Rental choice in Dc - Section 8 or regular tenant
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Anonymous
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I have a 1 bedroom condo in Fairfax Village/Hillcrest in SE DC. It's a good area and the current rent is about $1400-1450 in that area with water included(through HOA) in the rent.
I have an option of renting it out to a section 8 tenant or regular but need some input as what this board think of that. Section 8 tenants are low-income but rent is guaranteed and there is no delay in rent or anything else. The regular tenant is also good but I am afraid that they would not pay rent and use the advantage of tenant friendly law in DC. With Covid and everything else, the courts are all backed-up and though the eviction moratorium is going to be lifted at the end of June, I am concerned that some tenants could just paying rent because it is so difficult to kick them out in DC. What are the ways I should protect myself if I pick a regular tenant and is there anything I could do with the lease to make my case stronger? |
Anonymous
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Neither is ideal. DC is so anti-landlord, it doesn't take much to get screwed by the broken system. With that said, given the aforementioned + courts being backed up, I would go the Section 8 route.
With your rental rate of $1400-$1500, you're less likely to get a renter who is a professional. Just my opinion. |
Anonymous
| It would be illegal to turn down the section 8 renter just because they are using section 8. |
Anonymous
I don't think this is what OP is trying to do. |
Anonymous
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I am not trying to turn down anyone but picking my tenants as they come and want to know the choices I have in hand with each selection.
I am also leaning a bit more around the section 8. Buying this condo in REO at a very good price so thought about buying and putting it for rent. Condo sale market is not as hot as the rest otherwise I would have flipped. Might do that in a few years. |
Anonymous
You can always choose a different reason for turning down a section 8 renter, just saying. No one would ever know. |
Anonymous
This seems an improper discussion. |
Anonymous
| Sell the place. |
Anonymous
| It is illegal to make this decision based on source of income. That's illegal discrimination. |
Anonymous
If the two tenants are equally bad options, it is still possible to choose the other tenant without being discriminatory or illegal. Landlords don't HAVE to take a Section 8 tenant just because that Section 8 tenant applies. That said I think this is a troll post. |
Anonymous
This. Your only discernible problem with the Section 8 tenant is that they're a Section 8 tenant. |
Anonymous
| The answer is not to be a landlord in DC. Guaranteed income? Guaranteed by whom? DC? Again at the end of the day you don’t have rights. Higher risk, more work, mediocre returns. |
Anonymous
| I would rent to Section 8 at the for the highest amount allowed by the Housing Authority. Someone with a 1-bedroom voucher is probably single, not to mention that the current HCVP waitlist is about 20 years, so a voucher holder is not going to do anything to risk losing their subsidy. Put in a clause in the lease that allows you inspect the unit every 6 months. |
Anonymous
| If it's really Hillcrest, you can't rent it for that price to Section 8 unless all utilities are included: https://www.dchousing.org/vue/customer/rent.aspx says it's $1423 for a 1br with utilities and $1226 without. So if you want the guarantee of the Section 8 income, you'll have to cut the price. |
Anonymous
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No, Section 8 would cover that income. The tenant could pay higher than that.
How do you take into account for utilities when water is included in the condo fees? |