Section 8 affordable housing in short supply

Editor’s note: This story is part of an ongoing series on affordable housing in Oklahoma City in partnership with the local media collaborativeOklahoma Media Center, the nonprofit newsroomThe Frontier,The Oklahoman and the Oklahoma City-based magazineCurbside Chronicle.  

Kristi Colbert is starting over at age 54.  

After she left an abusive relationship, Colbert spent time at a women’s shelter in Oklahoma City.

She applied for rental assistance through the federally funded Housing Choice Voucher program through the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency. The program is commonly known as Section 8.

But when Colbert worked her way through the agency’s list of local Section 8-friendly landlords, many told her they no longer accepted the vouchers. 

There’s a shortage of landlords in Oklahoma willing to accept housing vouchers. Landlords can charge higher rents on the open market, and properties must pass an inspection to receive rental assistance, slowing down the leasing process. Many landlords also are unwilling to lease to low-income renters with past evictions, even with a housing voucher. 

 

 

Out of options, Colbert moved into an Oklahoma City public housing complex, where she said she didn’t feel safe.

Colbert signed up for the Section 8 waiting list three times over a period of three years, but she was unsuccessful in finding a place to live before her voucher expired the first two times. She needed a place where she felt secure. On her third try, she was able to find a new home earlier this year in a peaceful neighborhood she likes. 

“You can make any house a home and clean it up, but you can’t change safe,” said Colbert, who now works as an assistant manager for Curbside Flowers, a floral shop operated by the Oklahoma City-based Homeless Alliance. 

COMPLEX CONCERNS:Public housing is disappearing as solution as unmet demand rises in Oklahoma

Rent hikes have made affordable housing problems worse

Oklahoma City saw double-digit rent increases over the past year, but federal funding for the Housing Choice program hasn’t kept pace. In Oklahoma City, the wait for a housing voucher already can be as long as two and a half years. Even with vouchers, some families can’t find housing in Oklahoma City.

Agencies that administer voucher programs can lose some federal funding if their vouchers don’t get used. Limited funding coupled with rent increases mean Oklahoma housing officials will be able to house fewer families in the coming year. 

Housing Choice vouchers are the federal government’s largest initiative to help seniors, disabled and low-income households afford rent on the private market. The federally funded housing subsidies are paid directly to private landlords on behalf of participating renters. Tenants then pay the difference between the actual rent and the housing subsidy.