More and more landlords in Nashville have stopped accepting section 8 vouchers. Since 2010 almost 300 landlords stopped accepting the vouchers.
Alora Hardison is a mother of six and was kicked out of her apartment when new ownership decided to no longer accept her only form of payment.
"I mean it's hard. I want to cry sometimes but I have to stay strong for my kids," said Hardison.
The children have seen her struggle to make ends meet, all while trying to find them a new place to live - after they were forced out of the Premier West Apartments in West Nashville.
"They never said that I could stay for an extension or nothing. Now me and my kids are bouncing from place to place," said Hardison.
In March, Hardison received a letter from Premier West- stating that an affiliate with Covenant Capital Group purchased the property and would no longer accept section 8 vouchers.
"It's not going very good. Some people are not taking section 8 and then when you see that someone is taking section 8, they're not," said Hardison.
However, Hardison isn't the only one dealing with this problem. More and more landlords are deciding to no longer accept section 8 vouchers and Metro Development Housing Agency says the problem keeps getting worse.
"We continue to add new landlords to the program, but the number of landlords that are leaving the program is larger than the number that is coming to the program," said Jamie Barry, MDHA, Communications Director.
In 2010 there were 1,249 landlords accepting section 8 vouchers, and in 2016 that number dropped to 993.
That's about 50 landlords who choose to leave the program each year, making it more difficult for people like Hardison to find a place to call home.
"They don't know exactly where they're going to lay their head at night, or where they're going to eat, I just don't its right what they're doing to people," said Hardison.
Tenants have 120 days to use their vouchers once they are issued, and if they do not find a place to live they lose their voucher and get placed on the waiting list again.
That waiting list only opens every two years, the next opening will be in the fall of 2017.
If you are having trouble finding house, head to TNhousingsearch.com.
