https://www.usatoday.com/story...amilies/74499904007/

This can't not be contributing to the worsening homeless problem.

Sigh.

s/b homeless problem

Synopsis-- people who wait years for HUD vouchers including the homeless have two months to make a successful rental application resulting in a very large percentage of people who receive vouchers being left with nothing.

s/b homelessness problem

Sorry.

Thank you for posting the link to the HUD / Section 8 voucher article, Daniel.

I recognize that it is an impactful social program but I didn’t know about the low voucher-to-housing conversion rate problem before.

You're welcome, Ax.

The root of the problem is probably the limited amount of rental property and the willingness of landlords to accept Section 8 vouchers. The strategies that Boston has implemented are a useful model of how to make the best of this bad situation.

Ultimately, the most effective strategy would be to increase the supply of housing so that landlords would have a greater incentive to accept Section 8 tenants.

Big Al

I would add to what Big Al said by mentioning acute income inequality and wealth gaps between the property owners and the homeless/would-be renters.

The typical personal finance advice given to the typical consumer is to not spend more than 1/3 of gross income on housing. (And landlords often want to see would-be renters have gross income that is 3X or sometimes 4X of rent to qualify.)

Sad thing is, even when working a “full time” job, and adding the Section 8 voucher’s amount to gross income, the would-be renter still does not satisfy the “income > 3x rent” threshold to qualify.

I had the opposite problem in Anaheim.

I had tenants who qualified for Section 8 and really needed it but the wait time to get vouchers was stretched out for years.

This also sounds like a problem with local governments. Boston and Seattle have taken steps to ensure a better outcomes.