by Bruce Checefsky

     The Section 8 housing program, or Housing Choice Voucher program, established in 1974 during the Nixon-Ford Administration, gives people with low-income the financial resources to acquire housing from the private sector. The voucher program, first authorized by the Housing and Urban-Rural Recovery Act of 1983, is one of the largest components of the Section 8 program.

     Participants select housing that meets the requirements and is not limited to units located in subsidized housing projects. Eligibility for a housing voucher, determined by the Public Housing Authority, is based on the total annual gross income and family size, and is limited to U.S. citizens and specified categories of non-citizens with eligible immigration status.

     Family income may not exceed 50% of the median income for the county or metropolitan area where the family chooses to live. For Cuyahoga County, that median income is $29,900 for one person household, $34,200 for a two-person, and up to $56,400 for an eight-person household.

     Over 4.8 million people in the United States receive housing assistance through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

     Earlier this year, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill into law that critics say will block affordable housing developments. The change prevents a project from receiving both Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and Historic Tax Credits. A separate provision allows county auditors to change the property value, which could result in a tax increase.

     Charles ‘Chip’ Bromley, a long-time fair housing advocate and Director of the Metropolitan Strategy Group, convened a virtual forum Challenges with Housing Voucher Programs sponsored by the Ohio Fair Lending Coalition and Cleveland State University’s Levin College of Urban Affairs and Education.

     Panelists included Charles K. Schulman, President of Carlyle Management & VP, Northern Ohio Apartment Association; Philip Garboden, HCRC Professor in Affordable Housing, Economics, Policy, and Planning at the University of Hawaii Manoa; Malia Lewis, a landlord with several properties in Cleveland Heights and a member of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City Schools Board of Education; David Garland, managing member at Genesis Global Holdings LLC; Dorivette Nolan, Director of Policy, Planning &Housing Mobility, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA); Emma Petrie Barcelona, Chief Operating Officer of Emerald Development and Economic Network (EDEN Inc), a non-profit which provides housing and housing-related services including Section 8 programs; and Elizabeth Zak, Supervising Attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland.

     Cleveland Heights attorney Jennifer Wintner introduced the panel, adding that most housing voucher holders do not have that many choices when finding housing, especially with landlords in higher-income neighborhoods refusing to accept their vouchers.

     “Rental property owners have incredible power to define the residential option of poor families,” she said, quoting a study co-authored by panelist Philip Garboden.

     Garboden presented a broad overview of findings from interviews with landlords nationwide to examine the relationship between landlords and the Housing Voucher Program. A study found that more than half of Public Housing Authorities (PHA) have a success rate of 60% or below, indicating that 30-40% of households cannot use a voucher issued to them.

     “We should take this as a troubling sign,” said Garboden. “Families on the waiting list for housing vouchers suffer enormous housing burdens, which suggests that programmatic reforms with HUD and the PHA are needed. Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) has a success rate of about 40%.”

     The voucher program benefits landlords in markets where tenants have volatile incomes, ensuring that a portion of the rent is paid directly to the landlord. Bureaucratic red tape dampens the prospects for many landlords, with process delays their biggest concern. The length of delays depends on the specific circumstances.

     “It is a negative experience for both the tenant and landlord,” he said.

     Lewis, the sole managing member of Blue Real Estate, said the decision to work with CMHA and provide housing for Section 8 voucher holders was intentional and based on personal experiences. It was the worst decision from a business perspective, according to her. The time needed to process the vouchers, which can be 30 days or more, means she is not renting her apartments.

     “In addition to the lost revenue, the contract is often less than the rent,” Lewis said. “I accept the below market rate for at least 12 months. Even then, I might get a rent decrease after that rather than an increase from CMHA.”

     When it comes to inspections, more time is lost. After more than fourteen years of providing Section 8 housing, building inspections are inconsistent and continue to plague the process for Lewis, with inspectors not showing up on time or not at all.

     “Communications with CMHA is abysmal,” she said. “Nobody answers the phone, ever.”

     Property owners must pay for water and sewage. Getting an agreement with the tenant to cover those costs is problematic. In a multifamily unit, it can be substantial.

     Garland focused on a project at 3361 E 55th Street, in a part of the city with few good housing options. Tenants, landlords, and housing authorities have been working together to make the building work with the Olympia Foundation focused on urban renewal in blighted areas in their first project with CMHA. Garland’s experiences with CMHA have been both good and bad.

     “Over time, we have gotten worn down by CMHA and the tenants,” said Garland. 

     The ability to hold tenants responsible is difficult with the lease agreement. CMHA does not enforce the lease, according to Garland. Some tenants refuse to pay the rent, which places the process in litigation with few results.

     “Accountability is lacking,” he said. “We suffer the consequences.”

     Schulman echoed the unevenness of inspections and rent payments changing without explanation, but he believes more landlords would be involved in the program if not for the administrative hurdles. It has not stopped him from offering Section 8 housing while willing to work with tenants, despite the enormous delays in processing.

     “Tenants need to be more educated about their rights and responsibilities,” said Schulman, advocating for a revitalized Cleveland Tenants Organization.

     Nolan presented information about the voucher program, a new mobility program in Opportunity Areas, and efforts to participate in the Housing Voucher Program. CMHA is the 7th largest housing authority with 5,911 public housing units in 33 developments, issuing 15,687 Housing Choice Vouchers to serve over 49,000 residents and a monthly economic impact of $9 million.

     The Housing Choice Mobility Demonstration Study allows tenants to seek housing in low-poverty areas that would provide positive experiences and reinforcement for children and the youth. Opportunity Areas include Cuyahoga County, where the poverty rate is below 20%.

     A Landlord Engagement Team of three staff members created by CMHA will be accessible to help with landlord issues. A Landlord Resource Center, located at CMHA offices, is set up to work with and resolve problems. 

     “We developed and published a landlord portal guide on our website to help engage in the landlord portal,” Nolan said. “It allows you to see information about your current contracts.”

     A quarterly newsletter for landlords is in the works addressing landlord issues and providing information about training sessions to learn more about the program. Virtual office hours are available.

     CMHA generally receives over 40,000 applicants for its voucher program every few years, with 10,000 placed on a waiting list that could take two years or longer. Applicants can now apply anytime rather than wait for an open call.

     Petrie Barcelona explained that EDEN, Inc was founded in 1991 by the ADAMHS Board to be the Housing Development Agency for the behavioral health system and has since expanded to other areas of affordable housing in Northeast Ohio. EDEN is not a support service provider but focuses on housing. As a large non-profit with healthy revenues, most resources go directly to rent payments to owners and managers. Homeless prevention is their latest program, initiated during the pandemic.

     As a housing agency, EDEN provides location services and financial resources with over 400 housing vouchers and 50 rental assistance programs. 

     “Most of our programs offer up to ‘rent reasonable’ or market rate, but not all,” said Petrie Barcelona, noting that most of their programs serve the City of Cleveland.

     Supervising Attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, Elizabeth Zak, represents tenants in Northeast Ohio in eviction defense and affirmative cases to increase stable, safe, and affordable housing. She supports the resurrection of the Cleveland Tenants Organization. 

     Zak sees challenges in voucher placement and retention, which can undermine success of the program. Source of Income Protection laws prohibits landlords from denying tenants or refusing rent payments based on lawful income. Voucher discrimination could be a proxy for racial discrimination, she said.

     “In Cuyahoga County, nearly 90% of voucher participants are Black, meaning when a landlord denies a voucher holder, nine times out of ten, they are denying housing to a Black family,” said Zak.  

Editor’s note: For more information about the housing programs mentioned in this article check out the following resources: Dorivette Nolan, noland@cmha.net; EDEN, Inc., EdenLandlordinfo@EDENcle.org ;  Elizabeth A. Zak, ezak@lasclev.org;  Ohio Fair Lending Coalition, organize.ohio.216@gmail.com, and Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, rentinfo@cohhio.org.