{"id":6855,"date":"2022-08-15T14:12:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-15T18:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homefront.azhousingforall.com\/?p=6855"},"modified":"2023-01-27T12:16:13","modified_gmt":"2023-01-27T17:16:13","slug":"getting-a-housing-choice-voucher-in-the-phoenix-area-can-take-years-finding-a-place-to-live-can-be-tougher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homefront.azhousingforall.com\/getting-a-housing-choice-voucher-in-the-phoenix-area-can-take-years-finding-a-place-to-live-can-be-tougher\/08\/15\/2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting a housing choice voucher in the Phoenix area can take years. Finding a place to live can be tougher"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Growing demand, rising costs and not enough units plague rent-subsidy programs in the Valley.<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Catherine Reagor,<\/a>Amy Qin<\/a>Jessica Boehm<\/a>Arizona Republicand<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Published\u00a012:30 PM UTC Aug. 15, 2022\u00a0|\u00a0Updated\u00a0

What if\u00a0you don’t have enough\u00a0money to rent an apartment? It’s\u00a0a growing problem for many metro Phoenix tenants. But then you hear\u00a0about a government program that can\u00a0pay\u00a0the difference between what you can afford and a rent payment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

You wait for months \u2014\u00a0or years \u2014\u00a0to\u00a0qualify. Then, with a\u00a0housing choice\u00a0<\/strong>voucher<\/a>\u00a0in hand, you begin hunting for a rental home. You’ve got a deadline to find a landlord, and you start making calls.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

No, we don’t accept them. No, our rent is too high for this to work. No. No. No.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

This is the reality of many people with housing choice vouchers, formerly known as Section 8 vouchers, in metro Phoenix. Rising rents, a housing shortage, a changing rental scene with more out-of-state landlords and the unwillingness of some property managers to participate in the federally backed rent program have made finding a home much more difficult than it’s ever been.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Phoenix, which has the biggest housing voucher program in Arizona, has a three- to five-year\u00a0waitlist, with 16,164 people on it.\u00a0Smaller Valley cities have waitlists in the thousands and similar wait times.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

As of early August, waitlists for most of the Valley’s housing authorities were closed.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The vouchers\u00a0were created by the federal government in the 1970s to give low-income tenants a greater amount of choice in\u00a0housing and to ensure they don\u2019t pay more than 30% of their income for it.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The overwhelming demand, the lack of available rentals and all the waiting are a recipe for stress for everyone involved.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cYou have to jump through so many hoops just to get a voucher, and then not to be able to find a landlord to take it is just horrible,\u201d said Pamela Bridge, director of advocacy and litigation at Phoenix-based Community Legal Services.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

It’s not just\u00a0Phoenix-area renters who are struggling. The challenges for the seven Phoenix-area housing authorities have never been this severe. Housing authorities now must pay more, sometimes offering landlord bonuses, to help fewer hurting tenants.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

One family’s story: Running out of time\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In 2001, JoAnn Ellis had a breakdown. She was taking care of her two children, who then grew up and had to take care of her as she struggled to keep jobs and find affordable places to live.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In early 2021, Ellis was staying at UMOM’s Halle Women’s Center in south Phoenix and got on a waitlist for a housing voucher. In October, she qualified.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

But voucher holders typically have three to six months\u00a0to find a landlord who will accept it. She couldn\u2019t find one,\u00a0and her voucher expired at the end of February.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"JoAnn<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"JoAnn<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"Arielle<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

JoAnn Ellis (in white) poses for a portrait at her daughter Arielle’s home on April 29, 2022 in Avondale.ANTRANIK TAVITIAN\/THE REPUBLIC<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

“You can’t find a place for $1,200, and the ones that do\u00a0don’t take Section 8 and the ones that do take Section 8 are at capacity,\u201d said her daughter Arielle Ellis, who JoAnn lives with in the West Valley.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Since Ellis lost her voucher, she\u00a0is living in a crowded rental with her daughter\u2019s family.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Arielle Ellis, who is pregnant, thought the housing voucher would solve all their problems.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cI thought I wouldn’t have to worry about my mom ever again,” she said. \u201cNow we are all very crowded living together.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Arizona Republic investigation found multiple issues in the housing choice voucher program.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The vouchers are use it or\u00a0lose it. They\u00a0can expire if people can’t find a rental in the time frame the voucher allows, usually from three to six months, depending on the city or county program.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Rising rents mean housing authorities’ budgets can cover help for fewer\u00a0people.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

More landlords, in the current hot rental market, are\u00a0opting not to participate in the voucher program.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

And the fast-growing Phoenix area has fewer vouchers than it should have, some advocates say.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The number of people in metro Phoenix who have been issued vouchers and are still struggling to find a rental is at a record high.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

On average, for every 100 renters in metro Phoenix who received a voucher,\u00a0only 85 of them were able to sign leases and move into a rental so far this year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Republic requested data\u00a0on the number of vouchers issued that are lost because renters\u00a0are unable to find housing within\u00a0time frames set by HUD and\u00a0housing authorities.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The average number of vouchers issued but not used yet was more than six times higher than what it was in 2015, according to The Republic’s analysis of HUD data.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Responses from metro Phoenix’s\u00a0seven housing authorities varied on how many vouchers had\u00a0expired.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In Phoenix, the number of vouchers that have expired because tenants likely couldn’t use them\u00a0increased to 183 from 147, a 24% increase\u00a0<\/strong>between 2019 and this year. But that number is still only 5% of all the vouchers given out.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Mesa and Chandler do not track the number of vouchers that expire or why.\u00a0<\/strong>Since August 2021, zero vouchers issued by Tempe’s housing authority have expired.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Higher rents also squeeze housing authority budgets. The average amount paid for each voucher through the federally funded program increased by 31% from 2015 to 2021 across metro Phoenix’s housing authorities.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Fewer landlords are taking the vouchers because they can lease to other renters who will pay more, and they don\u2019t have to deal with extra paperwork and regulations to get paid with the federal rent aid.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Rebecca Flanagan, the former Arizona director of HUD, said the program was started to provide housing for low-income tenants and to make sure landlords got paid. She’s frustrated that landlords are not legally required to take vouchers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cLandlords shouldn\u2019t be able to discriminate against renters because they have housing vouchers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Courtney Gilstrap LeVinus, CEO of Arizona Multihousing Association, said the state\u2019s largest apartment owner group has heard from a number of Arizona property owners that they\u2019d like to allow for more voucher program participants, but \u201cit\u2019s a regulatory challenge, labor intensive, cost prohibitive and inefficient.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The U.S. Department\u00a0of Housing and Urban Development updates rents by city for the program, but no one was prepared for the 30% increase that landlords upped prices in the Phoenix area last year because of 50-year-low vacancies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Arizona\u2019s housing shortage, estimated at\u00a0270,000 homes, is making the problem worse.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In the Phoenix area, which is among the 10 metros facing the most severe affordable housing shortages, only 20 rentals are available for every 100 extremely low-income renters, according to the latest annual survey by the nonprofit National Low Income Housing Coalition.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Phoenix area’s fast growth since the 1970s, when the program was created, also works against it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Metro Phoenix is allotted fewer HUD housing vouchers than other cities its size or even smaller.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Housing choice voucher program size in the ten largest U.S. cities<\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Despite being the fifth largest city in the country, Phoenix’s Section 8 program lags the size and impact of programs in other large cities.<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

New York CityHousing Au\u2026ChicagoHousing Au\u2026HousingAuthority of\u2026PhilidelphiaHousing Au\u2026HousingAuthority of\u2026HoustonHousing Au\u2026San DiegoHousing Co\u2026San AntonioHousing Au\u2026City ofPhoenix Ho\u2026HousingAuthority of\u20260100,00090,00080,00070,00060,00050,00040,00030,00020,00010,000Units Leased to Voucher Holders91,92191,92150,32050,32043,34143,34118,88918,88915,50515,50516,89416,89415,57715,57711,01711,0176,1116,1116,2196,219<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Source:\u00a0U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development<\/a>\u00a0\u2022 Data as of April 2022<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A Flourish chart<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A few years ago, Phoenix overtook Philadelphia to become the U.S.’ fifth-biggest city.\u00a0The Philadelphia Housing Authority has more than three times as many housing vouchers backed by HUD than the Phoenix Housing Authority.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cThe Phoenix metro area is severely underfunded in the housing choice voucher program, especially when compared to cities and metro areas of similar sizes across the country,\u201d said Mike Shore, CEO of HOM Inc., a provider of permanent housing solutions to end homelessness in Arizona.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

How can you get a housing choice voucher?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Renters with low incomes for the area can apply to a local housing authority for a voucher.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The exact income limits vary by housing authority. For the\u00a0Phoenix Housing Authority<\/a>, an individual with a gross income under $30,950 would qualify, and a family of four\u00a0with a combined income of under $44,150 would qualify.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Housing authorities also may\u00a0check\u00a0criminal background history, citizenship or immigration status, Social Security numbers,\u00a0debts owed to another housing authority\u00a0and other personal or family\u00a0information that varies by housing authority.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The seven housing authorities’\u00a0websites have\u00a0the most updated income limits and application requirements. The housing authorities are\u00a0Maricopa County<\/a>,\u00a0Phoenix<\/a>,\u00a0Mesa<\/a>,\u00a0Glendale<\/a>,\u00a0Tempe<\/a>,\u00a0Scottsdale<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Chandler<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Tenants must clear multiple hurdles to secure a voucher. Generally, applicants must complete a pre-application form to get on a voucher waitlist when one\u00a0is open. People facing homelessness or in unsafe housing conditions are given priority. Then, a random lottery is used to select\u00a0other\u00a0applicants to get on a\u00a0waitlist and\u00a0formally apply for a voucher.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If\u00a0renters are\u00a0approved, they will\u00a0be given a rent budget and will need to start looking for an apartment. A few websites, such as\u00a0socialserve.com<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0affordablehousing.com<\/a>,\u00a0are available for renters to\u00a0look for affordable housing.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A household with a voucher must pay 30% of its income for rent and utilities, and\u00a0the rest can be covered by the voucher.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Most Phoenix-area housing authorities require renters to apply in person and meet with a housing counselor.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

How the voucher program is supposed to work<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The federally funded housing voucher program is intended to help low-income families pay for the housing of their choice in the private market, instead of the older approach of developing affordable housing projects in only certain parts of a city that only rent to people with vouchers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Many of those developments built in the 1960s and 1970s led to blight, higher crime rates and harder situations for renters,\u00a0housing advocates say.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

HUD contracts with local public housing authorities to distribute rental vouchers.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Housing choice voucher holders then find apartments with rents approved by HUD and the housing authorities that don\u2019t cost more than 30% of their incomes.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In metro Phoenix, as of April, almost 12,000 households were living in rentals subsidized by the program, according to HUD, which is roughly 2% of all renter occupied households in metro Phoenix.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If a renter loses a voucher, then it goes to the next person on the list.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Housing choice voucher program size in the ten largest U.S. cities<\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Despite being the fifth largest city in the country, Phoenix’s Section 8 program lags the size and impact of programs in other large cities.<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

New York CityHousing Au\u2026ChicagoHousing Au\u2026HousingAuthority of\u2026PhilidelphiaHousing Au\u2026HousingAuthority of\u2026HoustonHousing Au\u2026San DiegoHousing Co\u2026San AntonioHousing Au\u2026City ofPhoenix Ho\u2026HousingAuthority of\u20260100,00090,00080,00070,00060,00050,00040,00030,00020,00010,000Units Leased to Voucher Holders91,92191,92150,32050,32043,34143,34118,88918,88915,50515,50516,89416,89415,57715,57711,01711,0176,1116,1116,2196,219<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Source:\u00a0U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development<\/a>\u00a0\u2022 Data as of April 2022<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A Flourish chart<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Rapidly rising rents outpacing aid\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Every year HUD calculates a fair market rent for all of metro Phoenix\u00a0for vouchers. It\u2019s supposed to represent the rent for a moderately priced rental in each market, but it hasn\u2019t kept up with rapidly rising rents.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The $1,200 rent budget Ellis received from the Maricopa County Housing Authority was above the fair market rent of $1,091\u00a0for a metro Phoenix one-bedroom set by HUD for 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

But the average rent in metro Phoenix is now $1,701, up $280 from a year ago, according to ABI Multifamily.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Local housing authorities then set the amounts for the maximum rent they will pay for with a voucher based on the area\u2019s fair market rent. That amount can be 90-120% of the area\u2019s fair market rent.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cIt essentially defines the universe of available housing for a person with a voucher,\u201d said Drew Schaffer, director at the Phoenix-based William E. Morris Institute for Justice, a legal advocacy group. \u201cThey may limit where you can rent in a metropolitan area because rents in certain areas just might be too high for you to rent.\u201dAdvertisement<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The\u00a0Phoenix Housing Department, the largest voucher provider in metro Phoenix, upped its payment threshold,\u00a0<\/strong>the maximum rent that a voucher will pay for,\u00a0for one-bedrooms in May to $1,200 from $1,146 in January, the first time it’s changed since August 2020. The move was to try to keep up with rising rents. The new figure is about 110% of the area\u2019s fair market rent.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Phoenix also extended the time renters have to find apartments that will accept their vouchers to 180 days from 90.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

As of\u00a0April, Phoenix\u00a0has roughly 6,000 units leased out under the housing choice voucher program.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Last year, the Phoenix Housing Authority spent almost all of its yearly budget but because of the hot rental market only leased out 93% of the units it was supposed to lease as outlined in its contract with HUD.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The median rent for a one-bedroom in Scottsdale is $1,840, according to research firm Zumper. That\u00a0would be almost entirely out of reach for someone with a voucher. In Tempe, the median rent is $1,540.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If a voucher renter finds an apartment they want to rent that exceeds the allowed payment standard, the renter\u00a0can apply for an exception that needs to be approved by the housing authority and landlord.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Few voucher holders apply, much less know about, the exception, Bridge said.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Phoenix market rent vs. voucher rent<\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Market rents for the city of Phoenix regularly outpace the city’s payment standards, or maximum rents that people can qualify for with vouchers.<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Median 1-Bed Rent<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Median 2-Bed Rent<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

1-Bed Payment Standard<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

2-Bed Payment Standard01\/01\/\u202601\/01\/\u202601\/01\/\u202601\/01\/\u202601\/01\/\u202601\/01\/\u2026$1000$900$800$700$600$1800$1700$1600$1500$1400$1300$1200$1100Amount<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Source: City of Phoenix Housing Department, Zumper<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A Flourish chart<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In Scottsdale, where the median income is almost twice that of the entire metro area, only 77% of units in the housing authority\u2019s contract were leased out in 2021,\u00a0according to data from HUD.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Already in the first four months of this year, Maricopa County and Glendale housing authorities\u00a0have spent more than 100% of their allocated budgets, dipping into budget reserves from past years\u00a0to cover costs and get more low-income tenants in rentals.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cBecause the market has moved to where it is, landlords can just basically advertise a place for a rent and it’s going to functionally exclude Section 8 housing choice voucher holders no matter what because the market has moved that far out of the equilibrium and has a low vacancy rate,\u201d said Schaffer of the Institute for Justice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The apartment vacancy rate for metro Phoenix fell to about 3% late last year, the lowest level in 50 years. It is ticking up a bit and now is about\u00a05%.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Landlord choice, not tenant choice\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Tenants with housing vouchers can be turned down by landlords in Arizona for multiple reasons.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Besides opting not to deal with the additional paperwork and inspections that come with the subsidized housing aid, landlords can turn down tenants with evictions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Federal law largely doesn\u2019t prohibit landlords from rejecting all housing vouchers. That\u2019s up to state and local regulations.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Tucson is considering an\u00a0ordinance barring landlords from discriminating against voucher holders. No Arizona city currently has that protection.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cEviction is a reason for losing your\u00a0voucher,\u201d said Bridge of Community Legal Services,\u00a0one of the few groups in metro Phoenix representing tenants for free in court who have been evicted or lost their vouchers.\u00a0\u201cUnless you fight it, you can lose it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Community Legal Services is\u00a0working with metro Phoenix tenants who were evicted\u00a0but who paid what they owed landlords to try to get\u00a0judgments off their record so at least that barrier to renting is gone for\u00a0them.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

And metro Phoenix\u00a0eviction filings have climbed above\u00a0pre-pandemic levels, according to the Maricopa County Justice Courts. Courts spokesperson Scott Davis said in July, eviction filings reached\u00a0a 13-year high.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A number of Valley apartment complexes that used to accept housing vouchers have been bought up by out-of-state investors who no longer accept them. Many of those tenants aren\u2019t seeing their leases renewed.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Landlords in all Arizona cities, except Tucson, can choose not to lease to a renter solely based on their “source of income.” In other words, they can turn away voucher choice holders just because they pay their rent with vouchers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Must move out, but where to go?\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Carol Parker lived at Banyantree Apartments near Cactus Road and Interstate 17 for two years. She paid for the apartment using a permanent supportive housing voucher, which is funded differently than Section 8 vouchers and comes with more services\u00a0but is administered in the same way.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

California-based investor Tower16 Capital Partners purchased Banyantree Apartments in August for $35 million. Tower16 recently purchased several affordable complexes in Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vegas and Southern California.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"Carol\r\n
Carol Parker, 61, poses for a portrait outside her new apartment complex on March 15, 2022, in Phoenix. Parker was left homeless after her previous landlord decided not to accept a low-income housing voucher Parker uses to afford rent.ANTRANIK TAVITIAN\/THE REPUBLIC<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The new owner notified Parker management no longer would accept vouchers and that she had to move out in 30 days when her lease expired. Parker became homeless at the end of last year.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Some landlords don’t rent to anyone with housing choice vouchers, said Schaffer of the Institute for Justice. Others, he said, “impose eligibility or screening criteria that have the effect of excluding tenants\u00a0with housing choice vouchers.”\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

One of the ways landlords indirectly discriminate against voucher holders, Schaffer said, is by requiring a renter\u2019s income be three times the market rent, disqualifying most voucher holders who are low income, versus the portion that a voucher holder actually would pay, which is generally closer to 30% of market rent.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Bridge said some of these forms of discrimination could become fair housing issues if they disproportionately impact people of color, the elderly or families.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

But even in cities like New York City where income-based housing discrimination has long been outlawed, a broken oversight system means hundreds of voucher holders still fall through the cracks.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In a 2018 survey of voucher denial rates in five cities \u2014 Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Newark, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC \u2014 the average denial rate ranged from 78% (for Fort Worth) to 15% (for DC). The denial rates, according to the survey commissioned by HUD,\u00a0<\/strong>increased in wealthier neighborhoods.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Winning the voucher lottery\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Vouchers are helping low-income renters in metro Phoenix, but the program needs an overhaul, landlords say.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Parker, who has osteoporosis, fractured her spine in five places while she was homeless for two months. She ended up at Circle the City in central Phoenix. The nonprofit provides medical respite for people experiencing homelessness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

While there, Parker called low-income apartment complexes across metro Phoenix daily, only to be told there was nothing available for her.\u00a0 Then, one day, after months of phone calls, a landlord said\u00a0“yes.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Parker moved into an apartment complex in northwest Phoenix in mid-March.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

“I’m a little scared and nervous, but I’ll make it. I’m used to apartment living,” Parker said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Carlos Pineda, a case manager at Circle the City, said he’s seeing more people fall into homelessness because apartment complexes stop accepting their vouchers.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

“It seems like there are a lot of people with vouchers but not enough properties accepting vouchers,” he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Circle the City representatives recently went to check on Parker at her West Valley apartment because she doesn’t have a phone. She no longer lives there, and it’s not clear where she is living.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Emergency vouchers still being distributed\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

More than a year ago, the Biden administration distributed 70,000 new emergency housing vouchers to housing authorities nationwide to soften the impact of COVID-19 for\u00a0renters.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Since then, more than 26,000, or 38% of them, have materialized into a lease as of July, a pace that U.S. housing officials say is the fastest uptake of any voucher program.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Most housing authorities in metro Phoenix are\u00a0using the vouchers they were allocated a year ago relatively quickly. People who are currently homeless, at risk of homelessness, recently homeless, or at risk of domestic violence are eligible for the emergency vouchers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Phoenix is the only housing authority in metro Phoenix to lag the national rate, receiving 390 vouchers and distributing about 110, or about 28%, as of July this year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Emergency housing voucher utilization<\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Some housing authorities have been faster than others at distributing their emergency voucher allocation from HUD.<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Hover over each bar to see the total number of emergency vouchers allocated vs. leased.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Current Leased Vouchers<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Remaining Vouchers Available to Lease0%100%90%80%70%60%50%40%30%20%10%% UtilizationNational (26k vouchers leased)Chandler Housing & Redevelopment Division (25 vouchers leased)Housing Authority of Maricopa County (71 vouchers leased)City of Glendale Housing Authority (51 vouchers leased)Tempe Housing Authority (32 vouchers leased)City of Mesa Housing Authority (46 vouchers leased)Scottsdale Housing Authority (14 vouchers leased)City of Phoenix Housing Department (110 vouchers leased)38%38%89%89%80%80%71%71%64%64%43%43%41%41%28%28%62%62%11%11%20%20%29%29%36%36%57%57%59%59%72%72%<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Source:\u00a0U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development<\/a>\u00a0\u2022 Data as of July 13, 2022<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A Flourish chart<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The emergency vouchers are a short-term solution for some stretched\u00a0renters. The vouchers must be used by September 2023 and are set to expire in 2030.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Solutions? Housing experts offer options<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Housing advocates and landlords agree Arizona\u2019s housing shortage is making the\u00a0 voucher problem much worse.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

“With thousands of rental property owners leaving the program annually, it\u2019s becoming more and more obvious that it is a program in need of significant modernization and reform,” said Gilstrap LeVinus of the Arizona Multifamily Association.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Congress and HUD must act to improve the program\u00a0and maximize its capacity for success, she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The National Apartment Association sent\u00a0a letter to Congress<\/a>\u00a0last August outlining ways to improve the\u00a0program, including\u00a0expanding it\u00a0with a least 200,000 additional vouchers and extending the deadline for the emergency voucher program.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A new U.S. Senate bill would provide $30.2\u00a0billion for housing choice vouchers,\u00a0an increase of $2.8 billion over last year.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Besides streamlining the HUD program for both renters and landlords, increasing fair market rent levels will help more renters find homes, according to a report on housing insecurity from Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute of Public Policy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Shaffer said setting up “source of income” protections for low-income tenants on fixed incomes could help as well.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Top news headlines<\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

FOR SUBSCRIBERS<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Blake Masters, Kari Lake praise Florida governor at Phoenix rally\u00a0\u2192<\/a>FOR SUBSCRIBERS<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Paradise Valley home sells for $6.6M\u00a0\u2192<\/a>FOR SUBSCRIBERS<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Monkeypox vaccine protocol may change as case numbers climb\u00a0\u2192<\/a>FOR SUBSCRIBERS<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Arizona has spent millions to bus asylum seekers to Washington, D.C.\u00a0\u2192<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A growing number of metro Phoenix renters\u00a0are being denied rentals because they use Social Security and unemployment income or housing assistance to pay their landlords, according to Morrison.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Several studies have found\u00a0income protection laws improve the housing voucher\u00a0program\u2019s effectiveness by resulting in fewer landlord rejections and allowing voucher holders to find housing in higher opportunity areas.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Also, work like that of Community Legal Services to help tenants to fix eviction judgments, particularly if their landlords have received rental aid for them, could keep more low-income residents from losing their vouchers.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Housing authorities also are working to provide more incentives to landlords and working with them\u00a0to try to make vouchers easier to use.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Already Phoenix area housing authorities are offering landlords bonuses for accepting vouchers,\u00a0waiving some required\u00a0inspections and holding landlord open houses to explain the process and draw more property managers to participate.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Phoenix is offering landlords $2,000 for every voucher they accept. Maricopa County was offering $3,000 during the pandemic. Tempe had a landlord recruitment event a few months ago and has two housing navigators to help people find homes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Some advocates are critical of paying landlord bonuses. “The incentive payments are a little strange,” Schaffer said. “That’s (money)\u00a0that could be added to each of the bedroom-size payment standards and potentially qualify more people and give them more housing choice and opportunity.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Sheila Harris, founding director of the Arizona Housing Department, said one of the most important things to be done to end homelessness as fast as possible is for the state to get more housing vouchers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Arielle Ellis, whose mother, JoAnn, lost her housing choice voucher earlier this year, said Valley housing authorities need to make fixes in the program.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cI kept telling them\u00a0we can’t find a place, and it pretty much fell on deaf ears,” she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Coverage of housing insecurity on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Arizona Community Foundation.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Reach the reporter at\u00a0catherine.reagor@arizonarepublic.com<\/a>\u00a0or 602-444-8040. Follow her on Twitter\u00a0@catherinereagor<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Support local journalism.\u00a0<\/strong>Subscribe to azcentral today.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Published\u00a012:30 PM UTC Aug. 15, 2022\u00a0|\u00a0Updated\u00a0

https:\/\/www.azcentral.com\/in-depth\/money\/real-estate\/2022\/08\/15\/why-its-so-hard-use-housing-choice-voucher-phoenix-area\/10092282002\/?build=native-web_i_p<\/a><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Growing demand, rising costs and not enough units plague rent-subsidy programs in the Valley. Catherine Reagor,Amy QinJessica BoehmArizona Republicand Published\u00a012:30 PM UTC Aug. 15, 2022\u00a0|\u00a0Updated\u00a05:47 PM UTC Aug. 15, 2022 What if\u00a0you don’t have enough\u00a0money to rent an apartment? It’s\u00a0a growing problem for many metro Phoenix tenants. But then you hear\u00a0about a government program that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7018,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nGetting a housing choice voucher in the Phoenix area can take years. 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Catherine Reagor,Amy QinJessica BoehmArizona Republicand Published\u00a012:30 PM UTC Aug. 15, 2022\u00a0|\u00a0Updated\u00a05:47 PM UTC Aug. 15, 2022 What if\u00a0you don’t have enough\u00a0money to rent an apartment? It’s\u00a0a growing problem for many metro Phoenix tenants. 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