Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara Guarantees Full Rent for Landlords and Security for Renters
“We encourage any local landlords to take advantage of rent security and other benefits by participating in the Section 8 Voucher Program.” Rob Fredericks, CEO, Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara
SANTA BARBARA — As America battles COVID-19, low-income individuals, families, seniors and those with special needs – people considered our most vulnerable citizens – are bearing the brunt of the ensuing economic fallout. The trickle-down effect of unemployment, standing at more than 14.7 % or 36.5 million workers applying for unemployment benefits over the last two months, directly impacts tenants who can’t pay full rent and landlords, many of which have mortgages on their rental properties. This negative trend is hitting home right now in Santa Barbara and elsewhere.
The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara (HACSB) represents 2,784 households on the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program and 1370 households in HA owned properties. None of these households will lose their housing due to income/job loss due to COVID-19. This also means that those landlords who rent through the Section 8 Voucher Program are also protected in terms of the full rent they receive.
A recent study from Columbia University is projecting homelessness in the United States to grow as much as 45% this year. HACSB understands that to prevent this from happening, federal rental assistance programs like the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program, which provides direct rental payments to landlords on behalf of eligible households, should be expanded to provide help to keep families housed during what will be a long and difficult period of recovery.
According to Rob Fredericks, HACSB Executive Director and CEO, “Many of our local landlords have been participating in the Section 8 program for decades, helping to keep our seniors, disabled individuals, and low-income workforce stably housed. The Housing Authority would like to take this opportunity to thank our landlords for their continued support of the program. Since the stay at home order was put in place, 23 new families now have a safe and affordable place to call home thanks to our participating landlords. At this time there remains a great need, so we encourage our local landlords to provide housing to our other voucher holders who are seeking a place to live.”
The main benefit of participating in the Section 8 program, is that rent to the landlord is all but guaranteed. If a tenant’s income is lowered or lost altogether, the adjusted subsidized portion of rent is paid by the Housing Authority on time, directly to the landlord. Landlords do not suffer a loss of rent and can continue to help house our vulnerable populations who would otherwise be at risk of homelessness.
Fredericks added, “Other benefits this program provides to our landlords are a $500 signing bonus for new landlords, damage protection up to $2,000 beyond the collected security deposit, landlord-requested inspections to ensure units are being maintained, and dedicated Housing Authority staff to answer questions promptly. We have also streamlined program participation via electronic document signing and processing.”
If you are a landlord who wants to support the Santa Barbara community, and you have a unit available to list with us, please contact our Leasing Agent, Jerry Morales at 805-897-1049 or via email at jmorales@hacsb.org.
About The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara — The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara is a local public agency created for the purpose of providing safe, decent, and quality affordable housing and supportive services to eligible persons with limited incomes, through a variety of federal, state, local and private resources. Since 1969, the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara has developed and/or secured over 3,400 units of affordable rental housing for Santa Barbara through a variety of federal, state, local and private funding sources. Please visit the website at www.hacsb.org.