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Joanne Pan

ENGL493

Dr. Maher

April 18, 2016

Housing Choice Voucher Program

The Housing Choice Voucher Program, known as Section 8, is a federally-funded housing

assistance program created in the 1970s intended to help impoverished families and others with

disabilities find affordable housing. For Baltimore, a predominantly African-American city, the program

has allowed some families to find housing. However, those same families are the most affected by the

program because of landlords, lack of mobility and segregated neighborhoods has kept them in

impoverished neighborhoods and at a higher risk of staying in impoverished neighborhoods. Although

the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has tried to make some

reform, it is met with skepticism and fears that poverty will spread, property values will decrease, and

white flight will become more common. Other problems include the lack of transportation and social

mobility, the suppression of impoverished neighborhoods to certain areas and policy changes to the

program.

In 1974, Congress passed the Section 8 program, which was “developed by HUD to provide

rental subsidies for eligible tenant families (including single persons) residing in newly constructed,

rehabilitated and existing rental and cooperative apartment projects (United States. Department of

Housing and Urban Development. “Section 8 Program Background Information.” N.d. Web. 2 May 2016),

which was then broken down into “New Construction”, “Substantial Rehabilitation” and “Loan

Management Set-Aside (LMSA) programs” (United States. Department of Housing and Urban

Development. “Section 8 Program Background Information.” N.d. Web. 2 May 2016), and each program

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focuses on one aspect of housing troubles that eligible families face, especially in a predominantly

African-American city.

The program affects Baltimore because as a predominantly African-American city, much of the

city is on the program but are in areas where crime rates are high and completion of education is low.

When we read Katz’s “Ethics of Expediency”, we noted that when things need to be done fast, we often

sacrifice our morals and ethics in order to get what we want (Katz, 1992). For example, the policies that

were intended to help low-income families backfired and helped to perpetuate the poverty cycle. As

The Atlantic journalist Alana Semuels explains, Section 8

...is poorly designed. It works like this: Families lucky enough to get off lengthy waiting lists are allowed to look for apartments up to a certain rent, which varies for each metro region. This figure is called the ‘fair market rent,’ and is calculated by HUD every year for each metro area. The tenant pays about 30 percent of his income, and the voucher covers the rest of the rent (this is based on the idea that families should not spend more than one-third of their income on rent). But the fair market rent cut-off point often consigns voucher-holders to impoverished neighborhoods. This is in part because of how that number is calculated: HUD draws the line at the 40th percentile of rents for ‘typical’ units occupied by ‘recent movers’ in an entire metropolitan area, which includes far-flung suburbs with long commutes and, as a result, makes the Fair Market Rent relatively low.

As a result of poor policy and other factors, voucher holders are predominantly living in areas

where crime and poverty rates are high, which can have lasting effects on children. For example, one

house on the GoSection8.com website shows that a “3 Bed 1 Bath Townhome/Villa” near Federal Street

is going for $1,350/month, which is high for a housing development in the program. The majority of

voucher holders have no transportation, and the house is in a neighborhood non-voucher holders would

feel comfortable in. Other housing options available to voucher holders have the same problem-high

rent, seedy neighborhoods, and a lack of mobility available, and although the program tries to show the

house as a traditional house for families, many times extended families move in together to save on rent

and a house with only three bedrooms and one bathroom can’t hold multi-generational families because

of the lack of available space.

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3 Bed/1 Bath Townhome Villa for $1,350/month

1630 North Bond St.

Credit: Google Maps

Credit: Google Maps

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3 Bed, 1.5 Bath Townhome/Villa for $1,499/Month

3632 Roberts Pl.

Credit: Google Maps

Credit: Google Maps

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3 Bed, 2.5 Bath House for $1,500/Month

626 N Robinson St.

Credit: Google

Credit: Google Maps

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When we looked at the three examples of the houses in the program on the presentation, we

found that the houses were in areas that were considered unsafe. However, as Baltimore’s Housing

Authority is considering revising its policies, an article in the Baltimore Sun reported that a “court-

ordered relocation program” allows for African-American families to move into wealthier and whiter

suburbs (“Housing Policies Still Pin Poor in Baltimore, But Some Escape to Suburbs.” 2015). Other

reasons on how housing is a form of discrimination in Baltimore is the lack of mobility-socially,

economically, and through transportation. In class, we discussed Baltimore’s public transportation

issues, and how multiple City Data forums tell horror stories of how much of a mess it is, and how the

closure of the Red Line by Governor Hogan affected inner-city neighborhoods, which would have

brought in much-needed federal revenue, a way for those living in that area a way to get to their jobs,

allowed them social and economic mobility and a way to escape the poverty surrounding them.

Housing has always been an issue within Baltimore and de jure segregation and de facto

segregation have been implicit. De jure housing segregation is when the laws are codified in where

people can stay, and de facto housing segregation is when the laws aren’t codified but are an unspoken

rule as to where people can live. For example, the Baltimore Sun reports that the “American Civil

Liberties Union of Maryland sued HUD, saying that it demolished old public housing high-rises where

mostly African-Americans lived-only to move the residents to equally segregated housing and poor

conditions in other parts of the city” (Walker and Knezevich, 2012). This was a case that was opened in

1995, and only being dealt with now with the passing of the Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME)

Act, which “prohibits landlords and other property owners from discriminating against persons seeking

housing based solely on their ‘source of income’” (Public Justice, 2012). According to the Sun, “Attorneys

representing current and former public housing residents filed the settlement…and hope the agreement

with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development will finally end more than 70 years of

housing segregation” (Walker, Andrea K. and Knezevich, Alison. “Settlement in Decades-Old Fair Housing

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Case.” The Baltimore Sun. The Baltimore Sun, 25 August 2012. Web. 7 May 2016). By allowing a mixture

of people from different socioeconomic classes, it will have a positive effect on those living in poverty

and struggling to find a way out.

Landlords are one of the biggest problems within the program. Currently, landlords have to

register their property with GoSection8.com, the website where homes under the program are located.

However, landlords often take the voucher holders to “disadvantaged neighborhoods, perpetuating

housing segregation and limiting social mobility. Baltimore has a long history of segregation, but today,

it persists within one of the very programs designed to dismantle the problem: housing vouchers”

(Rosen, Eva. “The Power of Landlords.” The Atlantic. The Atlantic. 9 June 2015. 10 April 2016). In order

to combat landlords and their power in the program, Maryland legislation passed a bill that dealt with it;

however, it is too soon to say how effective it has been or will be.

In 2012, Maryland legislation passed a bill known as the Maryland Housing Opportunities Made

Equal (HOME) Act. According to the Public Justice Center, the legislation “Prohibits landlords and other

property owners from discriminating against persons seeking housing based solely on their ‘source of

income.’ (Maryland General Assembly. “Housing Opportunities Made Equal Act.” Public Justice.org. n.d

Web. 2 May 2016). Historically, landlords have been an integral part of the program. In order to qualify

their property for the program, the landlords must pass through a series of checks done by the

Baltimore Housing Authority in order to make sure that the rent is reasonable and the dwelling is in

good condition. However, landlords may use tactics such as raising rent or only allowing property in

inner-city or low-income areas to be rented out to voucher holders. Eva Rosen, a journalist for The

Atlantic, argues that “Landlords…are salesmen aiming to persuade potential renters,” but Baltimore is

different because they “lure renters to disadvantaged neighborhoods, perpetuating housing segregation

and limiting social mobility. Baltimore has a long history of segregation, but today, it persists within one

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of the very programs designed to dismantle the problem: housing vouchers” (Rosen, Eva. 2015). In

another Sun article, Dr. DeLuca suggested that “landlords refuse to rent to people with Section 8

housing because they are unfairly prejudiced against those prospective tenants” (Gatton, James. 2013)

which ties into Baltimore’s housing policies of the 50s and 60s, when segregation was rampant around

the country.

Landlords may also raise rent for voucher holders. Although the voucher program is supposed to

decrease the amount of rent because it’s subsidized by the federal department under the Housing and

Urban Development department, rent may increase. According to an investigation done by Eva Rosen in

The Atlantic, landlords have a set of “tricks” they use to get program holders inside the property. Rosen

wrote “One landlord I met had two identical units in the same building: The third-floor apartment was

rented to a family with a voucher and went for $250 more than the identical unit on the fourth” (Rosen,

Eva. “The Power of Landlords.” The Atlantic. The Atlantic. 9 June 2015. 10 April 2016). However, because

voucher holders tend to be low-income and have limited options for mobility, transportation is another

issue.

Because the program targets low-income families or those with disabilities, housing tends

centered in areas where public transportation isn’t served, which increases the likelihood of voucher

holders to live in impoverished neighborhoods. For example, Baltimore canceled the Red Line, which

would have given families in the neighborhoods where the line was to be built access to careers and

more mobility. According to a lawsuit filed by Baltimore against the “State of Maryland, Maryland

Department of Transportation, Maryland Transit Administration, and Maryland State Highway

Administration” under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, respondents argued that the cancellation

of the Red Line would impact African-Americans the most, citing

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…more than thirty percent of residents spending more than forty-five minutes traveling to work each day. Forty-four percent of households in the Red Line corridor lack a vehicle; and in some neighborhoods, a majority of households have no vehicle and are entirely dependent on buses for travel. Despite the significant reliance on them, buses too often run slowly, with speeds from Edmonson Village to downtown of only nine miles-per-hour during peak travel times…The Red Line would also have served as the necessary link connected West Baltimore’s predominantly African-American neighborhoods to job centers. (“Baltimore Regional Initiative Development Genuine Equality, Inc., and Earl Andrews vs. State of Maryland, Maryland Department of transportation, Maryland Transit Administration, and Maryland State Highway Administration.” N.d. Web. 2 May 2016).

The lack of mobility has contributed to the increase of those living on the voucher program, and

increases the likelihood of living in bad neighborhoods, which can have lasting effects on children. A

Baltimore Sun investigation found that

Among the Baltimore region’s roughly 25,000 voucher holders, more than 60 percent-or about 14,664 households-live in areas deemed “low opportunity”, based on measures including education, poverty and crime, according to a report issued last year by the Baltimore Metropolitan Council (Sherman, Natalie. “HUD Considers Change to Section 8 Rents.” The Baltimore Sun. The Baltimore Sun. 10 June 2015. Web. 10 April 2016.)

As a result, Baltimore has become one of the most housing-segregated neighborhoods, with a

Baltimore Sun editorial arguing that “Baltimore remains home to some of the most deeply segregated

pockets of poverty in the nation”, with more affluent citizens arguing and protesting that they want

voucher holders to stay where they are because they will bring down property value. Although the

Supreme Court has deemed segregation unconstitutional, de facto segregation and policies that do not

favor the African-American population ensures that they stay in impoverished conditions.

Another problem with Section 8 is that housing is spreading and affluent citizens aren’t happy

about it, especially the more affluent residents in surrounding counties. According to a Baltimore Sun

report, housing authorities had spent “$12 million to purchase nearly 30 houses in Baltimore County and

16 in Anne Arundel, Harford and Howard counties” and had provided “$51 million in rent subsidies to

nearly 3,100 families who have moved from city public housing to private apartments or houses in

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prosperous suburban neighborhoods, primarily in Howard and Baltimore counties” (Donovan, Doug.

“City Housing Program Stirs Fears in Baltimore County.” The Baltimore Sun. The Baltimore Sun, 14

December 2015, Web. 7 May 2016). Past Baltimore Sun articles and research done by think tank Urban

Institute in Washington, D.C. show that the more affluent residents wish to keep the poor in bad

neighborhoods and kept in areas with limited opportunities rather than spread them. However, research

shows that if they are given these opportunities, poverty rates drop down. According to a Baltimore Sun

editorial, the “Baltimore region has a poor track record when it comes to acceptance of policies

designed to help low-income, inner-city residents move to the suburbs”, with a county official calling

them “‘freeloaders’ and not ‘quality people’” (“HUD Imperils the Columbia Dream.” The Baltimore Sun.

The Baltimore Sun, 25 September 2015. Web. 7 May 2016).

In complete contrast, Montgomery County, one of the wealthier counties in Maryland, doesn’t

have this problem. According to David Rusk, the county has “one of the nation’s most comprehensive

and balanced local housing program” by creating the “Moderately-Priced Dwelling Unit (MPDU)” which

allowed for a mixture of different socioeconomic classes coming together. The formula created by the

program was that

85 percent of all units will be ‘market rate’-that is, sold or rented to whatever income group the developer is targeting. 10 percent must be ‘affordable’-that is, at purchase prices or rental levels that represent no more than 30 percent of the income of households earning no more than 80 percent of the county’s median household income…most significantly, 5 percent must be made available for direct purchase or rental by the county’s Housing Opportunities Commission for placement of deep-subsidy households.

Doing so allows for a mixture of different socioeconomic classes and allows for impoverished

families to gain social and economic mobility. Another problem the program deals with is the lack of

housing available for people on the list. An article in Afro magazine found that in 2014, the list would be

open for the first time in more than ten years because of the lack of housing (Special, Roberto. 2014). In

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a Baltimore Sun article, a person who was on the voucher since July and hasn’t been able to find housing

because of landlords and claims of discriminating on “potential tenants based on their sources of

income” (Knezevich, Alison. 2011). The Sun did a deeper investigation into the program, and found that

signups for the wait list have ended until 2020 with almost 74,000 applicants (Wenger, Yvonne. 2014).

In return, the opinion section and readers respond section of the Sun shot back, saying that if

they open up property to tenants they lose money. For example, landlord James Gatton explains that “I

experienced firsthand the loss of two weeks Section 8 rental income over a busted plastic knob on a

range” (Gatton, James. 2016), and others have claimed that the paperwork and filing it appropriate

applications are a nightmare. In another Sun article, a reader wrote in response to Dr. DeLuca’s

suggestion that “landlords refuse to rent to people with Section 8 housing because they are unfairly

prejudiced against those prospective tenants” (Gatton, James. 2013). James Gatton, a landlord in the

program, explained that the “prejudice of landlords is directed not against the people but against the

nightmare bureaucracy that Section 8 rentals entail” (Gatton, James. 2013).

When HUD Secretary Julian Castro “announced a landmark change in policy designed to reduce

residential segregation” (“HUD Imperils the Columbia Dream.” The Baltimore Sun. The Baltimore Sun, 25

September 2015. Web. 7 May 2016), not much has been done yet. One factor in the problem is the lack

of funds and Congressional limitations on administrative costs. Currently, the program policies are

debated on a city by city scale, and housing authorities are the final decisions in deciding the voucher

program. In a 2014 article in The Atlantic, journalist Alana Semuels, found that Baltimore has more than

16,000 vacant homes and about 30,000 people will experience homelessness. In her research, she found

that organizations such as Housing Our Neighbors and Housing is a Human Right Roundtable, are fixing

up these vacant lots and turning them into affordable homes for low-income residents. In our

presentation, Jess looked at the Station North neighborhood, where gentrification is causing rent to rise,

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which then has an effect on housing throughout the city. If the housing prices in one area go home, it

slowly spreads out and pushes more low-income residents and families into areas where poverty is

more widespread and causes extended families to live in cramped houses that may not be sanitary or

hygienic for families with young children. The group argues that “those homes should be turned into

affordable housing” (Semuels, Alana. 2014), and when paired with housing policy changes would allow

for more people to get on the wait list for housing, and for more socioeconomic mobility for people on

the program.

This could be a potential solution to the current one of allowing poor people into wealthier

neighborhoods, which the affluent citizens have complained about. Although multiple studies show that

when a child is exposed to different socioeconomic groups, they are more likely to live in higher-income

neighborhoods, finish education and go onto higher education. Multiple Sun articles show that the

affluent citizens that surround Baltimore don’t want these poor people to come in because they haven’t

worked for it or they’re leeching off of federal help. However, many of these families on federal

assistance and state assistance programs are what’s considered “deserving poor”, or those that work

and don’t make enough to make ends meet so they rely on government assistance for help.

As a city that has faced segregation in multiple forms, housing is the latest way to benefit those

in power. Think tank Urban Institute found that the lack of social mobility, high rent, landlords who

don’t have their renters best interests at heart and policies all conspire to create a situation where it’s

difficult for voucher holders to move up. The Baltimore Sun has done investigations about the situation,

and whenever an article comes out it shows that potential situations passed by Congress or by the

Maryland legislature have been debated on and argued about. Unsurprisingly, those who have more

power with their representatives tend to be wealthier and whiter, and are often the ones that don’t

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want poor African-Americans in their neighborhoods because that will bring down property values and

continue to believe that they are there in their neighborhoods only because of government assistance.

However, it’s not just Baltimore facing these problems. Other major cities across the country are

facing the shortage of Section 8 housing. For example, in Austin, Texas there were “plenty of apartments

around the city that voucher-holders could afford. But only a small portion of those apartments would

rent to voucher-holders” (Semuels, Aana, 2015). Similarly, in Baltimore there are vacant houses that

could be used for housing the homeless and voucher holders.

The program has been considered a failure, but if its policies are revised, the distribution of

wealth is spread more equally with a mixture of low and high-income families living together, landlords

are held accountable for their properties and not discriminating based on race, having a larger budget

for HUD, and allowing families to live in higher-income neighborhoods and allow them the chance to

find higher-income jobs, then their mobility will increase and then the Housing Choice Voucher Program

may find success in programs. Although Baltimore may not be similar to Montgomery County in its

wealth distribution, the way Montgomery County has its housing authority set up is a way that

Baltimore could imitate to find success in its housing program.

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Bibliography

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Department of Housing and Community Development. N.d. Web. 10 April 2016.

DeLuca, Stefanie. “What is the Role of Housing Policy? Considering Choice and Social Science Evidence.”

Journal of Urban Affairs. Vol. 34 Issue 1: (2012): 21-28. Web. 10 April 2016.

Donovan, Doug. “City Housing Program Stirs Fears in Baltimore County.” The Baltimore Sun. The

Baltimore Sun, 14 December 2015, Web. 7 May 2016).

“HUD Imperils the Columbia Dream.” The Baltimore Sun. The Baltimore Sun, 25 September 2015. Web. 7

May 2016.

Galvez, Martha M. “What Do We Know About Housing Choice Voucher Program Location Outcomes?”

Urban Institute. August 2010. Web. 10 April 2016.

Gatton, James W. “Fix Section 8 and Landlords Will Step Up.” The Baltimore Sun. The Baltimore Sun, 3

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Sun. 12 May 2013. Web. 15 May 2016.

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Knezevich, Alison. “Measure Would Prohibit Landlords from Discriminating Against Section 8.” The

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