ATLANTA — The Housing Authority of Fulton County (HAFC) is nearly a month behind on payments to landlords participating in the Housing Choice Voucher Program, formerly known as Section 8.
On Tuesday, a landlord who wishes to remain anonymous contacted 11Alive, expressing concerns that many landlords have not received their federal funding as the end of the month approaches.
“It’s very alarming,” the landlord said.
They explained that they only communicated with HAFC about the late payment when they called their office. HAFC directed them to their website, which features a letter from Antavius Weems, Chairman of the Board of HAFC.
In part, the letter reads:
"It has been brought to my attention that you have not received your payment for the month, which was due on June 1, 2024. Please accept my apologies for your payment being late. The HAFC is transitioning to a new software that encompasses several systems that we now use which have become antiquated."
The landlord said they were not informed about any software upgrade that might delay payments until the money failed to appear in their accounts.
11Alive reached out to HAFC on Tuesday afternoon for more details about the missing payments but did not hear back.
The landlord added that the letter was posted to HAFC's website several days into the month.
“They posted that information on the fifth," they said. "By that time, June 5, rent is already late."
The HAFC letter further stated:
“We believe that we will be able to get back on track on or before June 28, 2024.”
While the landlord hopes the payment will arrive by Thursday, they find the delay inexcusable.
“This is a federal agency," they said. "The money should be there. It should not be a problem to get our money to pay our mortgage."
With the July payment due in a few days, the landlord worries it may also be late, potentially causing financial hardship as they have a second mortgage on the home they rent to tenants in the Housing Choice Voucher Program.