Anyone who’s ever searched for a rental on Craigslist has seen the parenthetical message next to a listing: No Section 8.
It’s a barrier to many who can’t afford Sebastopol’s median rent of approximately $2,000.
The Section 8 housing voucher choice program assists low-income individuals and families with their rental payments. In Sonoma County, the program is administered by the county’s Community Development Commission (CDC), spearheaded by executive director Margaret Van Vliet.
According to Van Vliet, individuals who use vouchers pay 30 percent of their income toward rent; the rest is covered by federal funding provided to and administered by the CDC.
“Section 8 is like a three-way contract between a landlord, tenant and us,” Van Vliet said. “If you get a voucher, your housing is stable.”
Van Vliet explained that Section 8 vouchers make up the difference if an individual’s income changes.
“If someone has fewer hours or their shifts change and they make less money,” she said the CDC will work with the renter to make sure their rent is paid on time.
According to Van Vliet, the CDC manages roughly 3,000 vouchers throughout Sonoma County, excluding Santa Rosa.
“These people are on disability or are seniors. They are on fixed incomes or low incomes,” Van Vliet said.
A Section 8 voucher is a prized possession in the county; Van Vliet said there are anywhere between 7,000 and 20,000 people on the waiting list, “depending on which numbers you use.”
Van Vliet acknowledged the discrepancy and blamed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the governmental organization responsible for funding Section 8, for moving too slowly.
“HUD isn’t keeping pace with the reality of Sonoma County,” she said.
Additionally, according to the annual Housing Needs Assessment report issued this month by the California Housing Partnership, the federal and state governments have reduced investment in affordable housing by more than $41 million annually since 2008. For the 2015-16 year, HUD provided just over $5 million to Sonoma County, a 13 percent reduction from 2008-09.
“That’s an 87 percent reduction,” said Larry Florin, chief executive officer of Burbank Housing.
The report also states the county needs 17,144 more affordable rental homes to meet the needs of its lowest-income renters.
“The biggest single problem is the sheer lack of available rental units,” Van Vliet said.
Van Vliet told a gathering of about 20 landlords, renters, developers and community members in Sebastopol during the fourth installment of the city’s housing committee meetings that the lack of rental units is a major community issue.
The housing committee was created by Mayor Una Glass after the city began discussing rent control and voted to place a moratorium on rent increases throughout the city at the end of last year. The committee is focused on exploring creative solutions to providing more affordable housing in Sebastopol.
Sebastopol has about 1,800 rental units. According to data from Affordable Housing Online, the city maintains a stock of roughly 275 Section 8 units. Additionally, Burbank Heights, Petaluma Avenue Homes, Bodega Hills Apartments and Gravenstein North Apartments provide housing options for low-income individuals and families.
It’s not enough, Florin said.
“There’s a shrinking pot of resources to meet the needs,” he added.
Statewide assistance could be on the way, Florin added. Currently two state Senate bills are making their way through the legislature that could establish a permanent housing fund that would help cities establish more affordable housing.
“But,” Florin warned, “It’s only about $1.5 million statewide. So that’s not that much when you think of how big California is.”
On a more local level, Sonoma County struggles to qualify for regional funding assistance, as it competes with Alameda and other Bay Area counties.
“I wish I had good news,” Florin said.