PHA is offering cash to try to entice landlords to accept tenants using federal housing vouchers

Two main barriers face households that qualify for government vouchers to help pay for housing: Federal funds cover a fraction of the need, so there aren’t enough vouchers to go around, and high demand for rentals means some landlords don’t want to accept tenants who use the rental assistance.

Since the fall, the Philadelphia Housing Authority has been attempting to address the second problem by offering landlords cash signing bonuses and speeding up the approval process when they accept tenants who have vouchers. Households with vouchers pay 30% of their income for rent, and PHA uses federal funds to pay the balance directly to landlords. If a household’s income decreases, PHA pays more of the rent.

There’s a shortage of homes affordable to households with low incomes, and PHA’s voucher waitlist has been closed for years. Landlords’ reluctance to accept housing vouchers is a persistent problem in the region and across the country. Chester County, for example, pleaded with landlords earlier this month to take the housing vouchers of families whose homes were destroyed by the remnants of Hurricane Ida seven months ago. Thirty-three people in 14 households were still living in hotel rooms as of Tuesday.

» READ MORE: ‘I can’t get out’: These families lost their homes in Hurricane Ida. They’re stuck in hotels months later.

“We’re seeing more people struggling to find suitable units. There’s a higher demand and a reduced supply,” said Kelvin Jeremiah, PHA’s chief executive officer and president. “I want to make it a little bit easier for them to obtain a unit where they would choose to live.”

Housing voucher programs pay rents similar to those paid by tenants in the private market. But many property owners don’t want to deal with the red tape that comes with a government program when they have their pick of renters with incomes who can cover the full rent. In Philadelphia, more than 96% of rental units are occupied, according to the Pennsylvania Apartment Association.

“We’re pretty much at our highest occupancy rates that we’ve ever seen now,” said Carol Christner, the association’s chief executive officer.

So far, PHA has attracted about 400 landlords, according to the agency. More than 19,500 Philadelphia households receive rental assistance through the voucher program, in which more than 5,000 private landlords participate. PHA pays more than $12 million to property owners each month through the voucher program, according to the agency, the fourth largest housing authority in the country.

» READ MORE: PHA got an ‘unprecedented’ $10 million in housing vouchers

Under PHA’s initiative, which runs through at least April 30, the housing authority will pay property owners a one-time bonus of $300 for each standard voucher they accept and $500 for emergency vouchers for households who are without homes and referred to PHA by the city. Because of additional funding through the American Rescue Plan Act for the city’s 863 emergency vouchers, PHA also can pay security deposits for these households.

Signing bonuses can jump to $1,000 for offers of units in areas with low poverty rates and lots of amenities. PHA also will offer property owners up to $2,500 to repair damage beyond normal wear and tear and will streamline the application process.

“As much as occupancy rates allow, [the initiative] certainly is something that is attractive to property owners and managers,” Christner said. “We are very happy that PHA is trying to amend the program to make it more amenable to the landlords. And we want to continue to work with them to improve the program.”

The PHA initiative includes liaisons who work with property owners throughout the voucher process, assistance that has been “so sorely needed,” along with additional financial help, said Greg Wertman, president of Hapco Philadelphia, the city’s largest association of rental property owners. He said the PHA initiative is a “step in the right direction,” although he hasn’t heard from any members who have accepted a tenant with a voucher because of the program.

“I really am hoping that these incentives will move some landlords to participate in the program,” Wertman said. “This is something that’s needed, and we certainly need more affordable housing and we certainly need more landlords to be involved” in the voucher program.

Interested property owners can email [email protected].

The Philadelphia Inquirer is one of more than 20 news organizations producing Broke in Philly, a collaborative reporting project on solutions to poverty and the city’s push toward economic justice. See all of our reporting at brokeinphilly.org.