SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio city council committee unanimously advanced a pair of proposals forward on Tuesday aimed at helping veterans with federal housing vouchers find suitable places to live.
One proposal, pushed by the American GI Forum of Bexar County and championed by Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, an Air Force veteran, would prohibit landlords from refusing to rent to a veteran solely because they would be paying with a voucher.
A second proposal, backed by Councilwoman Teri Castillo (D5) and other council members, would offer incentive payments to landlords who agree to take voucher payments, with a focus on helping veterans.
“I think that this is an opportunity where it’s a ‘this and that’ approach. There’s carrots and a stick approach to this,” said Councilman Ed Mungia (D4), the chairman of the five-member Planning and Community Development Committee, during Tuesday’s meeting.
Close to 2,000 veterans in San Antonio use Housing Choice Vouchers — commonly known as Section 8 — or vouchers through the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) program, according to estimates presented by city staff.
But landlords don’t have to take the vouchers, which come with inspection requirements and concerns about payment delays.
“Right now, it takes roughly 60 to 90 days to receive payment once a VASH housing voucher is approved and the lease is signed,” Wayne Marinik, who owns a property management company, told the committee on Tuesday.
Though statistics shared by the city show only an estimated 100 veterans with vouchers are currently seeking housing, the commander of the local American GI Forum said that doesn’t show the full picture.
A veteran may be able to find a place that accepts vouchers, Pete Bernal said, but it may not be the right place for them.
“That’s the whole concept of this is trying to push, let them have their choice,” he told KSAT after Tuesday’s meeting. “Let them say, ‘Well, I don’t want to live in this area because it’s high crime rate. Put me in a place where I could be closer to my doctors. Put me in a place where I could be closer to whoever I want to be close to, to my family.’"
The incentive program is expected to be included as part of the city council’s budget discussions. Staff’s recommendations were to set aside $500,000 for $500 payments to landlords — enough to help about 900 families.
It is not clear when the prohibition on voucher refusal for veterans will go before the full council for a vote. But the idea passed out of committee with a recommendation to restrict the policy to landlords who own five or more units.
“I have so many residents in my district that truly do just rent their home, family home, and they may not be living in it, and they need that income to be able to pay their mortgage, and so we wanna make we’re not putting the burden of solving our problem on those individuals,” said Councilwoman Sukh Kaur (D1), who proposed the change.
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