Section 8 Voucher Program, Poverty

Dispersion Analysis.

Rene Rodriguez LaraAngel Ramirez

What Are Section 8 Housing Vouchers

Housing vouchers are government transfer payments which subsidize affordable housing for low income families and individuals. Unlike low income public housing Participants, which must live in government owned public housing units, voucher holders can choose to rent units from private owners.

Who is eligible to receive a housing voucher? Individauls and families who earn less than 50% of the

area median income.

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Immigration status, criminal history, debts owed to FHA or other housing authorities, and previous terminations of Section 8 subsidies can also affect a persons eligibility to receive a housing voucher.

Who pays and how much?

Tenants are responsible for paying the "total family share." - Total Family Share: Between 30 and 40 percent of the

household’s monthly adjusted income. - Monthly adjusted income: The household’s gross income,

minus certain HUD-mandated deductions and allowances. SHA is responsible for the "housing assistance payment.“   - Housing assistance payment: The difference between the

cost of rent plus utilities and the total family share.

Which properties qualify to house tenants who receive housing vouchers?

Properties which meet HUD’s housing quality standards. (As determined by an inspection)

Housing Quality Standards requirementsGeneral requirementsThe unit must include a living room, kitchen, bathroom and one living/sleeping room for every two family members.

•Ceilings and walls must be in good condition, with no large cracks, holes, peeling or chipping paint or loose plaster. •Floors must be in good condition. The floor covering must not be curling or have loose edges or holes. •Windows, including sills, frames and sashes must be in good operating condition and must open and close. There can be no broken, cracked or missing window panes. Windows must have permanently attached, adequate locks. •All rooms must have either two working outlets or one working outlet and an overhead light or light fixture. •All outlets, switches and electrical boxes must have covers with no exposed or fraying wires. All electrical splices must be properly contained in junction boxes with covers.

(Continued)Kitchen

• All stove burners must work. If the stove is equipped with a pilot light, the pilot light must light the burners. • The oven must work and its door must close tightly. All parts must be functional. • The refrigerator door gasket must be attached to the door, forming a proper seal. • The sink must have hot and cold running water and a drain with a trap. The sink must be properly hooked to a sewer line. Neither the

faucet nor the sink can leak or drip. • There must be adequate food preparation and storage areas, with adequate means to dispose of food wastes.

Bathrooms• There must be a private flush toilet fastened tightly to the floor. • The bathroom sink must meet the same criteria as the kitchen sink. • There must be a bathtub or shower. • There must be adequate ventilation either from an operable window or an exhaust fan. • There can be no rotten or weak areas in the floor, nor any water damage.

HeatingThere must be a heating system capable of heating the unit to a comfortable temperature. Furnaces must be serviced every two years and tested at

the initial inspection. Steps and porchesPorches, balconies, decks and similar structures more than 30 inches above the ground must have a railing 36 inches high. All inside and outside stairs

must have a handrail and be structurally sound. Site hazardsThere can be no hazards on the site, such as dilapidated structures, trash, debris, unlicensed vehicles or non-maintained vegetation.InfestationsThere must be no roaches or rodents.Smoke detectorsSmoke detectors must work. Smoke detectors must be located outside each sleeping area and on each floor of the rental unit. Hearing impaired

tenants require smoke detectors with lights. Laundry rooms require smoke detectors or heat detection devices.  Water heatersWater heaters in units and laundry rooms must have a properly installed pressure relief valve and hot water-tolerant discharge line (no PVC). The

discharge line must extend downward to within 18-24 inches from the floor if not routed outside. Garbage disposingEach unit must have adequate garbage disposing and storage facilities.Lead-based paintUnits built before 1978 may have lead-based paint. Such units occupied by children under the age of six cannot have any substantial chipping or

peeling paint, either on the interior or the exterior.

How much can be charged for rent?

-Voucher payment standards are the maximum amount of subsidy HUD will give for each size of rental unit. However payment standards are not the maximum amount that can be charged for rent.

Maximum rent mount depends on the voucher holder’s income level.

There is no cap on rent, only a cap on the subsidy SHA will give toward rent vouchers.

Seattle Voucher Program Statistics

-Effective July 1, 2003 HUD temporarily stopped accepting applications for the voucher program.

Origins of Voucher Programs

Section 8 voucher programs were created as a responseto criticisms that large and contained public housing projectsconcentrated poverty in specific areas. This concentration of poverty then led to a process of “ghettoization” in those Areas.

GHETTOIZATION: A process of ever increasing concentrations of

poverty which lead to greater levels of crime, drug abuse, and other forms of social chaos, and also decreasing levels of social involvement,

education, and economic mobility.

Intended purpose of voucher programs.

“Vouchers Avoid Concentration of Poor Families More

Effectively and Efficiently Than Other Housing Programs.

An important goal of recent Federal housing policy is to

avoid concentrating poor families with children in a single

development, particularly if the development is located in a

Low income neighborhood. By permitting a broad choice of

housing units, vouchers should lead to dispersal rather than

concentration of poor families.” (Sard, p. 90)

AnalysisThe purpose of our analysis was to determine whether voucher programs deconcentrate poverty at the census tract level better than low income housing developments.

Section 8 & public housing concentrations in Seattle’s neighborhoods.

By geo-coding the address of both public housing complexes and section 8 housing units it was discovered that: - The highest concentrations of

public housing complexes are found in the middle of Seattle. The Downtown district, East district, and Queen Anne district.

- The highest concentrations of section 8 available houses are found in Central and South Seattle.

Voucher units available and their location relative to census tracts with high concentrations of poverty

The map demonstrates that there is spatial pattern between locations of available section 8 housing voucher units, and elevated levels of poverty concentration. If it is true that housing vouchers don’t concentrate poverty the pattern found on this map should not emerge.

-241 available voucher unites

-34 low income housing locations

Data FiguresCensus tracts with poverty percentages higher than the Seattle average of 11.88% were determined to be areas of poverty concentration.

Available housing voucher units:- 73% were located in areas with poverty percentage levels

higher than the Seattle average.

Low income public housing:- 70% are located in areas with poverty percentage levels

higher than the Seattle average.

Data Figures20% was determined to be the benchmark indicating census tracts of high poverty concentration.

Available housing voucher units- 11% are located in census tracts with poverty

concentrations higher than the benchmark.Available low income housing units- 15% are located in census tracts with poverty

concentrations higher than the benchmark.

Data Figures30% poverty rates and above were determined to be the benchmark signaling census tracts containing high poverty concentrations.

Available housing voucher units- 3% were located in census tracts with poverty

rates higher than the benchmarkAvailable low income housing- 9% were located in census tracts with poverty

rates higher than the benchmark

Conclusion

Section 8 vouchers are no better at deconcentrating poverty on the census tract level than government owned low income public housing complexes when the benchmark for poverty concentration is 11.88% or greater. Only slightly better when the benchmark is 20% or greater. And also only slightly better when the benchmark is 30% or greater.

Affordable Housing Shortages, by Census Tract

The levels of housing shortage were computed by subtracting thenumber of people in each census tract paying less than $400 per month in rent for a studio or one bedroom apartment, from the number of people in each census tract making less than $15k/yr.

-$400 per month is equal to 30% of minimum wage income of $15k per year.