Philadelphia Presents Rent Increases with Housing Vouchers

One of the housing strategies that the city of Philadelphia has implemented to provide its residents with greater access to affordable housing is the Voucher Program.

Through the Philadelphia Housing Authority, and largely thanks to federal government funds, residents with limited or low economic resources in the city can apply for a significant discount on rental contracts. However, for a resident to use it as part of the rent, this housing voucher must be accepted by the property owner.

A recent study by the Housing Authority has revealed that only the city of Philadelphia currently has nearly 20,000 people benefiting from this voucher program. They also recognize that the city’s real estate market is increasingly adjusting to this payment system, a situation they believe was caused by the high rate of construction and vacancies of these properties.

For about 3 years now, and due to the property tax reduction program, Philadelphia has been experiencing a boom in construction and housing projects that supply the market in such a way that the housing supply is excessively high, leading to a high vacancy rate.

In order to occupy their properties, avoid losing money, and compete in the housing market, many owners and real estate developers have now resorted to various market strategies such as reducing rental prices and even accepting tenants with housing vouchers.

Although previously the housing voucher program was openly rejected by thousands of property owners, to the point that many of them were sued on the grounds that their decisions when choosing a tenant were discriminatory and violated city regulations, now the high competitiveness and excess housing supply are making this no longer the case.

In the past, it was almost impossible for areas like Fishtown, East Germantown, and Northern Liberties to have owners who accepted tenants with these housing vouchers. However, due to policy changes in PHA, more and more owners are encouraged to accept tenants with these vouchers.

Thanks to the policy changes in PHA, tenants benefiting from these housing vouchers now have more housing options, and they can even live in areas considered luxurious, without being limited in their opportunity to have affordable housing.

Among the changes that have been incorporated, which greatly benefit program participants, is the reduction of the time to occupy the housing. Now, when the tenant finds the housing and the owner submits the required documents, a visit by the competent authority for the housing inspection is promptly scheduled to determine the rental price. What used to take approximately 4 months can now be done in just about a month and a half.

Available Foreclosures:

Fishtown: 12 homes available

Northern Liberties: 8 homes available

East Germantown: 15 homes available

By Elías DaSilva | 15 de Noviembre de 2024.