MANSFIELD — Interest in federally-funded housing aid remains high in Richland County.
Last week, the Mansfield Metropolitan Housing Authority opened its Section 8 voucher waitlist for four days and received 1,351 applications, according to the agency’s director Steve Andrews.
Andrews said the number was right about what the agency hoped to receive.
“We were very happy with the number that came in,” Andrews said via email. “We wanted at least 800 and we didn’t want more than 1,600, as it would create a nine months’ wait and we didn’t want to go that far out.”
The total number of waitlist applications was 1,583 as of Monday.
Andrews said the agency plans to continue pulling about 200 applications from the list each month, with the goal of making it through the list within the next eight months.
“We may look at reopening the waitlist in April or May of 2025 if these numbers continue this way, or a few months later if we begin pulling less each month after the first of the year, depending on the success rate we experience,” Andrews said.
Section 8 voucher holders have 120 days to find housing
Numerous factors can influence the authority’s “success rate.”
Older applications may have out-of-date contact or eligibility information.
In order to be approved, a person has to meet certain income requirements and have no evictions in the last three years. No one in their household can have a history of sexual or violent crimes.
Applicants through the MMHA must also be willing to live in Richland County.
According to Andrews and the MMHA’s legal counsel, Matt Dooley, out-of-state residents sometimes file Section 8 housing applications but have no intent to move to the area, which further clogs up the waitlist.
Andrews said just over half (814 of 1,583) of current waitlist applicants are from Richland County or “just outside of the county.”
Assuming the MMHA is able to contact an applicant and verifies they are eligible, voucher holders still have to find a place to live.
Section 8 voucher holders sometimes face stigma from landlords, making the difficult task of finding housing in today’s market even more harder.
“We have 130 people with vouchers in their hand right now, looking for a place to move in, but they’re really struggling to find it,” Andrews told the MMHA board during its September meeting.
Once an applicant is issued a housing voucher, they have up to 120 days to find housing. If a voucher holder does not find housing within four months, they have to wait for the waiting list to reopen and apply again.
Like most of the nation, Richland County doesn’t have enough affordable housing.
The Richland County Housing Needs and Assessment Plan released in last year projects Richland County will need about 2,700 more affordable rental units to meet the community’s needs in 2032.
The report defined “affordable” as housing for those earning less than 80 percent of the average median income — $41,550 for an individual or $59,300 for a family of four in 2022.
“The availability of high quality, affordable housing brings stability into families’ lives and stability for a community,” Andrews said.
“Communities and counties that make housing development a priority will be primed for great growth over the next decade. Those counties that do not address the housing needs we now have will continue to lag behind other prosperous counties in our state.”
Voucher program update
In response to this challenge, the MMHA introduced a financial incentive for landlords who sign a one-year rental agreement with a Section 8 voucher holder.
New landlords will receive $500 for the first unit signed on to the program. Landlords who already rent to a Section 8 voucher holder will receive $300 for each additional unit signed on to the program.
In order to be eligible, units must not have been rented to a Section 8 voucher holder in the last 18 months.
The incentive will be offered through November 30.
Andrews said the incentives will pay for themselves because for every voucher the MMHA administers, the agency receives $840 per year from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The MMHA has offered similar incentives in the past using COVID-19 funds.
The board approved up to $20,000 for incentive payments. This time, the incentives will be paid for out of the MMHA’s general fund.
