Housing Authority

Section 8 Housing choice voucher program - Landlord Information

Information for Landlords

Section 8 vouchers permit low income participants to find safe, decent, and affordable housing. The voucher holder selects a unit on the private market and then pays 30% - 40% of their adjusted monthly income for rent while the Housing Authority pays the remainder of the rent directly to the landlord. Any type of unit may qualify for the program if:

• The Gross Rent (rent plus utility allowance) does not exceed the Payment Standard for the bedroom size, or if the Gross Rent does exceed the Payment Standard the tenant is not paying more than 40% of their monthly income upon initial lease-up.
• The unit meets minimum Housing Quality Standards.
• The landlord agrees to participate in the program.

The participant has a packet of information which includes the Payment Standards and Utility Allowances for the St. Louis Park area.

Housing Quality Standards (HQS) are set by HUD and necessitate an inspection (free) by the Housing Authority. Generally, these Federal standards are less stringent than St. Louis Park city codes, so the inspection is usually easy to pass. Annual HQS inspections are also done at the time of lease renewal.

Program participants pay your regular security deposit. Participants are eligible for Section 8 based on income alone. The Housing Authority does not do any rental history screening. Landlords are strongly encouraged to screen for good tenants. We can provide you with the participant’s current address and the names and addresses of any past landlords known to us. Accepting a Section 8 participant does not obligate you to accept any others. We encourage you to accept good tenants regardless of assistance status and to feel free to reject all potential tenants who do not meet legal screening standards. Contrary to popular belief, it is no more difficult to evict a bad Section 8 tenant than any other tenant.  

You use your own lease with program participants. In addition to the lease there is a Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) contract between the Housing Authority and the landlord. Lease terms and rent increases are at your discretion. Month-to-month or 6 month leases are acceptable. You are required to notify us of rent increases 60 days in advance so we can recalculate the tenant and HA portions and give a 30 day notice to the tenant.