Mr. Luce appears to be new to the game. The fact is this - if a section 8 tenant wrecks a house or apartment, they do not lose their voucher in Minnesota. In fact I brought this fact to the attention of Representative Ramstad and Senator Grams in December 1997. They referred me to Jerry Benoit, one of the heads of HUD in Washington DC and on 12-19-97, and he told me that it was up to each state individually if they would allow these destructive tenants to remain in the section 8 program. Our liberal state decided that it was ok to leave them in the program. In fact, this was one of the reasons that Rick Giller left as head of the local Section 8 office.
I also received a letter from Thomas Feeney, Coordinator for HUD in Minnesota on 12-16-97 that states, " Minneapolis Public Housing has elected not to release participant (tenant) information." In other words, they can remain in the program and we do not have to tell you or anyone! After 5 straight destructive section 8 tenants, that was it for me! If you would like, Mr. Luce, I would be happy to meet with you and show you proof that shows the difference between the damages caused by non section 8 low to moderate income tenants and section 8 tenants. In fact, I would even be willing to possibly hire you to collect on the large judgements that I obtained against them for these excessive damages. Oops, I forgot. If a judgement debtor is on any type of assistance of any kind, you can not collect. I would also venture to say that Mr. Cullen has no Inner city of Minneapolis section 8 tenants. My guess is that his section 8 tenants are in Hopkins - just a guess. Maybe he can comment on this? Steve Meldahl Jordan (work) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gregory D. Luce" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'Susan Maricle'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, February 07, 2003 12:59 PM Subject: RE: [Mpls] "No Longer the Giveaway County Board" > Just some clarifications and comments concerning Section 8 issues and > vouchers. > > Under the program, Section 8 pays what is called a Housing Assistance > Payment (HAP) directly to the landlord. The HAP is the difference > between what the tenant pays and the lesser of 1. the actual rent or 2. > the established Fair Market Rent (known as "FMR"). A section 8 tenant > pays rent in the amount of 30% of the tenant's houshold income. So, as > an example, a landlord charges $1,000 for an apartment and the tenants' > household income is $1,000 per month. The tenant pays $300 to the > landlord for rent, and Section 8 pays the remaining $700.00 to the > landlord. > > The Fair Market Rent is essentially a ceiling on rent a landlord can > charge to a Section 8 tenant. FMR levels are established annually by > HUD. In Minneapolis-St. Paul, the fair market rent for a 1 bedroom is > $713, a 2 bedroom $912, a 3 bedroom $1,233 and a 4 bedroom $1,397. > These are in line with average rents in the City. Utility costs > typically also factor in to the allowable overall rent that can be > charged. Charging side payments or under the table payments to a > section 8 tenant is illegal (e.g., you pay your $300 share, plus a $100 > side payment, and I'll let you have the place cuz I'm also getting $700 > from MPHA). > > Steve Meldahl implies or directly states that Section 8 tenants cause > more damage than other non-subsidized tenants, based on his anecdotal > stories. Other than those anecdotal stories (which I have very serious > reasons to doubt) there are no factual bases for concluding that section > 8 tenants are any different than other low-income tenants, or tenants in > general. While Mr. Meldahl states that Section 8 tenants are > "judgment-proof," the possibility of losing a voucher subsidy is a > significant penalty for a family and one that most families take very > seriously, so there are certainly consequences for a tenant who > excessively damages property or fails to live up to the tenant's end of > the bargain. > > And thanks for Mr. Cullen, who spoke up as a landlord who has positive > experiences renting to folks with Section 8 vouchers. > > Gregory Luce > St. Paul > > > TEMPORARY REMINDER: > 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. > 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. > > ________________________________ > > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
