Section 8 landlord protections in Virginia

[Matthew Johnson]

I've heard a few different things about section 8 over the last few weeks and the HUD website is a bit vague.

I was told there is a new insurance program for section 8 that protects landlords should a tenant damage the property. I wanted to ask if that was true?

I doubted it which is why I was asking. In addition, what are the remedies for a landlord with section 8 tenants should they damage the property?

Thanks for your time.

[Jennifer Donley]

@Matthew Johnson, I'm not in VA but am a Section 8 only landlord in St. Louis. While there are some variances county to county, the basic rules are the same country wide.

I have really good tenants and they don't trash their places.  I screen meticulously including a home visit as the last step of the screening process (note - do exactly the same process for market and Section 8 tenants on screening or you will run afoul of Fair Housing).

Some counties have created an insurance program of sorts for landords if tenants trash a place that requires repairs beyond the deposit but there's nothing countrywide.

However, there are absolutely remedies for landlords with Section 8 tenants.  It of course starts with good screening.  

At the end of the lease, you get the opportunity to sign off on a "Good Standing Certification" where you indicate i the tenant is in good standing or not. If they owe you money or have done damage to the property beyond normal wear and tear and what the deposit will cover, you can indicate that they are not in good standing (with proof of course).

If they aren't in good standing with you, they can't get a voucher to move somewhere else.  That doesn't mean you ahve to keep them in your property - you can make them leave like any other tenants.

I find that tenants do not want to lose their voucher so they will usually fix or pay whatever is needed.  The problem is that few landlords are diligent in sending this doc in so tenants keep their voucher even if they're bad tenants.

As for the deposit - again, treat the tenants exactly as you would market tenants if you take them.  Here's the tough part - you probably won't know the first month's rent until you're into the Section 8 process a ways - usually after the inspection.  So it's tough to give the tenants a number if that's what you're using.

What I do is this - my average 3 bedroom rent is about $1050.  So, I just charge $1000 security deposit for all my properties (they're almost all 3 bedroom).  It's simple and easy and I don't have to remember the amounts from house to house.

Section 8 is great but there is a learning curve.  I answer a lot of questions on here about it if you want to check my profile and Forum responses, I think it will help you get answers to questions you didn't know to ask.

Good luck, let me know if I can help further.