MANSFIELD — Finding a place to rent is hard enough.
For tenants who receive government assistance, it can be even more challenging. Section 8 voucher holders may face stigmas from landlords who don’t want to deal with a government agency or fear tenants won’t hold up their end of the bargain.
That’s why Steve Andrews, executive director of the Mansfield Metropolitan Housing Authority (MMHA), said hopes to offer a tenant education program this year.
Andrews said he heard about a successful program in Alabama at a recent conference. The program, developed at the University of Wisconsin, has also been deployed by housing authorities in other states.
“They teach budgeting, how to communicate with your landlord, how to get along with your neighbors, how to take care of your unit, what’s expected of you,” Andrews explained.
“If we can get somebody to go through a course, they would get a certificate saying you’re smart-renter certified, you’ve been through these classes, so that they can take that certification to a landlord.”
Andrews said Alabama’s success came in part because the local housing authority offered to vouch for graduates. If they broke their 12-month lease or damaged the unit, the authority would reimburse the landlord.
“When they did it in Alabama, their voucher utilization went through the roof,” Andrews said.
“What they found was those who completed (the course) ended up being great renters and it was very little risk to the authority. They ended up spending very little money toward fixing any of those issues, but it made a significant difference for those who need it most in the rental market.”
Andrews said he’s currently developing curriculum, but the authority may partner with other agencies in the community to provide training.
“Catholic Charities has a great budgeting class, we’re going to maybe talk to them and see if they want to teach that portion,” he said.
“If we have other entities here locally who already know how to teach these classes and they already have them built, why reinvent the wheel?”
MMHA still pulling from voucher waiting list
The MMHA is continuing to pull names from its wait list for housing vouchers, Andrews said during a Tuesday board meeting.
The MMHA is in charge of allocating federally-funded housing vouchers through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The authority is currently allocated 1,833 Housing Choice Vouchers and 78 Mainstream Vouchers.
The authority’s voucher utilization rates have dipped slightly over the last few months, reaching 90.4 percent of Housing Choice Vouchers and 83.3 percent of Mainstream Vouchers. These rates track the number of voucher holders who are currently renting. They do not include those searching for a place to live.
The wait list, which has been closed since Jan. 1, 2023, had more than 2,200 applicants when the authority began pulling names in October. Andrews said there are still about 1,900 names.
“We’re going to be pulling at least 200 from the wait list this month,” he said. “The people we’re pulling now, they’ve been on the wait list for about two years.”
Andrews said it’s likely only a fraction of applicants from the waiting list are still eligible and interested. Even fewer are likely to find housing and a landlord willing to accept Section 8 vouchers.
“We’ll be lucky to issue about 40 to 50 vouchers out of 200,” he said. “Out of those 40 that we issue, we will be lucky to get 15, 20 (of those applicants) in a unit.”
Andrews said the authority will continue pulling names until the wait list drops between 400 and 500 applicants.
“At that point in time, we’ll have at least two and a half or three months’ worth of people to still pull and we’ll open it. But we will open it for a brief window of time and close it relatively soon.
Andrews told board members the authority is required to provide three days’ public notice before opening and closing the wait list. Updates will be posted on the authority’s website and sent out to local social service agencies.
“Once we open it, it will be a mad dash. It will be crazy,” Andrews said. “We literally could gain well over 1,000 applicants in 24 hours. That’s what I’ve seen happen in other counties.”
Agency staffing changes led to surplus in 2023
Andrews also reviewed the agency’s December financials and year-to-date financials for 2023. He told the board the authority’s incomes were approximately $31,000 over budget and its expenses were approximately $99,400 under budget for 2023.
The director said the surplus was largely due to staffing changes that occurred in 2023. The authority fired one of its deputy directors, Stephanie Hartzler, as well as a tenant counselor in April.
“We have underspent on administrative salaries because we’ve had staffing changes and so of course, when you have a position that’s not filled for about three months, that adds up, as well as employee benefits,” Andrews said.
In total, spending on administrative salaries was $47,000 under budget and employee benefits spending was $61,000 under budget.
Andrews said the authority is hiring a tenant counselor and a bookkeeper, but Hartzler’s responsibilities have been absorbed by other employees.
Andrews also updated the board on conversations with various community agencies, including the Milliron Foundation. The foundation was started with funds left behind by the late businessman and philanthropist Grant Milliron of Shelby.
Andrews said the two groups haven’t formalized a project yet, but it may involve the development of a rapid rehousing program for people who need immediate, temporary assistance to get back on their feet.
“They would like to partner with us and start solving some of the housing issues. They’ve been helping people with housing for a long time in secret, but now they want to formalize a project,” Andrews said.
“This year could be very, very busy for the authority, but a healthy one.”