Happy Home InsiderA Housing Choice Voucher can make your monthly rent much more affordable while putting you in a safe and sanitary property.
1. Who to Contact
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is the head of the Housing Choice Voucher program. You will want to contact your local public housing agency (PHA), however, since they will be processing your application and deciding your eligibility.
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You’ll find your nearest PHA here. They will be your one-stop-shop for guidance, applications, and more when seeking Section 8 housing assistance.
It’s best to contact your PHA today. At the very least, they can guide you on how to start your application so you can get on the waiting list as quickly as possible.
2. What Vouchers Do
A Housing Choice Voucher helps to pay a portion of your rent. If you are accepted into the program, your PHA will pay the voucher directly to your landlord each month. That will result in discounted rent. You will have to pay the remaining amount to your landlord on time to remain eligible in the program and prevent any issues.
3. Qualifying for Vouchers
Several factors will be used to determine your eligibility for a housing voucher, such as your citizenship, household income, household size. If your household income is too high or citizenship eligibility is not met, you may not qualify. The same holds if you have felony convictions for drugs or violence, you owe a housing authority money, or you’ve been evicted from HUD housing in the previous five years.
4. Waiting Lists
There’s no shortage of low-income households who need help with paying the rent. As such, there are more applicants for Section 8 assistance than there are vouchers. What does this result in? Depending on location, some very long waiting lists that could last over a year.
Getting on a Section 8 waiting list occurs after you apply for the program and are approved. You will have to wait until your turn comes up to actually receive your voucher so you can move and start paying lower rent.
There are some ways to move up on the waiting list. These are called preferences, and they vary according to each PHA. The most common preferences that can shorten your waiting list time include being involuntarily displaced, homelessness, living in substandard housing, or paying over half of your income in rent.
5. Moving and Keeping Your Housing Voucher
Sometimes a family needs to move due to work, school, or other obligations. Thankfully, those who created Section 8 kept this in mind so you can move and still keep your housing assistance.
To move to another location and still keep your assistance, you’ll have to contact your PHA ahead of time. You’ll have to terminate your existing lease, and then find housing that meets Section 8 standards and participates in the program. If you do everything by the book, you should be able to get rent assistance without missing a beat, even when you relocate.
