move forward. The landlord will do a lease signing with the tenant, and then they will provide us with a copy of that lease signing, and the landlord will come in and they will do what's called a half contract, so housing authority payment, and that is how we will make um the payments to the landlord. And the payments are made directly to the landlord. Uh, most cases it's just direct deposit right into the account that they provide us with in their landlord packet.

SPEAKER_00 5:26

Does the voucher cover a hundred percent of the rent? So we review the applicants or the tenant's income, and the tenant is responsible for um 30% of their income is their responsibility. So that could be towards utilities or rent. There is really a very in-depth calculation that we have to do to determine that amount, but just generally speaking, no. So the tenant is responsible for part of that rent in most cases.

SPEAKER_01 5:51

Who is the the HCV tenant? Are they younger, older? Is it just a um a mix of all different sorts of uh folks with limited income?

SPEAKER_02 6:02

It's a mix of everyone. Um we have a lot of elderly, disabled, also um families, single mothers, single fathers. Um it's it's a variety. Have you ever held a landlord workshop like this before? We held one in the fall of last year for current landlords, um, just for them to reiterate how how the program works and if they had any questions or concerns to bring to us. Um this is offered to current landlords, but also new landlords who might be interested in the program.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

Have you been able to gauge any kind of uh interest in people? Have you had you know people registering to come to the program, or is it just a a come as you are kind of day next Wednesday?

SPEAKER_00 6:49

We've had some folks um RSVP that they will be in attendance, um, but we are accepting late RSVPs and and we'll certainly welcome um walk-ins as well if someone decides that it works for their schedule at the last minute.

SPEAKER_01 7:00

Okay. Well, it is taking place on Wednesday, 9 to 11 at the Mifflin County Annex Building uh on West Third Street. And we always like to stress in Pennsylvania light refreshments. That's always a, you know, that can be a that can be a game changer sometimes when you have refreshments for those in attendance. Well, uh good luck to you both, uh Tiffany Walters, Jackie Marshall. Thank you for your time. Thank you for answering the questions, and uh hopefully we'll generate some further interest and get some landlords uh showing up for those refreshments and for the landlord workshop.

SPEAKER_00 7:41

Thank you so much. We're looking forward to it. Thank you.