Reposted by HomeQwest Realty Group, LLC
“WE DON’T TAKE SECTION 8.” Have you ever said this to a prospective renter in your office? A simple factual statement like this could lead to a discrimination complaint being filed against your company and maybe even you personally.
Picture this scenario. It is rainy season, you have been stuck in traffic all morning, and in the 20-foot walk from your car to the office, you get completely drenched by rain, not to mention having to walk through a 4 inch stream of water running through the parking lot in your new sneakers. The day is to getting off to a bad start. You are not even settled in your office when the receptionist tells you that some people are in the lobby wanting to speak with you about a rental they saw. You come to the lobby, where a small child has just tipped over a chair and is proceeding to empty the water cooler on the floor. The mother is screaming at the child, the father is grabbing the child, and they appear to be from another country based on their ethnic dress. Between the screams from the child, the father asks you about a house they drove by that had a “for rent” sign on it from your office. You begin to answer some of their questions about the home, trying hard to hide your annoyance with the situation, and Section 8 comes up. This is when you blurt out the statement, “We don’t take Section 8”. When asked why, you simply say, “We don’t take it. It’s company policy; sorry”. Puzzled and angry, the prospective renters leave your office. No Section 8? Why not? These people have been renting for the last 5 years with their Section 8 vouchers. This is the very first time they have ever even heard someone say that Section 8 was not accepted. They leave the office bewildered and shocked. Since they have experienced discrimination before, they assume that you simply do not want to rent to them based on where you think they are from. Plausible? Sure. Many people of protected classes experience blatant discrimination each day, and this just appears to them to be one of those instances. A discrimination complaint with HUD is filed online using the HUD provided handy app on their smartphone, and next thing you know, you are hiring an attorney at $450 an hour to fight a baseless accusation of discrimination. Did you illegally discriminate? We know you did not, but that is not the point.
Are you required to take Section 8?
For the most part, unless there is a special source of income ordinance in your city or county, you are not required to take Section 8 or be any part of the Section 8 program. Your company may have decided that it simply does not want to be involved with a federal program such as Section 8 because of the rules, regulations, inspections and other requirements of the program. This is perfectly okay and legal. Unlike some states, as of this writing, only one municipality in Florida has a source of income ordinance, which means that you must accept Section 8 in that municipality if the applicant otherwise meets your approval process criteria. When source of income “discrimination” is made illegal, the Section 8 funds must be counted as part of income. The problem in the above example is that it just does not look good how you handled the inquiry.
How to handle the inquiry
The delivery of the statement is the key here: how you say it. Instead of blurting out the fact that you do not take Section 8, you should take the time to explain nicely that your company is not connected or set up with the Section 8 program. Tell the person inquiring that your company has decided it does not want to get involved with the program due to the requirements. Maybe your company does not want to deal with the red tape and bureaucracy. Explain to anyone inquiring that not all property management companies or apartment communities take Section 8, and that is it not required by law. Be nice. Be clear. Be patient. Take your time.
Referring the Prospect
After you are finished explaining that you are not part of the Section 8 program and why, the best part comes. You simply hand the prospect a list of a names and numbers of local management companies and/or apartment communities that you know for a fact accept Section 8. Take your time to shop around your competition, and call your fellow housing providers. Many will gladly take referrals, and possibly you can legally be paid a referral fee as well. Create a diverse list. Do not rush into this. Simply recommending a low income housing apartment community down the street is certainly to be avoided. Many companies accept Section 8, but you would not even know it. A good updated list you can hand out to a prospect is priceless. Now… Do you take Section 8?
by Harry Heist, Attorney at Law
HomeQwest
Realty Group, LLC
homeqwestrealty@gmail.com | O.
239.770.5429 | www.homeqwest.com
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