2001 Section 8 Household Demographics
Based on information from the Multifamily Tenant Characteristics Systems (MTCS) data from HUD, as of May 2001, approximately 1.5 million families receive assistance through the Section 8 program (The program has grown significantly since 2001 and some more recent estimates put this number closer to 2 million). These families represent approximately 4.1 million household members. “54 percent of Section 8 households were white, 42 percent were African American, and 16% were Hispanic. Average annual income for families to receive assistance is $10,773 (amounts are in constant 2000 calendar year dollars). Of all families, 61 percent are extremely low-income (less than 30 percent of the median), 24 percent are very low-income (less than 50 percent of the median), and 5 percent are low-income (less than 80 percent of the median).
I’m not sure what/where the demographic numbers are for those displaced by Hurricane Katrina – they may be under FEMA’s jurisdiction, but I’m sure the information will show a difference in the average annual income for families to receive assistance. If anyone has any info on this topic, please share it.
December 4, 2007 at 4:27 am
Section 8 should be promoted as a good tool to assess the rental market per unit, due to the fact that the PHA requires the units to be in good (not perfect) condition. If a landlord does not, or would not accept Section 8, it may be a good indicator that the landlord has not kept up the unit in a manner that is suitable for tenants, or that the landlord themselves are questionable in the manner in which they manage thier properties. I have sometimes found this to be quite true. One landlord inparticular disclosed to me that they were reluctant to rent to section 8 tenants, due to the fact that the landlord had unlawfully violated the rental agreement by raising the rent without notice to a tenant, the tenant luckily had section 8 and was able to hold the landlord accountable for the action. Usually, the penalty is quite leanient, the landlord was only required to repay to the tenant the amount that was over paid, and give proper notice if the intention was to raise the rent. This particular landlord was having a problem, becuase they were not willing to repay the overpayment.
In addition there are those who will not rent to section 8 because they have unrealistic ideals about what kind of tenants voucher holders are. This is nothing more than class discrimination. Many voucher holders are the elderly, the disabled, the WORKING poor. Voucher holders are just as likely to be clean or dirty tenants as are the general populous. Housekeeping skills are not determined by ones’ income, but is rather a personal choice. In fact section 8 tenants are more likely to keep a clean house due to routine inspections by the PHA.