The Section 8 Housing Program is a low-cost shelter project financed by the federal government planned for the families who have below-average gross income per annum, in the region they live. All those families in the United States with low or ones with too little income, who could not afford to pay monthly rent, are eligible to apply for Section 8 Program, provided that they meet the criteria and submit required documents.
The City of San Diego is experiencing an escalating housing market and unprecedented market rents. Therefore, additional incentives and strategies are necessary to ensure that recipients of incentives are housed in a timely manner while ensuring safe, decent and quality dwelling units.
The San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) is a public housing agency that provides housing opportunities for low-income and homeless individuals and families in the City of San Diego. In a recent move, SDHC announced that the agency is expected to receive approximately $20 million in federal funding to provide additional rental assistance to households with low income, including families experiencing homelessness, beginning with the Fiscal Year 2020, which starts on July 1, 2019.
“This is great news for San Diego. These additional funds will help the San Diego Housing Commission raise its rental assistance payment standards again as we continue to help as many low-income families as possible pay their rent in the expensive and tight rental market in the City of San Diego,” SDHC President & CEO Richard C. Gentry said.
The applicants for this scheme are evaluated on the rationale of income limits, family size, structure, expenditure behavior, criminal record, expropriation/ expulsion record and more. The family units, qualified for Section 8 low-income housing obtain support in the form of special housing vouchers that are issued by the Public Housing Agencies. PHAs are given finances from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Entitled families for this low-income housing program included in the waiting list in the specific area and on their turn, the PHA validate the eligibility to ascertain the conditionality of the criterion. It is important to note that due to the waiting lists are long of Section 8, sometimes it can take a few years before a family can get on top of the waiting list and until then a family can get disqualified for this assistance.
To get the permanent receipt of these vouchers, the eligible family needs to retain the eligibility conditions. The families can also join in particular self-reliance programs to be trained in how to attain sustainable financial independence without government support.
To find out more about Section 8 low-income housing in the U.S., look at the sections below:
- What is Section 8 housing?
- What are housing choice vouchers?
What is Section 8 housing?
Many families in the United States, who cannot pay for better accommodation, have to live in the second rate low-income housing units having very poor health and safety standards. If a family’s yearly income is less than the average income in the area, the family is entitled to apply for government support i.e. the Section 8 housing program. The objective of the Federal Government’s funded Section 8 program is to offer monetary assistance to appropriate low-income households, making them find a proper hired home in a good locality and pay a part of the rent through a lodging voucher.
At the local level, this program is executed by public housing agencies that establish eligibility and provide the vouchers. By serving families afford an upright house in a safe district, the federal government directly donate to an improved life standard and additional prospects for these families. Ultimately many households get to know the ways to able to uphold autonomous financial survival, free from reliant on public support.
The eligibility criterion for Section 8 low-income housing, families must earn 80 percent of the average area income. Very low-income families earn 50 percent the mean area income, whereas extremely low-income households earn 30 percent of the average income in their area. Families with lower are given preference for housing vouchers by moving them to the top of the waiting list. PHAs are, obligatorily provide 75 percent of the low-income housing vouchers to extremely low-income families. The PHAs publish the average income amounts each year as these amounts are diverse in all states and regions.
Besides earnings, the eligibility conditions of the families applying for this program are appraised against other aspects like the number of family members, family formation, way of life, operating expenses, expulsion record, possessions, and nationality. The PHA will gather information about the family earnings through banks, employers and other local bureaus to authenticate their suitability for the program.
At the other hand, the PHA has the authority to offer local preference at any time it deemed necessary. These can include, some families need this housing assistance more than others and, depending on the location and average area income, the PHA may give the first choice to a homeless family, a family that pays more than 50 percent of its income on rent or a family that has been forced to displace. As Section 8 housing vouchers are widely required, PHAs holds the right to shut the waiting list not receiving any more applications. In some states, the waiting lists have been closed for years.
What are housing choice vouchers?
The federal government of the United States planned the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program to extend monetary backing to low-income families, disabled handicapped persons and senior citizens incapable to pay monthly rent. The main goal of the program is to help low-income family units find a hired house by providing a portion of the rent through a lodging choice voucher. Program participants are able to look for accommodation in the private sector suitable for their family and needs, not to reconcile for substandard or unhygienic homes.
If you are approved for a low-income housing voucher, you can start looking for a good home. Once you find a reasonably priced and decent rental unit, the PHA will carry out a health and safety examination to confirm that the accommodation is habitable and is above the average of all PHA sanitary standards.
These housing units can be townhouses, flats or single-family homes, depending on the family’s structure and preference. In addition, the home does not need to be situated in a low-income region or a subsidized housing plan. To rent the home, the landowner is required to agree to have tenants who are in receipt of Section 8 aid.
The part of the rent amount is paid by the housing coupon and rest by the lodging family. Typically, the family pays 30 percent of its total monthly income for rent and utility bills, and in case the rent amount is higher than the standard, the family is liable for paying the remaining amount. In any case the, applicants do not have any right to use or withdraw the money and can only use the Section 8 low-income housing voucher to pay a defined part of the rent directly to the property owner.