The Price of Bureaucracy Book is the roadmap to address the rental housing problem that is a part of our nation's larger affordable housing crisis

DOTHAN, AL, UNITED STATES, June 6, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- Over the last 49 years, the Section 8 Program has grown to become the most effective affordable housing tool in United States history. The Section 8 program is a real estate transaction between a landlord, a voucher holder, and a public housing authority (PHA).

However, this real-estate relationship appears to be a two-sided partnership instead of a three-way as the Section 8 program was designed in 1974 and needs housing policy reform. The perception of the Section 8 Program for landlords is bureaucratic red tape, and their reality is the unintended consequence of the price of bureaucracy.

Perfect Storm for Housing Policy Reform
Although Congress recently passed the bipartisan supported debt ceiling bill, the current affordable housing crisis is the perfect storm to continue the bipartisan legislation momentum with the Choice in Affordable Housing Act.

On May 25, 2021, Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Senator Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) introduced the Senate version (S. 1820) of the housing bill. A year later, on March 1, 2022, Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) and Representative John Katko (R-NY) introduced the House version companion bill (H.R. 6880).

Two years later, on January 24, 2023, Senator Coons, Senator Cramer, and cosponsored by Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), and Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) reintroduced the Senate version (S.32) of the housing bill.

This perfect storm exemplifies John Kingdon's Multiple Streams Theory, based on the streams of policy (Choice in Affordable Housing Act), politics (Congress), and problems (landlords leaving the Section 8 Program and the affordable housing crisis) combined into one stream. This is a window of opportunity for housing policy reform for the Section 8 Program since all three streams flow perfectly together.

Regarding this housing legislation, Dr. Michael C. Threatt led the recruitment and onboarding of the only landlord liaison in Alabama for Dothan Housing (DH). Unfortunately, many PHAs choose not to fund the landlord liaison position because they do not understand its importance or cannot afford it. Only a tiny percentage of PHAs have the landlord liaison position budgeted for their Section 8 Program. Based on the competitive rental market and affordable housing crisis, the landlord liaison position has never been as needed as it is today.

The position is listed in the Choice in Affordable Act, and the language states that:
- Administrative fee bonuses for Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) that administer the program to hire "landlord liaisons." Liaison would serve as a dedicated resource for program participants to resolve challenges and provide consistent guidance and training.

Advocating for Section 8 Landlords
As a member of several national real estate associations such as the American Apartment Owners Association (AAOA), National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), National Association of REALTORS^® (NAR), and the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM), Dr. Threatt advocates and voices the concerns of all Section 8 Program landlords. In addition, he serves on the NARPM governmental affairs, legislative and education conference, and federal policy committees. One of his top priorities is helping pass the Choice in Affordable Housing Act.

Dr. Threatt attended the 2022 NARPM Legislative and Educational Conference in Washington, D.C., in June 2022. He met with members of Congress to discuss the benefits of cosponsoring the bipartisan Choice in Affordable Housing Act. Dr. Threatt also spoke at the 2022 NARPM Broker/Owner's conference in San Antonio, Texas, in March, where he presented one of his mini-courses, "How to Maximize Your Profit & Return on Investment as a Section 8 Landlord."

The Choice in Affordable Housing Act & the Moving to Work Landlord Incentives Cohort
There is a correlation between the Choice in Affordable Housing Act and the Moving to Work (MTW) Landlord Incentives Cohort #3. The Choice in Affordable Housing Act is a cost-effective policy solution to "cut the red tape" of the Section 8 Program to help repair the broken relationship between landlords and PHAs.

More specifically, the Choice in Affordable Housing Act bill states that:
- The Secretary has conducted and continues to research landlord participation in the Section 8 Program.
- The Moving to Work demonstration program of HUD has allowed participating PHAs to test innovative strategies to incentivize landlords to accept vouchers.

The MTW Landlord Incentives Cohort #3 will allow PHAs like DH to design and test innovative, locally designed landlord recruitment and retention strategies. Researchers will evaluate their effect on landlord participation in the Section 8 Program. Dr. Threatt wrote DH's MTW application and supplemental plan, whereas he has implemented his attract, recruit, & retain landlord model. DH's landlord incentives include a dedicated landlord liaison, payments for vacancy loss, damage protection, security deposit, signing bonus, application fee, and renter's insurance.

Superhero Reveals His Identity in The Price of Bureaucracy Book
Dr. Threatt obtained his doctorate in public administration (DPA) from West Chester University (WCU) with a dissertation focused on Section 8 landlords. As he was writing his dissertation and reviewing the planned MTW Landlord Incentives cohort, he had an 'epiphany' to focus his research study on the phenomenon of landlords leaving the program.

Later, he transformed his dissertation into a book, "The Price of Bureaucracy: Removing Section 8 Landlord Pain Points through the Investment in Technology." The Price of Bureaucracy Book is the roadmap to address the rental housing problem that is a part of our nation's larger affordable housing crisis.

"The future of affordable housing depends on the success of the Section 8 Program, and the future of the Section 8 Program depends on landlords willing to accept vouchers. There are no units to lease for voucher holders without landlords," said Dr. Michael C. Threatt.

About Elevate Housing Solutions, LLC
Dr. Threatt is the principal and CEO of Elevate Housing Solutions, LLC. Elevate Housing Solutions, LLC is a management firm that provides Section 8 Program consulting services to real estate investors, developers, landlords, nonprofits, property management companies, and public housing authorities (PHAs). He is also known as The Section 8 Landlord Coach™.

For more information, please visit Elevate Housing Solutions at https://www.elevatehousing.com/.

Dr. Michael C. Threatt
Elevate Housing Solutions, LLC
+1 205-552-9491
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