City to cap waitlist for rent subsidies

By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer

Faced with a 10-year backlog for a rental voucher, the city of Honolulu says it no longer will accept applications for federal housing assistance — known as Section 8 — as of May 27.

The temporary suspension comes with an estimated 10,500 people on the city's waiting list and a shrinking pool of rentals, the result of a booming Hawai'i real estate market that has prompted many property owners to sell for big profits and has left the remaining rentals costing more.

Homeless service providers say the city's action has very little practical impact because the waiting list is already so long, but the move has negative implications for those who had hoped to have a home of their own in the future.

"Fundamentally, it is not going to change anything," said Darlene Hein, chairwoman for Partners In Care, a coalition of service providers and organizations for the homeless. "You close the list because of how many people you can have on a list. But it changes the hope. People who hope to get a place to live, they could say, 'I will get on the Section 8 list and someday I'll get a home.' Now they say 'I can't even get on the list.' "

Even those who got on the list before it closes can't expect to receive a voucher until 2015.

It's not unusual for a program to temporarily stop accepting applications, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the city has done so before. In 1994, it stopped accepting applicants because the waiting list was about 8,000 names long. The list was not reopened until 2001, seven years later.

The state and each county have separate Section 8 programs. The state program on O'ahu stopped placing names on its waiting list on April 30, 1999, and there are still 1,003 people waiting for a voucher.

In its announcement this week, the city said the suspension of applications will allow city staff to update the waiting list.

"The list reflects the resources available from the federal government as well as the rental market," said Gary Iwai, city community assistance admin-istrator. "The notice itself is not intended to give any other message than we are closing it because it is too long."

The city receives about $30 million a year in Section 8 rental subsidies from the federal government.

Last year, Hawai'i received about $75.3 million for its voucher programs. This year, the figure has been reduced to about $74.5 million after HUD changed its rules to pay states only for the vouchers that are used during a random three-month period.

In the past, more than 12,000 Hawai'i residents had been eligible every year to receive vouchers. However, only 10,467 vouchers were used during the review period last year, so the federal government reduced the funding based on the lower number. Critics of the cut complained, however, that the reason all 12,000 vouchers weren't used was because of a lack of affordable rental units.

Once in a unit, voucher holders can stay in the program for years, as long as they meet income requirements. That, too, limits the number of new applicants who can receive help.

Larry Bush, HUD regional public affairs officer in San Francisco, said next year's funding depends on the budget now being debated in Congress.

"There is a request for money that would provide for about the same amount of people being housed with vouchers that there currently are," he said. "It has been a very tight budget time."

Hein, the Partners In Care chairwoman, said with Hawai'i's booming real estate market luring property owners to sell rental units for big profits, there are fewer rentals available and those that remain cost more.

Suspending the list "is an acknowledgement that there are a lot of people who need help and can't afford the rents," Hein said. "If you have a lot of money, you can find a place to rent. (But) there are a whole slew of people that are not able to compete in the market today."

A study conducted for the state estimates there is a need in Hawai'i for 30,000 affordable housing units — 17,000 rentals and 13,000 sales units.

Laura E. Thielen, executive director of the Affordable Housing and Homeless Alliance, said she is more concerned with losing additional vouchers than suspending applications that will take years to fill anyway.

"It's a cycle where we lose vouchers because we don't have affordable housing but we don't have affordable housing so the vouchers we have can't be used," Thielen said. "The calls I get are pure frustration. People just don't know what to do at this point."

One of the lucky ones is a single mother of three, Dhellary. She had been homeless, but is now living in a two-bedroom apartment in Wahiawa.

Dhellary, who did not want her last name published because of the possible stigma attached to accepting public assistance, was on the waiting list for three years before she found a home with her Section 8 voucher.

"I was on the streets," she said. "My kids are able to grow up normal now, not running from the police, and I can provide a better life for them."

She said there are many homeless people who have jobs and are not using drugs but cannot find a place to live.

"They want to improve their lives, (but) they just cannot afford it," she said. "I couldn't afford the rent without a voucher. Now I'm able to come home now, lock my door and not worry."

Rep. Michael Kahikina, D-44th (Nanakuli, Honokai Hale), chairman of the House Housing Committee, said the state needs to work harder to develop affordable housing.

"Instead of cutting people off, we need to find a solution," Kahikina said. "What kind of hope are we giving to our people? We are in a housing crisis, and this will affect the poorest among us for years to come. This is not just a story about the numbers, but about the impact on real people who stand to lose their homes and their dignity."

Kahikina said the Omnibus Housing bill that the Legislature passed this session gives greater flexibility to developers seeking rental housing loans and grants. But more needs to be done, he said.

The bill is awaiting action by Gov. Linda Lingle.

Reach James Gonser at 535-2431 or jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com.