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A Guide to Help You Understand Section 8 as a Salt Lake City Landlord

Are you a real estate investor in Salt Lake City, Utah? Does Section 8 of the Fair Housing Law keep you awake at night?

The vacancy rate in Salt Lake City was 5.7% in 2019. Understanding what that means to you and your rental property investment is essential.

Here's a helpful guide to help you understand Section 8 as a landlord in Salt Lake City, Utah.

What Is Section 8?

This is a program to support tenants in finding and paying for housing. It's available under the HUD Housing Choice Voucher Program.

Tenants can have up to 70% of their rent paid by the housing authority. They have to follow a strict set of rules in order to continue to qualify for payments.

Guaranteed Rental Payments

Accepting Section 8 tenants is one way to guarantee on-time payment of rents up to a specific amount. The housing authority makes the payment directly to the landlord. The landlord is responsible for collecting the rest.

Tenants are prescreened by the housing authority and HUD will support you in tenant placement.

Section 8 Landlord Incentive Program

This part of the program is designed to support landlords. It allows a landlord to apply for financial help to offset damages caused by tenants. 

Damages have to be more than regular wear and tear. Before they can claim damages, they have to get a judgment against a tenant from any Utah legal court. 

How Can You Protect Your Investment?

When you hire a professional management company, you will protect your real estate investment. Property marketing is only one part of what they can do for you.

Proper screening of tenants is key. They ensure you have the information you need to make the right choice. A good rental property management company sets strict qualifications. They will select a higher-quality tenant for your property.

Tenant background checks are important. Security deposits protect you from the cost of damage to your investment property. 

Ensure that your property management company is willing to wait for the right tenant. When you rush to fill a vacancy you might not make the best choice. 

They understand the rules surrounding pets in a rental property and whether support animals are outside of the rules. Frequent rental property inspections are essential to ensure damage is not occurring.

Timely rent collection following strict rules is one way to ensure payments are received on a regular basis. Lease enforcement allows the manager to evaluate lease renewals as they come up. 

Eviction protection coverage reduces the cost of evictions and protects you from bad tenants. Be sure to ask if prospective managers offer that service.

When you're evaluating a property management company, consider property maintenance. Ensuring the building and grounds are properly maintained is one way to protect your investment.

Turnkey property management includes all of these services and many more.

Discover the Wolfnest Difference

At Wolfnest Real Estate and Property Management, we pride ourselves on setting strict rules and guidelines. We screen all applicants equally, including section 8 applicants.

We only accept tenants that we would be willing to place in our own rental properties. Your investment in us is 100% satisfaction guaranteed.


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