Launched in August 1974, the program provides rental assistance to income-eligible individuals and families across the country.
Section 8 in Erie: Brandon Penn
Brandon Penn is an Erie-based landlord who rents properties through the federal Section 8 rental assistance program.
Danielle Johnson believes her life was saved by the federal Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program.
Johnson, 48, lives in a one-bedroom apartment in Erie. She is one of more than 1,000 city residents who currently hold housing certificates under the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that is administered in the city by the Erie Housing Authority.
Section 8 was signed into law by President Gerald Ford 50 years ago, on August 22, 1974. The program provides rental assistance to income-eligible individuals and families, and renters include low-income families, elderly residents, veterans, and people with disabilities.
Johnson, a U.S. Air Force veteran, is often referred to by her middle name, Samone. She grew up in a military family in New Jersey and Delaware and came to Erie in 2010 after fleeing what she described as a domestic violence situation in another state.
She and her three children, now adults, lived in shelters and emergency housing before Johnson learned about HUD’s Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program, which provides Section 8 housing licenses to eligible veterans.
“We lived in various public housing projects here in Erie for seven years before I moved into this apartment myself about a year ago,” said Johnson, who asked the Erie Times-News not to disclose her exact location. “My children are all grown up now, so I’m on my own.”
Johnson lives on about $1,000 a month in pension. She pays $160 a month in subsidized rent.
The market monthly rent for her apartment is $630; the housing authority pays her landlord the remaining $470 using HUD funds.
“One of the reasons people stay in abusive situations is because they don’t have an alternative plan. Another is the stigma associated with seeking any kind of help,” Johnson said. “I’m grateful for Section 8 because it gave me another choice. An opportunity to provide a stable housing situation for myself and my children. I’m not ashamed of the help I’ve received.”
More: Want more information about Section 8 in the Erie Region? Here’s how to get it
Section 8 Breakdown
Programs like Section 8 are critical when it comes to housing affordability in a city like Erie, where 48% of the nearly 45,000 housing units are rentals, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and more than 25% of the city’s residents live below the federal poverty line.
According to Zumper.com, a national real estate platform, the average market rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Erie is $725.
A Section 8 tenant typically pays about 30% of their monthly adjusted gross income for rent and utilities. The remaining rent is paid directly to the landlord by the local Section 8 housing authority.
Annual Section 8 income limits vary by applicant and are based on a number of factors, but in the Erie area they start at $16,950 for an individual and $31,200 for a family of four, according to HUD.
In addition, the Erie Housing Authority data states:
- There are currently 1,046 Section 8 vouchers in use in the city for privately owned rental apartments, various affordable housing developments, and other locations.
- There are 2,421 applicants on the city’s housing authority’s waiting list.
- There are currently 389 Housing Authority landlords participating in the Section 8 program.
- Currently, 90 Section 8 vouchers are being used to provide housing for veterans like Danielle Johnson.
- Another 90 vouchers will be used to assist formerly homeless people at various locations, including the Columbus Apartments, 655 W. 16th St., and the Lodge on Sass, 202 West Ninth St., both operated by Community Shelter Services.
- According to data from the Erie Housing Authority, 34% of voucher holders are employed.
- 51% of Section 8 renters are white, 48% are black, and 2% are of another race. 89% of voucher holders are non-Hispanic/Latino renters.
- Almost half of the voucher households in the city, namely 48%, have children. In addition, 51% have at least one person with a disability and 22% of voucher households have at least one elderly resident.
Section 8 units must also pass a HUD-approved inspection both before a tenant moves in and every one to two years thereafter. The goal of the inspections is to ensure that the rental properties are “decent, safe and sanitary,” according to HUD.
Stacie Sullivan, who oversees Housing Choice Vouchers and tenant selection in public housing at the Housing Authority, said the authority’s use of the vouchers has “remained roughly the same as it was five years ago.”
Section 8 waitlists are opened regularly to accept new applications. Most recently, the list was open for five days in May. Sullivan said applicants can be on the waitlist anywhere from “a couple of months or so to a couple of years, depending on how many applicants there are and where they are on the waitlist.”
Sullivan said the Erie Housing Authority’s Section 8 waiting list in 2021 included 3,427 applicants. This was the last time new applications were accepted before May. This was also the first year the Erie Housing Authority accepted applications online.
“Rental assistance”
Dusti Dennis, the housing authority’s executive director, said the authority’s Section 8 budget for 2024 is about $6.7 million, with the majority of that amount going to landlords in the form of rental subsidies.
“Think about what housing costs and what day-to-day living costs,” Dennis said. “Being able to pay rent is usually a challenge for many people, so being able to provide rental assistance to those who are eligible is really important.”
Because the percentage of people living below the federal poverty line in Erie is nearly double the national average of 12.5%, census figures show “that rental assistance is very helpful for some people,” Dennis said.
Brandon Penn, landlord and property manager and president of the Apartment Association of Northwestern Pennsylvania, has witnessed this development firsthand and from more than one perspective.
Penn, 35, owns or manages dozens of rental properties in the city and has been renting Section 8 apartments to tenants since 2015.
“I had my first child when I was 18,” Penn said. “I was on food stamps and making $8 an hour. I understand the need for programs that help workers and help them have a better life.”
Penn said he has heard the myths and stereotypes about Section 8 repeated from other people over the years.
The tenants do not take care of the rental unit.
Tenants caught under Section 8 of the Tenancy Act lead to criminality and unwillingness to pay rent.
By renting to tenants in accordance with Section 8, tenants with market rental prices are kept away.
Once you begin accepting tenants under Section 8, you are obligated to continue to do so.
“A lot of it isn’t true. And my tenants, who are insured under Section 8, aren’t taking advantage of the system,” Penn said.
“Sure, I’ve seen both Section 8 and non-Section 8 tenants trash an apartment. But my Section 8 tenants are some of the best I have… The Section 8 tenants don’t want to lose that voucher.”
“I am very happy here”
The Erie County Housing Authority handles countywide Section 8 rentals outside the city of Erie. Currently, 901 vouchers have been redeemed and there is a waiting list of 1,186 applications, said Beverly Weaver, the authority’s executive director.
There are 275 landlords currently participating in the county housing authority’s Section 8 program, Weaver said.
One of those tenants, housed under the district’s Section 8, is 71-year-old Cinda Burrous, who has lived in a rent-subsidized one-bedroom apartment on West Smith Street in Corry for three years.
Burrous pays $375 a month in rent plus utilities. She lives on about $1,100 a month in disability/pension payments.
“It’s clean, it’s a nice place and I can live a healthier life because I don’t have to constantly worry about finances,” said Burrous, who has been treated for mental health issues in the past. “I pay a reasonable rent and I’m very happy here.”
Landlord wanted
While local Section 8 programs easily find enough applicants, the situation may be different for landlords.
Dennis, the director of the Erie Housing Authority, said the authority is constantly looking for additional landlords for the program due to demand for housing, especially units for large families.
The housing authority offers landlords a $100 bonus for each new Section 8 lease. If a landlord recommends another property owner for the program and that recommendation results in a new Section 8 lease, the recommending landlord will receive $250 and the newly referred landlord will also receive a $100 bonus, Dennis said.
“Being a landlord in general can be difficult, and maybe that’s part of it,” Dennis said. “And there are misconceptions about the Section 8 program, too. But it’s really up to the landlord to screen their tenants and find the right people. I think most landlords have a pretty good experience once they get into the program.”
David Zakharchuk is one of these new Section 8 landlords.
The 27-year-old respiratory therapist at AHN Saint Vincent began renting to Section 8 tenants two years ago. He owns two rental properties in Erie, including a four-unit building in the 200 block of East Fourth Street.
“You hear, ‘Oh, don’t do Section 8, you’ll get terrible tenants,'” Zakharchuk said. “But honestly, since I’ve been doing this, it’s not a problem anymore. Pick a good tenant and they won’t ruin your apartment.”
Zakharchuk believes that’s exactly what happened to him with 65-year-old Rene Walker, who pays $178 a month in rent for her second-floor apartment in Zakharchuk’s East Fourth Street property.
Walker said she lives on a pension of $1,009 a month. In the past, she has rented two other Section 8 apartments.
“If you ask me, the landlords who don’t want to deal with the tenants, inspections or whatever are missing out,” Walker said. “I can’t afford to pay higher rent. A lot of others can’t.”
“Section 8 is a huge help,” Walker said. “I appreciate it, I respect it, and I’m glad I have it.”
Contact Kevin Flowers at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @ETNflowers.
