Landlords owed thousands of dollars in Wake County. When will they get paid?

WAKE COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- Where is the money? That is what some Wake County landlords continue to ask as they're waiting for months' worth of rent payments from the Wake County Housing Authority.

We first told you about this problem in May, when some renters who received housing choice vouchers and live in Wake County found the landlord, Chris O'Shields, says, "Now they owe us, you know, for February, March, April, May, June, plus, five months of late fees.

So it's getting to be a pretty big dollar-mark." O'Shields says the total amount he's owed from Wake County Housing Authority (WCHA) is more than $6,800. He adds, "I'm telling my tenant that, you know, if they don't pay us, you know, you're gonna have to get out. And she's like, what am I supposed to do? I'm trying to give her as much leeway as I can, but at a certain point, you just have to say, I'm sorry, I got to get somebody in here who can pay." O'Shields said his tenant and he tried to get answers from WCHA. "I've spoken with the executive director a couple of times and just told him this is just inexcusable. You know, how are you not paying us?" O'Shields questioned.

O'Shields is not alone. In May, ABC11 first told you about WCHA not paying landlords for months, forcing tenants, like Nancy Powell, to look for new housing as her landlord said he couldn't let her continue to live in the rental house without payment. Powell said, "I've been to my local housing authority, and they don't have answers."

After ABC11 Troubleshooter Diane Wilson's involvement, Powell's rent was paid to her landlord. In a follow-up investigation, landlord Zac Hinton is demanding he be paid the more than $9,600 in rent he says he's owed from WCHA for his tenant, who also has a housing voucher. Hinton says, "It's very unfair to place the blame on the tenant and evict them for something and punish them for something that they haven't done anything wrong, and really believe it's just the agency's fault has failed them."

Wilson has continued to ask the Interim Executive Director of WCHA, Michael Best, for an on-camera interview and documents showing how much is owed in rent to Wake County landlords. Through email, Best has blamed the issues on employee turnover, and also that many of the payment issues are due to the initial housing authority where the tenant's vouchers originated, and WCHA has not been paid by them. He does add in some cases, WCHA did not submit the required HUD documents and annual recertifications to receive payment from the initial housing authorities. However, Best has promised payment, specifically to Hinton, stating he would have his $9,600 in rent by now, but Hinton says he still has no money. In an email, Best now blames it on a paperwork issue and says they're working on it.

As for O'Shields and his continued wait on five months of his tenant's rent from WCHA, he says, "I just think the county needs to step up at this point." A representative for Wake County says, "As you may know, the Wake County Housing Authority is an independent agency governed by a seven-member board, with members appointed by the Wake County Board of Commissioners. While Wake County Government makes these appointments, we do not have operational oversight of the Housing Authority. That said, we view the Housing Authority as a key partner in our shared mission to increase access to safe and affordable housing. We are aware of the concerns that renters and landlords have voiced regarding timely payment, and we're willing to support the Housing Authority as they work to address these challenges."

Best adds, "This week is dedicated to finalizing the necessary editing process for the disbursement of housing assistance payments to landlords. I want to take a moment to recognize the outstanding efforts of our staff, as several initial public housing authorities have successfully updated their financial ledgers to support the Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) for their respective port-in participants. With our strong teamwork, we are committed to ensuring that these payments are released by July 1."