It's hard to get Section 8 vouchers, and getting a voucher doesn't guarantee you'll find a place that will take them. Almost half of voucher recipients can't find a landlord who’ll accept them.
"The federal Housing Choice Voucher program, better known as Section 8, provides rental assistance to more than 2 million low-income people, but that’s about one-fourth of those who are eligible," Aaron Schrank reports for Market Place. In Los Angeles, where rents are up, the Section 8 vouchers waiting list opened up this October for the first time in 13 years.
Only a fraction of those eligible for Section 8 apply, but there's no guarantee they will get on it. "Even with a voucher, there’s no guarantee you’ll find a landlord who will take it. Recipients have just six months to sign a lease or lose their voucher altogether. In LA, only 60 percent are successful," Schrank writes.
Valerie Stacker a retiree who shares a room with her grandson, applied for Section 8 and didn't get picked for the waiting list. "If she can’t find assistance elsewhere, Stacker can always reapply for Section 8 when Los Angeles opens its waiting list again in another decade or so," Schrank reports.
FULL STORY: It's a long wait for Section 8 housing in U.S. cities
Los Angeles May Bar Source-of-Income Housing Discrimination
Officials hope that improving access to housing for people who use voucher programs will help prevent homelessness in the city.
L.A. Councilmember Proposes Social Housing Model
Inspired by the success of Vienna, Austria, Los Angeles leaders are considering public housing as a faster, more effective way to curb the city’s homelessness crisis.
Enforcing Housing Discrimination Laws Falls Largely on Tenants, Nonprofits
With few enforcement mechanisms even in cities that have bans on source-of-income discrimination on the books, it’s up to nonprofit lawyers and tenants to sue landlords for retribution.
Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.
Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.
Test News Post 1
This is a summary
Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.
Test News Headline 46
Test for the image on the front page.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
.jpg){kind=link}
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service