Paranoid Boca Ratonians Have Begun Banning Property Owners From Renting To Section 8 Recipients

Earlier this year, the Snooty Boca Ratonians at the Boca Winds HOA as they are commonly referred to in Florida, outlawed Section 8 housing in its community of 800 homes. Members of the Boca Falls HOA are currently voting on the issue with results being available by the middle of next week. Other subdivision HOAs are planning on voting on similar bans in the coming months.

For those of you that don’t know what Section 8 assistance is, it is shorthand for what is officially known as the Housing Choice Voucher Program. This is a federally subsidized program that helps pay the rent of families who fall in a certain income bracket. In order for property owners to participate in the program, the properties must meet or exceed FHA housing standards and a tenant’s income must be below a certain threshold determined by HUD.

HOA board members are keeping a tight lip on what is motivating them to push for these rules according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. One HOA President did speak up, Boca Winds President, Paul Pontrelli whose neighborhood consists of $300,000 to $450,000 homes in West Boca told the Sun-Sentinel he didn’t know of any renting to people using Section 8 vouchers in his neighborhood but has heard rumors and stories,“Anything is possible in this day and age,”

Pontrelli like other paranoid white suburbanites are seeing non-existent bogeymen and his comments show his ignorance of how Section 8 vouchers work.

First of all, properties in affluent neighborhoods like Pontrelli’s are off limits to Section 8 recipients. Anyone who has looked for rental properties in lately in southern Palm Beach County can tell you, the average rent for a 3-4 bedroom house like in Boca Winds average between $2,500 to $3,000 a month. The Boca Raton Housing authority will only give vouchers up to $1,142 per month that means that any other money would need to come out of the tenant’s pocket.

Officials with the Boca Raton Housing Agency say they have $17,000 applicants and only 34 properties available that meet Section 8 criteria in Boca Raton.