Section 8 and not paying deference amount

[Husnain A.]

Hi BP family, I do have 2 tenants who are on section 8 but they are not paying me the payment amount difference. And when I ask them that I will process eviction against you. Lawer asks me you cannot do so. Any advice. 

[Jennifer Donley]

@Husnain A. I agree with everything @Courtney King said.

I have a portfolio of Section 8 tenants.

First I would ask - when you say "difference" - do you mean the tenant portion of the rent?  I ask because some landlords will charge a Section 8 tenant more than the total approved rent amount (above and beyond the total rent amount approved by the Housing Authority) and this is against the law.

But if you are talking about the tenant portion of the rent, as dictated by the Housing Authority, it is absolutely a violation of the rules of Section 8/Housing Authority for them not to pay their portion.  Ask them the reason for non-payment - if they've had a job or income change, they can contact their caseworker and submit paperwork.  Often this will result in a lower tenant payment portion (or no tenant portion at all).

A tenant with a voucher can lose their voucher if there are lease violations and of course non-payment is a lease violation. My experience is that people with Section 8 do not want to lose their voucher, it's like gold to them.

As Courtney said, contact the tenant and the caseworker to see what can be worked out and to get on record as having notified both the tenant and the Housing Authority of the violation.  We have a standard eviction process - we file at 30 days past due.  

But I let my tenants know that I do not want to go this route, and I don't want to put their voucher at risk so we need to work together to get the situation fixed ASAP.  This has always worked to find a solution to get them back on track with paying.