“We can have all the vouchers in the world, but if we don’t have landlords willing to accept them, then we can’t house anybody. “We are tremendously grateful to landlords who have and are willing to lease to our families who have a voucher,” Russell said of the private market. More: Sarasota County Commission commits $25 million in federal funds to affordable housing Housing Crisis: Housing affordability crisis will be 'drag' on Florida's economy, expert says
One thing that could make a big difference is if more private landlords came forward, willing to accept the vouchers, he said, stressing that the process is a simple one for landlords.Ĭurrently, there are 541 private landlords with whom the authority works that are receiving the Housing Choice Vouchers, which are separate from project-based voucher programs.
“It’s nice that some of those people can put in an application and can get some assistance. “People are reaching out to us every day, left and right,” he said. Russell expects the number of applicants to far exceed those in 2019, due to the lack of affordable housing options and one of the highest rates of rental increases in the country. The last time the Sarasota Housing Authority opened its Housing Choice Voucher waiting list was 2019, when about 9,000 applicants vied for 1,500 spots, officials said. “The timing is good because the need is greater than it has been in perhaps 20 years or more,” said William Russell, president and CEO of the housing authority. The rest of the 1,250 who make it onto the list could be waiting several years before receiving a voucher, though the authority hopes to start working with at least 500 families in the next six months to start the eligibility screening process. Housing authority officials expect to be able to issue vouchers right away to between 50 and 100 families. Rent-burdened: United Way Suncoast's new data shows half of all local renters now rent-burdened Affordable Housing: As rents go up and evictions increase, Sarasota's seniors struggle to find places to live
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