Nashville rents have jumped 19%. Here are some leads to find affordable housing.

Nashville’s rents are up almost 19% since 2020.

A Zillow report shows rent went from around $1500 to close to $1800 in a year.

WPLN News knows renters are feeling the stress of low wages and increased housing prices as they renew their lease or find a new home.

Here are a few leads for your housing search:

1. Metro Social Services: 615-862-6444
2. United Way’s 24-hour resource and referral line is 211. The nonprofit has a program called The Family Collective, which helps pay for deposits.

I’m experiencing homelessness

1. Urban Housing Solutions offers single room occupancy for single people living on the streets or in a shelter. Applications are accepted at 822 Woodland St., Nashville TN 37206 or online at urbanhousingsolutions.org.
2. Shelter Plus Care rental assistance program: you must be referred to the Metro Development and Housing Agency (MDHA) through Mental Health Cooperative 615-743-1555; Centerstone 615-463-6600, 615-460-4200 or 615-279-6700; Nashville Cares 615-242-9909; or Park Center Housing 615-228-1164
3. Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing: The VA has to tell MDHA you’re eligible. 615-347-4751 ext. 66400.

I’m renting but it’s too high

1. Facebook groups Rent Nashville and Live East have options. Be careful about sharing personal information like your social security number, especially if the lister won’t let you see the apartment in person. Some listings may be scams.
2. MDHA does have several project-based voucher waiting lists that open on a monthly basis. There are vouchers specifically for multifamily, seniors and people with disabilities. It’s first-come, first-served.

Between limited funds and the administrative burden, MDHA’s most flexible housing choice voucher program is closed until 2023.

In 2019, more than 10,000 people applied when the agency was accepting applications. The agency only received enough money to support around 6,500 families. Plus, over the last decade, MDHA has lost 500 landlords willing to accept vouchers.

“In 2020, we did not make many selections from the waiting list because we did not have funding to support issuing new vouchers,” says Norman Deep, MDHA’s director of rental assistance. “So, we kind of got almost a whole year behind in working that 2019 waiting list.”

So they extended it to make sure families didn’t have to reapply.

Vouchers help supplement rent, but it doesn’t guarantee housing. You will have to find an apartment complex that has openings and accepts your application.

I have a voucher, but where can I use it?

Check Tnhousingsearch.org daily for new listings.

Getting your record expunged boosts your chances of finding housing tncourts.gov/expungements.

Here’s some helpful questions when looking for housing with a voucher:

• Do you still accept section 8 vouchers?
• Do you currently have any coming available soon?
• What is your application process or application fee?
• What do you look for on a criminal/credit/rental check?
• What utilities do tenants have to pay for?

Note: Thank you to PATHE, Open Table Nashville and United Way Nashville for providing the recommended resources that WPLN News used in this guide.

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Correction: This story originally gave a wrong reason for why MDHA has stopped accepting new housing choice vouchers until 2023. The agency says it is due to an administrative burden.