to slash the number of Section 8 renters in Lancaster, officials are
proposing amendments to the city's rental housing ordinance that would
allow business licenses to be withheld from landlords who want to rent
to low-income tenants with federal vouchers.
Officials contend
that there are more than 2,300 residential units occupied by Section 8
tenants in their city, about 12% of the total number of vouchers
administered by the Housing Authority of Los Angeles County. The
federal program provides rental subsidies for the needy.
Section 8" under the new ordinance, said Vice Mayor Ronald D. Smith.
"We would at least like to stem the tide. All we want is a fair and
equitable share."
Last year, Smith wrote to U.S. Reps. Howard
"Buck" McKeon and Kevin McCarthy, Republicans who represent the
Antelope Valley, requesting help in appealing to the federal Department
of Housing and Urban Development for approval to amend the city's
business license ordinance for rental housing.
The amended
ordinance would bar licenses for landlords who intend to rent
residential property to Section 8 voucher-holders. It would not affect
existing Section 8 landlords and tenants.
Officials at the county's Housing Authority
acknowledged that Lancaster has the highest number of Section 8
contracts, out of the 20,095 federal contracts administered countywide.
But they put the number at 2,100, or 10% of the county's contracts.
Maria
Badrakhan, acting assistant executive director for the Housing
Authority, declined to comment on any potential legal implications
regarding Lancaster's proposal. But, she said, "there are federal fair
housing laws that need to be considered."
She also rebutted
allegations by Lancaster officials that her agency was actively
encouraging Section 8 voucher-holders to move to Lancaster, stressing
that "federal law does not allow us to steer folks anywhere."
More
than 100,000 people are on the waiting list for Section 8 vouchers in
L.A. County, Badrakhan said. Lancaster is an attractive location
because of "the affordability, the quality of housing and the
willingness of landlords to participate in the [Section 8] program,"
she said.
Several affordable housing advocates and landlord
groups condemned the city's proposal, particularly when the number of
homeless in the county is estimated at about 73,000.
Lancaster's
proposal is an "out-and-out attack on low-income people," said Larry
Gross, executive director of the L.A.-based Coalition for Economic
Survival, a tenants rights group. "They are putting up a sign on the
borders of Lancaster saying that poor people are not welcome here."
James
Clarke, executive director of the Apartment Assn. of Greater Los
Angeles, which represents about 25,000 owners and managers of rental
properties, called Lancaster's proposal "outrageous." He said the
vacancy rate for rentals in L.A. County had gone from 3% to 8% in the
last six months.
"There are empty apartments, and landlords who
want to fill these apartments would be more than willing to rent to
Section 8, because they are guaranteed the rent," Clarke said.
Lindsey
Mask, McKeon's communications director, said in a written response that
the congressman had asked HUD "to look into giving the city of
Lancaster more flexibility in certifying which property owners are
allowed to rent their property to Section 8 voucher tenants."
Nick
Bouknight, a spokesman for McCarthy, said the congressman was also
helping Lancaster to "research options so that they can find the best
course of action that works for our neighborhoods."
Norm
Hickling, L.A. County Supervisor Mike Antonovich's field deputy for the
Antelope Valley, said the county would not support any program
specifically targeting the business licenses of potential Section 8
landlords.
Vice Mayor Smith said the large number of
foreclosures in the city has resulted in potential investors snapping
up the properties and converting them to Section 8 rentals. The
increase in federal voucher tenants has placed a large burden on the
city's social services and contributed to crime, he said.
"While
the intent of Section 8 was well-meaning, it is a failed program,"
Smith said. "It has turned into an abused system. We are trying to
clean up the program so that our neighborhoods are safe."
Meanwhile,
the city is also considering making Section 8 landlords pay for
expenses incurred for policing their rental units. And investigators
would start tracking Section 8 renters who break the rules of their
contracts, and push for their vouchers to be revoked, officials said.
"If
you use Section 8 for what it was intended for, and you want to come to
Lancaster, that's fine," Smith said. If not, "we're going to track you
down, we're going to find you and we're going to send you packing."
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