Purpose
Due to the owner terminating his long term contract with HUD, Section 8 tenants of Greenfield Manor, Newark knew that their housing assistance was being transferred in the Fall of 2002 from project-based Section 8 to tenant-based assistance. Although Greenfield Manor tenants stood up to both the owners and HUD and confirmed their right to remain i.e. stay in their units, tenants who wished to move would have to look for an eligible apartment in which they could use their Section 8 voucher. Many tenants had already started to make calls to determine what was available to them and they were concerned with what they found out. Because of tenants’ concerns, the Greenfield Manor Resident Council and DHC decided to take these inquiries a step further.

The first stop in our research was the New Castle County Department of Community Services which operates the Section 8 program in the County. We asked them the return rate of Section 8 vouchers and what were the given reasons. Through discussion and sharing of information, we learned that there is approximately a 17 percent return rate of Section 8 vouchers. Reasons are not specified or tracked. New Castle County staff noted that there are a variety of reasons for returning of vouchers but assured us that there are plenty of available units. Staff kindly sent us a list of private owners who were on the approved list to receive Section 8 vouchers in New Castle County.

Method
A short survey was created asking questions about acceptance of Section 8 vouchers, availability of eligible units, prices, requirements, etc. Greenfield Manor Resident Council members with the assistance of Social Work interns Carol Marquez, Terri Matushefske and Amanda Pieshala from Delaware State University called all the landlords on the New Castle County list, private complexes (including Low Income Tax Credit properties), and the project-based Section 8 developments for elderly/handicapped in New Castle County. Calls were made in September and October of 2002. Calls were made throughout the business day, in the evening and on weekends. If a live voice did not answer, a voice mail request was made to return calls on DHC’s toll free number. No listing was abandoned until at least six (6) calls were made.

All tolled 52 responses with units available were received. Not every question on the survey was answered by each respondent so numbers don’t always add up. Responses were received from 20 complexes, 18 private landladies/landlords, and 14 project-based Section 8 developments. Although the project-based developments don’t accept Section 8 vouchers, because of the high proportion of seniors and disabled folks at Greenfield Manor, we decided to include the availability information from these properties.

Results
Units Available: Of all landlord respondents accepting Section 8 vouchers there are 13 with one bedroom units. The range in price is between $295 - $ 620/ month. There are 11 offering two bedroom units with rents between $435 and $725/ month. Twelve respondents had three bedroom units with rents between $495 and $900/month.

Waiting Lists: Of the family units, 44 reported having waiting lists and 8 did not have waiting lists. Two of those without waiting lists simply did not keep lists or the owner was no longer going to take Section 8 tenants after the current tenants left. Of the 44 landlords with waiting lists, six (6) reported the wait to be less than six months, 12 were between six and twelve months, thirteen were between one and three years, and five reported the wait would be between one and five years.

For the elderly apartments, 16 maintained waiting lists, one did not. There were four responses stating a less than six-month wait, six reporting a six- to twelve- month wait, five had waits between one and three years, and one reported a one- to five-year wait. One landlord reported that the wait for the handicapped unit was between two and three years.

Accessible Units for Handicapped Individuals / Pet Policy: Among the private landlords and non elderly complexes, only one stated having (three) low level accessible units leaving one to wonder if the units are fully accessible. Only one respondent stated that pets were permitted.

In the elderly/handicapped complexes, nine reported offering handicapped accessible units, although of these respondents, four said yes, there are first floor units, again leaving the fully accessible question open. In these developments, two said that pets were permitted and another said they "prefer not" to allow pets.

Rents in Excess of Section 8 Payment: Thirty two respondents stated that tenants were required to pay above and beyond what the voucher does not cover. This means that addition to paying the standard portion of their rent, most often 30 percent of gross adjusted income, these Section 8 tenants will be rent-burdened above what it generally considered an appropriate portion of their income.

Conclusion / Recommendations
The original impetus was to get a clearer picture of what may be available for Section 8 tenants wishing to relocate from Greenfield Manor Apartments which is located in a very low (< 3 %) vacancy area. Though this is a only snapshot of Section 8-eligible apartments in New Castle County with no expectation of a full scale investigation, it nonetheless sheds light on challenges faced by Section 8 voucher holders seeking housing throughout the County. The survey reveals disturbing patterns from general lack of availability of eligible units to answers about of pets which appear to violate Fair Housing law. The fact that many phone calls, being made at different times of the day/week, to listed landlords went unanswered after several tries, even after being given a toll free number is troublesome. In addition, there were some inappropriate responses given to the callers, some sexually suggestive, others indicating blatant prejudice about Section 8 tenants.

It is our recommendation that a standard method of tracking turned-in Section 8 vouchers be devised and implemented throughout Delaware to help housing staff make more accurate status updates. It quickly became clear that multiple listings do not hold any assurance for housing seekers that a unit appropriate for them may be available when they need it.

More vouchers and more units to receive those vouchers need to be available. Clearly there are not enough affordable housing units in the County. Planners recognize that there is a wide range of need from efficiencies to single family houses within the general renter population as well as among those with housing assistance. The 2002 bipartisan, Congressionally-chartered Millennial Housing Commission concluded in a recent report, the voucher program is "flexible, cost-effective, and successful in its mission," and should be a "linchpin" of national housing policy.

The US Department of HUD stated in their FY 2003-2008 Strategic Plan: "Success in helping the homeless achieve housing stability is affected by a variety of factors beyond HUD’s control. The incidence of homelessness is driven by macroeconomic factors such as .. the availability of low cost housing." (emphasis added)

If HUD believes that factors such as lack of available low cost housing are out of their control one can only guess at how a renter seeking affordable housing may feel. We need to work on all levels to make the recommendation of the Millennial Housing Commission a reality in Delaware.