An unexpected disability, injury, or job loss could leave you in a financial mess. If you run out of your emergency fund, it can become difficult to pay your rent. Here, Housing assistance through section 8 can come to the rescue.
Section 8 is a federal financial help program handled by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The program is designed to help qualified individuals and families through monthly rental assistance.
What is section 8 housing?
Section 8 housing is a housing assistance program where low-income individuals and families are provided with a voucher to pay a fraction of their rent. Qualified individuals can choose their desired package as long as it is within the program’s requirements.
Section 8 responds to the increasing number of low-income families and seniors and the dedication to helping them pay for rental housing.
How does section 8 work?
Public housing agencies, PHA, issue the housing choice voucher. The federal government funds the PHAs to provide these vouchers to people who are eligible for section 8.
When a family or an individual receives a housing voucher, it automatically applies as a discount on their house rent. The PHA pays a subsidy to the landlord on behalf of the eligible section 8 client. The qualified client then pays the difference between the amount paid by section 8 and the actual rent owed.
Under the specified requirement, families may be eligible to use their voucher to buy a home rather than rent.
How does section 8 help?
There’s no specific amount a family or individual can receive for their voucher payment. Instead, the agency has a payment standard equal to the sufficient amount for renting a decent apartment in a typical housing market.
A family eligible for a housing voucher may choose to rent a house below or above the PHA’s payment standard.
Most times, recipients must pay 30% of their adjusted gross income for the month’s rent and utilities. However, some cases may require up to a 40% increase if the payment standard is lesser than the rent.
For instance, let’s assume you live in Los Angeles. According to the housing authority of Los Angeles, the payment standard for a two-bedroom apartment is $2,248.
If you’re eligible for the program with a $2,800 monthly income, applying the 30% rule, you’ll have to pay $840 for rent and utilities.
In Philadelphia, the payment standard for a two-bedroom apartment, according to the housing authority of Los Angeles, is $1,012.
Meanwhile, the payment standard for a two-bedroom unit in a high-opportunity area is $1,870.
Voucher requirements for section 8
Who is eligible for question 8? Unfortunately, the answer is not straightforward. Qualifying for section 8 will require you to meet the four requirements for HUD.
Income limit
There’s an income limit set by HUD for section 8 applicants The income limits are calculated based on the percentage of the median income for specific cities of the United States. Income limit tiers are divided into three, which include:
- Extremely low income: 30% of the median income level of an area.
- Very low income: 50% of the median income level of an area.
- Moderately low income: 80% of the median income level of an area.
These income limits depend on location and the number of people in a household.
Those in the extremely low-income limit category are usually prioritized for section 8 housing vouchers.
Citizenship status
U.S citizens and non-citizens who are under a specific category of immigrants are the only people who qualify for section 8.
Applicants are required to verify their citizenship with HUD through a declaration. However, PHA may request other information such as:
- U.S. passport(s)
- Resident alien card(s)
- Registration card(s)
- Social Security card(s)
Qualified immigrants must sign a declaration of their immigration status and show documents from the immigration services that prove these statutes.
Families consisting of citizens and unqualified non-citizens can still apply for section 8. But, housing assistance will be provided based on the number of qualified citizens in the family.
Family status
People applying for section 8 must meet HUD’s standard of a family. According to HUD, a family must meet the following criteria:
- Have children
- Have at least a member that’s over 62 years old (senior)
- Have at least one disabled family member
- Has been displaced from the property for qualified reasons.
- Single people are also eligible for section 8; they don’t need to have kids to become eligible.
History of eviction
Individuals or families must have a positive rental history before becoming eligible for section 8.
HUD cannot accept people evicted from a home due to a criminal offense or drug abuse history. An individual can also be disqualified for section 8 if they disobey eligible requirements from PHA.
How to apply for Section 8
You’ll have to contact your local public housing agency to apply for a section 8 housing voucher. Your PHA will confirm the program’s availability for new applications and inform you of the required application documents. You can apply in person, online, or via email.
Completing the section 8 application
The information requested on the application may vary but will include any or some of the following info:
- Your name and family member’s name
- Date of birth, place of birth, social security numbers, gender of every member of the household
- Name and address of the head of the family
- Your choice of bedroom size
- Criminal history
- Name of past landlord
- Disability status
- Name of current employers
Make sure you’re as accurate as possible when filling out the application form online or in person. Providing inaccurate information can get your application disqualified.
Conclusion
Housing assistance through Section 8 can help eligible persons and families secure housing affordably.
When it comes to who qualifies for this housing assistance program, it’s generally low-income people. However, your location and the number of family members in a household can determine the income limit and chances of approval. If you need housing assistance for seniors, section 8 is one of the reliable options.
