Housing Voucher Waitlist Opens, But Places To Use Them In Nashville Are Few

The Metro Development and Housing Agency is opening the waiting list for Section 8 housing vouchers this week. It’s the first time the city’s housing authority has accepted new applicants since the summer of 2015. But in a market as hot as Nashville’s, government vouchers are hardly a fast pass to affordable housing. 

Getting a Section 8 voucher means you can get affordable housing on the private market, since most of your rent is subsidized. But the reality is that because Nashville’s rental market is so active, coupled with the fact that there are no local ordinances banning discrimination against Section 8 voucher holders, there is little — if any —
incentive for landlords to take them.

What’s more, many of the buildings that routinely accepted vouchers in the past are getting snapped up by developers and
flipped into market rate rentals catering to a more affluent tenant.

Because of the demand for rental housing, the city has extended the window of time to use a Section 8 voucher from three months to four months. 

The current round of applications are online only. Those who need assistance filling them out can go to the Randee Rogers Training Center located at 1419 Rosa L. Parks Blvd. this Thursday and Friday between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.