Long Beach is looking to incentivize the creation of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and design a program to incentivize ADU owners to accept Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers.
The two-birds-one-stone initiative, passed by the Long Beach City Council Tuesday, intends to increase the number of housing options available to Housing Choice voucher recipients while cutting costs for accessory dwelling unit owners.
During a previous council meeting, a representative from the Housing Authority said that the department was having trouble finding landlords who would accept Housing Choice Vouchers.
The voicemail of Housing Authority Bureau Manager Alison King states that “the Section 8 waiting list is closed and the project-based voucher list is open, but it is a long waiting list and not a short-term solution.”
Otherwise known as Section 8 vouchers, Long Beach’s Housing Choice Vouchers are federally funded and given to very low-income households ($53,600 for a family of three). The vouchers act as rental assistance subsidies so low-income residents, including those who are formerly homeless, can afford to live in Long Beach.
In fiscal year 2018-19, the vouchers helped 6,450 low-income families cover rent at their subsidized homes, according to an article by the Long Beach Media Collaborative.
The story notes that there “aren’t enough landlords in the city who accept the vouchers or have rents within voucher clients’ reach.”
The proposal, authored by Councilmember Stacy Mungo, suggests a number of potential actions to incentivize ADU owners and thereby increase the number of units available to voucher recipients.
The proposal includes recommendations to: send letters to ADU owners about the program, reimburse fees for water and gas meter installation if the landlord accepts a Housing Choice voucher, or provide ongoing rebates for certain city services.
Mungo cited an unnamed report from a department head that said between 20 to 30% of homeless individuals counted in the 2022 Homeless Point-in-Time Count have housing vouchers.
“If we’re able to better incentivize landlords to take the housing vouchers, we would potentially get another 600 people off the street,” Mungo said.
“There are always stigmas with the Housing Choice Voucher Program, and a lot has changed about the program. The modern Housing Choice Voucher program is very different than the Section 8 program of the ‘80s or ‘90s.”
—Vice Mayor Rex Richardson
Councilmember Al Austin called the proposal “innovative” given the growing popularity of ADUs in Long Beach, citing 400 applications for ADUs this year.
During public comment, resident Senay Kenfe, who owns eight units in central Long Beach, said that he houses Section 8 voucher recipients, but that all of his tenants are from the Los Angeles Housing Authority.
He said he wasn’t incentivized to accept vouchers from the Long Beach Housing Authority because the process was “strenuous” with “months and months of delay,” though he did not note when he applied for the program. Kenfe also said the pricing on the vouchers was “antiquated” and should be updated to market standards.
Councilmember Mary Zendejas heard similar criticism from property owners in her district, saying “the time it takes to get approved to take these vouchers, sometimes, is not ideal. That’s one of the things that holds them back.”
Mungo acknowledged that significant barriers existed in the approval process, but that the council worked with the Housing Authority a few years ago to add incentives to the process. For example, the Housing Authority will pay landlords to hold their units for a Section 8 recipient.
“There are always stigmas with the Housing Choice Voucher Program, and a lot has changed about the program,” Vice Mayor Rex Richardson said. “The modern Housing Choice voucher program is very different than the Section 8 program of the ‘80s or ‘90s.”
On Thursday, Aug. 11, Price’s office will partner with the Housing Authority to provide a workshop to landlords interested in learning more about Housing Choice Vouchers. For more information, email district3@longbeach.gov.
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