![]() West Allis operates the only additional housing authority in Milwaukee County that distributes Section 8 vouchers. “If families with vouchers don’t know that they have protections, it is the responsibility of the housing authority to tell them,” said Philip Tegeler, executive director of the Poverty and Race Research Action Council, a civil rights law and policy organization based in Washington, D.C. Neither packet says how to report income-based discrimination to the county. ![]() Only the county’s authority mentions the 2018 protections in information packets meant to help renters navigate the program. Milwaukee County and the city of Milwaukee operate separate housing agencies that distribute Section 8 vouchers, with the majority coming through the city. Four Section 8 renters told Wisconsin Watch no one informed them about the protections or how to file a complaint. Some landlords continue to explicitly reject Section 8 applicants - even saying so in public listings. That’s not for a lack of discrimination, a Wisconsin Watch investigation found. More than five years later the county’s Office of Corporation Counsel, which is supposed to enforce the protections, says it has yet to receive a verified complaint of such discrimination. Milwaukee County in 2018 banned landlords from categorically rejecting recipients of housing assistance. Most job growth is happening in the suburbs, while affordable housing is largely concentrated in the city of Milwaukee’s historically disinvested neighborhoods. The Milwaukee metro region has a big mismatch between jobs and workforce housing. Milwaukee County pushes for affordable housing in suburbs to narrow disparities It aims to broaden housing access for participants, but renters and housing advocates say landlords outside of historically disinvested neighborhoods rarely rent to people with vouchers - one of many factors limiting opportunities in Milwaukee and nationwide, particularly people of color. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Section 8, the federal government’s largest low-income housing subsidy program, serves 2.3 million households nationwide, including more than 16,500 people in Milwaukee County in 2022, according to the U.S. South Side Milwaukee landlords she encountered weren’t willing to accept voucher aid, Varela said, adding that several doubted they would pass inspections required by the program. Her mother worried about safety in the neighborhood, but Varela felt she had no choice but to sign the lease before her voucher would expire on Jan. She hoped to find a house closer to her children’s South Side Milwaukee school, but eventually found just one landlord, across town in Old North Milwaukee, who would accept the voucher and work with her credit history. She went on to submit 50 rental applications, spending $1,275.įeeling desperate about 90 days into her quest, she put aside her pride and asked family for help. The 36-year-old Walgreens employee found few willing landlords and few resources to help her pay upfront fees, such as the first month’s rent and security deposit. The news only kicked off a new challenge: trying to find a landlord who would accept the voucher before it expired in 120 days. “I was excited because I thought I was going to get a nice house, more rooms for my kids and a better neighborhood,” she recalled. She thought the rent subsidy would help her provide a better life to her four children. After languishing on a waitlist for 14 years, she learned the city of Milwaukee’s housing authority would finally issue her a Section 8 voucher. Jasmine Varela forgot she applied for a housing choice voucher until a letter arrived in 2023. Milwaukee County officials are evaluating whether they have authority to enforce its protections for voucher recipients.Housing agencies have done little to share information about income-based protections or how to report discrimination to the county. ![]()
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