What
are housing choice vouchers?
The housing choice voucher program is the federal government's major
program for assisting very low-income families, the elderly, and the
disabled to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private
market. Since housing assistance is provided on behalf of the family
or individual, participants are able to find their own housing, including
single-family homes, townhouses and apartments.
The participant is free to choose any housing that meets the requirements
of the program and is not limited to units located in subsidized housing
projects.
Housing choice vouchers are administered locally by public housing
agencies(PHAs). The PHAs receive federal funds from the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to administer the voucher program.
A family that is issued a housing voucher is responsible for finding
a suitable housing unit of the family's choice where the owner agrees
to rent under the program. This unit may include the family's present
residence. Rental units must meet minimum standards of health and
safety, as determined by the PHA.
A housing subsidy is paid to the landlord directly by the PHA on behalf
of the participating family. The family then pays the difference between
the actual rent charged by the landlord and the amount subsidized
by the program. Under certain circumstances, if authorized by the
PHA, a family may use its voucher to purchase a modest home.
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Am I eligible?
Eligibility for a housing voucher is determined by the PHA based on
the total annual gross income and family size and is limited to US
citizens and specified categories of non-citizens who have eligible
immigration status. In general, the family's income may not exceed
50% of the median income for the county or metropolitan area in which
the family chooses to live. By law, a PHA must provide 75 percent
of its voucher to applicants whose incomes do not exceed 30 percent
of the area median income. Median income levels are published by HUD
and vary by location. The PHA serving your community can provide you
with the income limits for your area and family size.
During the application process, the PHA will collect information on
family income, assets, and family composition. The PHA will verify
this information with other local agencies, your employer and bank,
and will use the information to determine program eligibility and
the amount of the housing assistance payment.
If the PHA determines that your family is eligible, the PHA will put
your name on a waiting list, unless it is able to assist you immediately.
Once your name is reached on the waiting list, the PHA will contact
you and issue to you a housing voucher.
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How do I apply?
If you are interested in applying for a voucher, contact the local
PHA. For further assistance, please contact the HUD Office nearest
to you.
Local preferences and waiting list - what are they and how do they
affect me?
Since the demand for housing assistance often exceeds the limited
resources available to HUD and the local housing agencies, long waiting
periods are common. In fact, a PHA may close its waiting list when
it has more families on the list than can be assisted in the near
future.
PHAs may establish local preferences for selecting applicants from
its waiting list. For example, PHAs may give a preference to a family
who is (1) homeless or living in substandard housing, (2) paying more
than 50% of its income for rent, or (3) involuntarily displaced. Families
who qualify for any such local preferences move ahead of other families
on the list who do not qualify for any preference. Each PHA has the
discretion to establish local preferences to reflect the housing needs
and priorities of its particular community.
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Housing vouchers - how do they function?
The housing choice voucher program places the choice of housing in
the hands of the individual family. A very low-income family is selected
by the PHA to participate is encouraged to consider several housing
choices to secure the best housing for the family needs. A housing
voucher holder is advised of the unit size for which it is eligible
based on family size and composition.
The housing unit selected by the family must meet an acceptable level
of health and safety before the PHA can approve the unit. When the
voucher holder finds a unit that it wishes to occupy and reaches an
agreement with the landlord over the lease terms, the PHA must inspect
the dwelling and determine that the rent requested is reasonable.
The PHA determines a payment standard that is the amount generally
needed to rent a moderately-priced dwelling unit in the local housing
market and that is used to calculate the amount of housing assistance
a family will receive. However the payment standard does not limit
and does not affect the amount of rent a landlord may charge or the
family may pay. A family which receives a housing voucher can select
a unit with a rent that is below or above the payment standard. The
housing voucher family must pay 30% of its monthly adjusted gross
income for rent and utilities, and if the unit rent is greater than
the payment standard the family is required to pay the additional
amount. By law, whenever a family moves to a new unit where the rent
exceeds the payment standard, the family may not pay more than 40
percent of its adjusted monthly income for rent.
The rent subsidy
The PHA calculates the maximum amount of housing assistance allowable.
The maximum housing assistance is generally the lesser of the payment
standard minus 30% of the family's monthly adjusted income or the
gross rent for the unit minus 30% of monthly adjusted income.
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Can I move and continue to receive housing choice
voucher assistance?
A family's housing needs change over time with changes in family size,
job locations, and for other reasons. The housing choice voucher program
is designed to allow families to move without the loss of housing
assistance. Moves are permissible as long as the family notifies the
PHA ahead of time, terminates its existing lease within the lease
provisions, and finds acceptable alternate housing.
Under the voucher program, new voucher-holders may choose a unit anywhere
in the United States if the family lived in the jurisdiction of the
PHA issuing the voucher when the family applied for assistance. Those
new voucher-holders not living in the jurisdiction of the PHA at the
time the family applied for housing assistance must initially lease
a unit within that jurisdiction for the first twelve months of assistance.
A family that wishes to move to another PHA's jurisdiction must consult
with the PHA that currently administers its housing assistance to
verify the procedures for moving.
Roles - the tenant, the landlord, the housing agency and HUD
Once a PHA approves an eligible family's housing unit, the family
and the landlord sign a lease and, at the same time, the landlord
and the PHA sign a housing assistance payments contract that runs
for the same term as the lease. This means that everyone -- tenant,
landlord and PHA -- has obligations and responsibilities under the
voucher program.
Tenant's Obligations: When a family selects a housing unit, and the
PHA approves the unit and lease, the family signs a lease with the
landlord for at least one year. The tenant may be required to pay
a security deposit to the landlord. After the first year the landlord
may initiate a new lease or allow the family to remain in the unit
on a month-to-month lease.
When the family is settled in a new home, the family is expected to
comply with the lease and the program requirements, pay its share
of rent on time, maintain the unit in good condition and notify the
PHA of any changes in income or family composition.
Landlord's Obligations: The role of the landlord in the voucher program
is to provide decent, safe, and sanitary housing to a tenant at a
reasonable rent. The dwelling unit must pass the program's housing
quality standards and be maintained up to those standards as long
as the owner receives housing assistance payments. In addition, the
landlord is expected to provide the services agreed to as part of
the lease signed with the tenant and the contract signed with the
PHA.
Housing Authority's Obligations: The PHA administers the voucher program
locally. The PHA provides a family with the housing assistance that
enables the family to seek out suitable housing and the PHA enters
into a contract with the landlord to provide housing assistance payments
on behalf of the family. If the landlord fails to meet the owner's
obligations under the lease, the PHA has the right to terminate assistance
payments. The PHA must reexamine the family's income and composition
at least annually and must inspect each unit at least annually to
ensure that it meets minimum housing quality standards.
HUD's Role: To cover the cost of the program, HUD provides funds to
allow PHAs to make housing assistance payments on behalf of the families.
HUD also pays the PHA a fee for the costs of administering the program.
When additional funds become available to assist new families, HUD
invites PHAs to submit applications for funds for additional housing
vouchers. Applications are then reviewed and funds awarded to the
selected PHAs on a competitive basis. HUD monitors PHA administration
of the program to ensure program rules are properly followed.
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Additional Information and other subsidy programs
For additional information about the voucher program, contact either
the local
PHA serving your community or the Office of
Public Housing within your local
HUD office. There may be a long wait for assistance
under the housing voucher program. If the PHA also administers the
public housing program,applicants for the housing choice voucher program
may also ask to be placed on the waiting list for the public housing
program. HUD also administers other subsidized programs and you may
obtain a list of programs in your area from the Office of Housing
at your local HUD office.
What regulations cover this program?
Regulations are found in 24 CFR Part 982.
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The Housing Authority of
the city of Muncie does not discriminate on the basis of race, color,
sex, national origin, familial status, age, religion or handicap, in
compliance with the Fair Housing Act, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
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