Tenant is forcing me to accept his section 8 voucher

Investor · Woburn, MA · Member since 2015 · 13 posts · 3 votes

Hello there,

I need your help. I have a lease with my tenant which is just 3 months old . Currently, the tenant got section 8 approval and asking me to accept the partial amount from section 8 and she stops paying me the amount that section 8 will pay me. So, it seems like I need to sign a contract with section 8 org to get that payment. However, my existing lease with the tenant has another 9 months to get completed. Can my tenant force me to accept section 8 in the middle of an existing lease?

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Deanna McCormick

Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes

I would contact her section 8 worker,, and say your apt/ house is not section 8 inspected or compliant.. and you are not prepared to sign the contract until you know what is required to comply with their inspection of the property before you agree to sign the contract. I don't believe you can be forced to do that as you were not section 8 approved before renting to this tenant. The tenant usually had like 60 days from the date the sect 8 approval to find housing that accepts section 8

Download your state landlord tenant laws

Just because they ask doesn't necessarily mean you have to agree..

Might be easier to let tenant know you'll let her out of her lease with 30 or 60 day notice.. that would be my first thought.

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Deanna McCormick
Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
I would contact her section 8 worker,, and say your apt/ house is not section 8 inspected or compliant.. and you are not prepared to sign the contract until you know what is required to comply with their inspection of the property before you agree to sign the contract. I don't believe you can be forced to do that as you were not section 8 approved before renting to this tenant. The tenant usually had like 60 days from the date the sect 8 approval to find housing that accepts section 8
Download your state landlord tenant laws
Just because they ask doesn't necessarily mean you have to agree..
Might be easier to let tenant know you'll let her out of her lease with 30 or 60 day notice.. that would be my first thought.
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Andrew B.
Rockaway, NJ · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
9y
I believe you have to accept section 8 as a valid form of payment, but it may vary state to state. You may want to check your local laws. out of curiosity, why don't you want to accept it? its money that would be guaranteed to come in every month on time.
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Shawn L.
Rental Property Investor · Natick, MA · Member since 2015 · 128 posts · 188 votes
9y
In MA you cannot discriminate based on a prospect being a public assistance recipient. The unit will have to be inspected and approved, which I believe includes deleading. What I don't know is how this may be affected by the fact you have a preexisting lease that does not contemplate assistance.
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Maksud H.
OP
Investor · Woburn, MA · Member since 2015 · 13 posts · 3 votes
9y
@Deanna Thanks for the response. The tenant made the attempt to reach out to the section 8 and they already approved the unit with section compliance. The section 8 people already sent me the paper works that needs to be signed and return to them.
@Andew the reason I'm reluctant to take section 8 is that I already have a lease agreement in place for this year and for the next year I might accept her section 8. And it's very tough to reach out to Section 8 people and they are not responsive enough. What if they take another 4 to 5 months to start paying me. Though they are saying they would pay me all the previous months; portion of the rent. I'm confused if I should go for it or not.
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Maksud H.
OP
Investor · Woburn, MA · Member since 2015 · 13 posts · 3 votes
9y
@Shawn L. I'm not discriminating section 8. I'm just wondering if a tenant can break an existing lease (without section 8 clause) and force me to re-contract a three party contract(Landord-tenant-section8).
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Shawn L.
Rental Property Investor · Natick, MA · Member since 2015 · 128 posts · 188 votes
9y
@Maksud H. I probably didn't articulate my point very well. I did not mean to suggest that you were in fact discriminating, my point was that recipients of public assistance are a protected class in MA. Whether or not this protection is extended to someone with whom you already have a signed lease, I do not know.
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JD MartinBusiness Member
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Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
9y
If your house is not Section 8 approved, they cannot pay you. And they cannot force you to have your house Section 8 approved. So there's your answer. If you don't want to take Section 8, you do as @Deanna McCormick described and tell them you are not Section 8 approved nor do you intend to become so. At that point the tenant will either have to keep paying on their own, or accept the voucher and go somewhere else (and will probably just break your lease). If you go through the work and get approved, then yes, you are going to have to accept her voucher.
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Maksud H.
OP
Investor · Woburn, MA · Member since 2015 · 13 posts · 3 votes
9y
@JD Martin
The tenant made the attempt to reach out to the section 8 and they already approved the unit with section compliance. The section 8 people already sent me the paper works that needs to be signed and return to them.
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Margie Kohlhaas
Rental Property Investor · Algona, IA · Member since 2015 · 43 posts · 33 votes
9y
I'm still learning all the Section 8 rules, but I state clearly in my ads that I am not Section 8 qualified. Hope this helps for next time. I'm not sure what I'd do if a tenant proposed something mid-year through their lease. Obviously, you want them to continue to pay rent, but it should be your choice to convert or not to Section 8 Housing and abide by their rules.
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JD MartinBusiness Member
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Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
9y
I am not familiar with Massachusetts law, but here they cannot approve the home as Section 8 without the inspection and the landlord's completion of the application and other paperwork. In other words, they may have approved him/her for Section 8, but not your unit. Unless it works different in Mass.
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Maksud H.
OP
Investor · Woburn, MA · Member since 2015 · 13 posts · 3 votes
9y
@JD Martin They already inspected and approved the unit for section 8. The tenant applied for it.

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JD MartinBusiness Member
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Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
9y
OK, well I don't know what else I can tell you. I would think you have to sign the paperwork for Section 8 to be approved at your house. If you don't want Section 8, don't sign.
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Deanna McCormick
Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
Did you tenant ask you permission for Section 8 to inspect.. If not, I'd simply tell Section 8 that the inspection was not per your prior approval and you do not plan on signing a contract.
You either do or don't want to proceed,, I worked with section 8 program and can say as far as payment we had no issues, unless on renewal of the unit did not pass inspection. then payment was delayed until it was reinspected and passed. this was a large complex.
4 Reply
Raul R.
Rental Property Investor · New York City, NY · Member since 2017 · 493 posts · 386 votes
9y
Tenant should have been upfront with you from the beginning. I agree w Deanna, they needed to ask your permission to get property inspected for Section 8. If I was in your shoes I would consult a lawyer. Depending on your State you might have no choice but to accept your tenant request. A good tenant wouldn't force Section8 on you. If you knew they were Section 8 from the beginning maybe you would have charged a higher rent like most landlord do? I agree w others, Section8 is not bad but it shouldn't be force on Landlord.
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Maksud H.
OP
Investor · Woburn, MA · Member since 2015 · 13 posts · 3 votes
9y
@Deanna McCormick @Raul R. Yes, initially I signed the paper but there was an issue between tenant and section 8 and then section 8 was taking longer than expected. That is why, in the middle of the processing tenant told to my agent that regardless of section 8 approval she is going to pay me full rent and on the basis of that the lease had been signed. But Recently they approved her the section 8. My issue is middle of an existing lease, she is forcing me to accept section 8.
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Corey W.
Rental Property Investor · USA · Member since 2016 · 33 posts · 13 votes
9y
Unfortunately some states require you to accept section 8, some require no discrimination from the start, and others may require you to accept if the tenant becomes eligible and is accepted into the program.
If your rental is in MA, I believe that's one of the few states where your forced to accept it, no matter if it's the start of the lease or middle of the lease.
I'd check with a lawyer in your area for full details but it seems you have to accept it and add the section 8 addendum to their lease.
1 Reply
Andy Hill
Investor · SW, OH · Member since 2016 · 8 posts · 1 vote
9y
just from a practical standpoint.

the section 8 is approved the tenant will move for free rent. So you'll be stuck with trying to collect on a broken lease, you'll be looking for a new tenant or you accept the Sec. 8.

Call a lawyer if you want to squabble.
1 Reply
Deanna McCormick
Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
I have no further ideas for you or what's best way to figure out what your really trying to figure out..
Can tenant break existing lease.. if you agree to it I guess.. but what are they breaking,, money is money,, only thing is she's getting partial payment on her behalf made by Sec 8. Her lease stays the same ,,,Sec 8 isn't a tenant.. she is... All Sec 8 is doing is guaranteeing that a portion of her rent will be paid by them each month.. payment is usually made by them on or by the 3rd.. you can charge her a late fee if she does not pay her portion on time, but she can not be charged a late fee on section 8 portion.
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Michael G.
Rental Property Investor · Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2013 · 272 posts · 165 votes
9y
Jumping in, here: JUST ACCEPT THE SECTION 8 !!!
Why not? Section payments are 100% guaranteed by the Govt! You never, ever have to worry about NOT getting paid, or about a check bouncing, or being paid late. Since you've already vetted and approved the tenant, then, presumably, you already like the tenant and have a good relationship. Nothing else changes, so what's the worry?
The funds hit your bank automatically on the 1st of each month .... It's a good setup. After this tenant moves out, you do NOT have to again accept another Section 8 Tenant if you don't want to. Nothing forces you into the program. It's merely a guaranteed payment benefit to the program participants(tenants) that the Landlords (payees) benefit from...
Do it!
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Rich N.Pro Member
Investor · Haverhill, MA · Member since 2015 · 761 posts · 328 votes
9y
In MA, section 8 is a protected class and you must accept them if they meet your standards and rent amount. You can not use a different amount or standards to turn them down. This means if the tenant qualifies, you must repair/remedy anything they deem non-compliant.
One major difference with section 8 is that the annual inspections is for the unit AND all common areas AND the basement. So, If any of the areas are non-compliant, they will give you notice to repair/remedy it. If not done, they can withhold rents until it passes.
IANAL. I do not know if you can use or not use the current lease as a way out.
2 Reply
Frank Herrera
Lynn, MA · Member since 2016 · 14 posts · 4 votes
9y
Originally posted by @JD Martin:

I am not familiar with Massachusetts law, but here they cannot approve the home as Section 8 without the inspection and the landlord's completion of the application and other paperwork. In other words, they may have approved him/her for Section 8, but not your unit. Unless it works different in Mass.
0 Reply
Frank Herrera
Lynn, MA · Member since 2016 · 14 posts · 4 votes
9y
Hi,
It works the same way here. I have a section 8 tenant. There is paper work for the landlord, where they're simply asking what,utilities you will pay and what you'll leave to the tenant. No one can force you to accept a section 8 applicant. But you're expected to treat them as fairly as you would anybody else.
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Brian Ploszay
Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
This is a tricky question.
1. This lady has a voucher, but you have no agreement with the Housing Authority, so they are not going to pay you. You have to tell this tenant this fact.
2. You should tell the tenant that she is responsible for the rent, until section 8 approves the unit as a rental. And it is her responsibility to have her case worker call you.
3. If she wants to leave, mid-lease, let her.
4. If you are good with section 8, then do the paperwork. Sometimes section 8 determines your rent. You might get more. If it is less, then that is not fair to you. Refuse to approve it.
The law about section 8: It is correct that some states make it the law that you cannot discriminate on section 8 tenants. But you can discriminate on credit scores. This would disqualify some of those tenants. The law is so murky here. Section 8 provides you with a contract. But you can't negotiate it. Therefore, how would you be forced to sign a contract? Answer, you wouldn't. The spirit of the law is to stop discrimination. But accepting a section 8 tenant needs a Landlord who is willing to participate in the program. And the program needs landlords who are somewhat knowledgeable about the section 8 requirements.
1 Reply
Maksud H.
OP
Investor · Woburn, MA · Member since 2015 · 13 posts · 3 votes
9y
Thanks everyone for the responses. The only option left to me is to sign the contract with Section 8.
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Troy Whitney
Contractor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2014 · 137 posts · 44 votes
9y
Maksud - you should consult with an attorney that specializes in landlord-tenant relationships, but it seems to me that if your tenant has section 8 approval, then it is likely that they are going to have to find another place to live, since you aren't sec 8 approved. If you were, then you would be receive payment In my experience it can take months to get approval. By the time you are approved, if your tenant isn't keeping up with rents, he/she will owe many months' rent. Either your tenant pays their rent or not. If not, then they either voluntarily or involuntarily leave. If they are refusing to honor the lease and won't leave, then I would start eviction proceedings as soon as they are past due.
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