Section 8, also called the Housing Choice Voucher Program, is a Federal housing program which provides housing assistance to low-income renters and homeowners. This assistance comes in the form of the city pays the rent, and the federal government reimburses the city for that rent money.

If you are considering renting to Section 8 tenants, you first need to understand how the program works. There may be more in the process and more paperwork, but once you understand the process, there are usually few problems. 

Most Section 8 renters are single mothers with children or grandmothers with grandchildren. These renters receive vouchers for housing costs, usually until the children are grown. However, the tenant's income will affect how much of the rent is paid by the government. Having a low-income tenant can actually be a bonus, since the government will pay most of the rent, and the government always pays on time.

Before you apply for the program, you must call your local Section 8 office and find out the rents you're allowed to charge in your city. These are based on the average price in your area for one, two and three bedroom homes. If you find the allowed rates are acceptable to you, you need to call the local building inspector to find out if all of the rooms you are designating as bedrooms actually qualify under local housing regulations You may find that you may not be able to claim rooms without closets, some basement rooms, and lofts as bedrooms. Once you've spoken to the building official, it's time to schedule an inspection.

However, there's more work to do before the inspector comes. This is the time to make sure folding or sliding doors work smoothly, patch damaged window screens, and check that all your electrical outlets are grounded. You can purchase a small device that has three colored lights that will indicate whether your outlets are correctly grounded. You'll also need to double-check that you have ground-fault-interrupter outlets near sources of water, such as sinks in the kitchen and bathroom. You can tell if an outlet is a GFI because it will have a small, red reset button.

Other items to check for include making sure that sinks and tubs drain quickly and that all your light fixtures have working light bulbs. You should also repair any holes in the walls and make sure all stairs are safe, with sturdy handrails, and no trip hazards. The inspector will be checking for safety hazards and to make sure everything works as it should, so keep that in mind as you're looking over the units to be inspected. For instance, there's no need to put up a fresh coat of paint, but any appliances such as stoves and dishwashers should be in working condition, and there should be no safety issues, such as loose carpet that may cause the tenant to slip or trip.

Once the inspector has come and gone and you've passed inspection, you may find the city has a tenant ready to take your unit. You must add the unit to the city's list of available homes if the city hasn't already done so. If you want to attract a tenant, make sure to note in your regular advertisement that you are happy to accept Section 8 tenants. This may turn off other tenants who do not have Section 8 vouchers, so you may want to run a separate ad to attract tenants who can pay the rent on their own. You are not allowed to charge Section 8 tenants extra, so make sure all your ads have the unit listed at the same price.

When you're deciding how much to charge for the unit, you may want to up the price but include utilities n that rent. The reason is that many renters have had trouble paying utility bills in the past, and they may not be able to come up with the money required by the due date. A Section 8 tenant may break the lease over inability to pay utilities, so including utility payments in the rent is a good idea if you're able to do it.

Once a few tenants start to show interest in the unit, make sure they can actually move in when they tell you they're ready to move in. Some of them think they will be able to move in on the first day of the next month, not realizing they have to give their current landlord 60 days notice. They may also not understand that the 60 days does not start until the first of the month following the day they give notice. Additionally, these tenants may have only told the landlord they are "thinking" about moving, without having given proper notice. It's a good idea to talk to the current landlord to make sure when the tenant is actually going to be ready to move, since most Section 8 tenants can't afford to pay rent on the old unit and on your unit at the same time. Your potential Section 8 tenants will probably be grateful that you checked this for them.

 Once you've got a firm commitment from a Section 8 tenant, it's important to make sure your lease is well written. Your local rental housing association can be a valuable resource for this. They will know the legal issues for your area and likely will have a sample lease you can base your lease on.

Many landlords do background and credit checks on tenants, and it's fine to do that for your Section 8 tenants. However, you shouldn't expect these tenants to have good credit, because anyone on Section 8 is going to have little to no income. They are also unlikely to have checking accounts and credit cards. Instead, you should be checking with the previous landlord to see if your potential renter is a good bet. You'll want to know if the tenant has caused neighbors to file noise complaints or if the tenant's children are troublemakers.

Because Section 8 renters have low incomes, they are unlikely to own tools, and they probably will not be able to do even small repairs to their own apartments. Make sure you have a reliable handyman to work on these units. They may be called on to do simple tasks such as resetting circuit breakers and unclogging drains.

Before your renter signs the lease, make sure that she knows that she cannot have a boyfriend move in to help with expenses. If the local housing authorities find out, she could lose her voucher, and you will lose a paying renter. You can't assume that your Section 8 renter knows this already. They don't always know all the rules of the program. If they had planned to invite a boyfriend to live with them, it's better for them to know it's not allowed up front.

While having a few Section 8 tenants is usually a fine deal for the landlord, other renters may not like the idea of living in a building where they know many of the other tenants are receiving public assistance. For that reason, it's best to keep a mix of renters in your building. It isn't necessary for tenants who pay the rent on their own to even know they're living side-by-side with Section 8 renters.

Despite their low incomes, Section 8 renters generally make very good long-term tenants. First, they're looking for a good, safe neighborhood, and they will be grateful to you for providing a safe home. Second, the government will pay their rent on time. And because the Section 8 renters have children, they often do not want to move in the middle of the school year, so once they're settled in, they're there to stay.