Housing Choice Voucher Program, also known as Section 8, is a program that helps low-income families find decent and safe affordable housing. Based on their income and the standard rent in their area, qualified families receive a voucher from their local public housing authority (PHA) to help subsidize the monthly amount they pay in rent.
To Qualify
To qualify for the voucher/subsidy, the family’s income may not exceed 50% of the median income for the area in which the family lives. By law, a PHA must provide 75% of its voucher to applicants whose incomes do not exceed 30% of the area median income.
Amount of Subsidy
Under the program, the family pays 30% of their income for rent and utilities and the PHA pays the balance up to an amount determined as a standard rent for the area. If rent for the unit is above the approved “standard rent” the family is responsible for paying the additional amount.
Finding a Home
Under the voucher program, a family gets to select the housing unit they prefer as long as it is located within the jurisdiction of the PHA issuing the voucher. In addition, for the PHA to pay the monthly subsidy, the housing unit must pass the program’s housing quality standards inspection and be maintained up to those standards.
Problems with Vouchers
The Housing Choice Voucher program is funded by the federal Dept. of Housing and Urban Development but most PHAs receive far more requests for vouchers than they receive money for. Families hoping to get a voucher are put on a waiting list.
In addition to a shortage of funds, rising rents and a shortage of landlords willing to accept vouchers have made it difficult for families with vouchers to use them.
Too often, rents for “decent and safe” housing in the area exceed the standard rent amount the PHA will subsidize. That leaves families struggling to find available housing units with rents at or below the “standard rent” or in a tough financial situation where they are responsible for paying the balance of the rent, requiring them to use more than 30% of their income for housing.