There are pros and cons to having Section 8 tenants. On the plus side, they tend to stay longer, are financially motivated to keep up the unit and not break the rules, and you get the guaranteed check on time. Sometimes, they pay above market rent if you have a crappy unit or neighborhood that would not command decent market rents.
OTOH, the tenants are, after all, needy with all that that implies. This may not go over well with your other tenants. You get government inspectors to make you fix stupid & silly things, while ignoring more obvious or aesthetic shortcomings that you would readily cure for a private sector tenant. Example: they will make you replace a window with a one inch crack in a corner that is going nowhere, but ignore a worn out & dirty 5 year old carpet that a private sector renter would rightly ask you to replace.
Finally, it is extremely hard to get rid of a Section 8 tenant unless your reason for doing so fits the government’s rules. Many landlords swear to never again take a Section 8 tenant after having trouble getting rid of one. The bureaucrats are a real pain to work with.
I suspect it boils down to whether your building and neighborhood is not attractive enough to pull in the more desirable tenants. There is an undeniable stigma to having Section 8 tenants.
