Can I deny resident's rental assistance???

by **aescby** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 11:20 am

I am a property manager in NC. Every month I have a few resident's who opt to use rental assistance vouchers from places like Salvation Army and local churches. The problem with this is....I NEVER get the promised money until the end of the month and I spend HOURS every month trying to collect this money. It is a huge hassle for me and I would love to stop allowing residents to use these vouchers, but I don't want to break any laws either. Does anyone know the legalities of this situation????

by **christie42** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 11:21 am

you can not reject the monies but as posted above as soon as they are late serve them with a non-payment eviction by the courts, also enforce any late fees as well

by **karlitis** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 11:28 am

You can decline to rent to them in the first place and evict them if it is an ongoing problem, as they are essentially late every month. But, you can't decline them in the case of an emergency, which is what they are for.

by **gedalyahu** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 11:39 am

The property I work for is privately owned. We have the choice whether or not we want to accept section 8 or not, and we do not get in trouble for not accepting it. However, if your resident is trying to pay some money, however they get the money, i dont see why you wouldn't want to cash it. I understand that its late, but wouldn't you rather it be late than never get anything at all?

by **denys** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 11:51 am

The property I work for is privately owned. We have the choice whether or not we want to accept section 8 or not, and we do not get in trouble for not accepting it. However, if your resident is trying to pay some money, however they get the money, i dont see why you wouldn't want to cash it. I understand that its late, but wouldn't you rather it be late than never get anything at all?

not sure how your state is..but if i evict them it is "discrimination" and i can be sued..
i have to after an eviction show that the unit was not used..for anything but personal use or severe damages..

anyhow..ask the owner..(hopefully you have a good owner)...he may tell you not to even cash them in and write it off as a loss......personally i do not cash in "church vouchers" ..
government is different because of the government ones....give a tax credit back..

by **mace** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 11:58 am

This is something that is a locality issue. Many places have added that you cannot discriminate based on income. If your locality has one of these laws then you could get in a lot of trouble for turning down the voucher.

I have rentals in Philadelphia, and we have a city law that does not allow me to discriminate on the basis of income. If someone were to call me for one of my places and ask "Do you take Section 8 vouchers" and I answered "No", I could get in trouble. Now answering that "My properties have not been inspected or approved by the Section 8 office" or "My lease is not accepted by Section 8" are both acceptable answers.

If your area does not have any discrimination laws based on income then you can most certainly refuse to accept those vouchers. You may have a problem getting paid without them though.

On a separate note, you may have a problem evicting the tenants if you live in a pro-tenant area. Accepting the vouchers in the past may open you up to accepting them in the future for the existing tenants. Some courts are really strange with this type of thing.

Good luck!

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