Introduction
The Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCV) is a program funded by the federal government that provides assistance to eligible low income earners to pay their rent. Through this program, the federal government helps disadvantaged groups such as the disabled, the elderly and other low income earners to access safe, sanitary, and decent housing within the private market. Participants get their own housing that includes townhouses, apartments, and single family homes.
The program is administered by local public housing agencies (PHAs). The U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) releases funds to PHAs for the voucher program. PHAs allow participants to select a housing unit of their choice, provided they meet program …show more content…
When the PHA reaches your name on the waiting list, they contact you and process your housing voucher.
How to Apply
If you are interested in applying for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, please get in contact with your local PHA. Contact information for all PHAs can be easily accessed via the HUD portal. You may also contact the HUD office that is nearest to you to get further assistance on how to apply.
How waiting list and local preferences affects you
The resources available to the HUD and PHAs are barely sufficient to meet the high demand for housing assistance. This may sometimes cause long waiting periods. In extreme cases, a PHA may be forced to close a waiting list if the number of families on the list exceeds its ability to provide assistance in the near future.
In some cases the PHA may come up with local preferences to help select applicants from the waiting list. Families with the following characteristics are often given preference:
• Housed in substandard conditions or homeless
• Uses more than 50 percent of family income to pay rent
• Has been displaced …show more content…
The PHA is mandated to use housing needs and priorities of a given community to establish preferences.
Additional Information
The housing voucher program understands that families may need to change houses due to job location, size, and other reasons. Therefore, families are allowed to without losing housing assistance. A family must however remain in a unit for the first 12 months of assistance before they can move to another PHA jurisdiction. Procedures for moving must also be consulted with the issuing PHA.
The Housing Choice Voucher Program provides roles for the housing agency, the HUD, the tenant and the landlord. Basically, once a housing unit is approved, the landlord and the tenant are required to sign a lease. The PHA and the landlord also sign a contract for the housing assistance payments and this includes the lease period. The HUD provides the funds and maintains an oversight
The Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCV) is a program funded by the federal government that provides assistance to eligible low income earners to pay their rent. Through this program, the federal government helps disadvantaged groups such as the disabled, the elderly and other low income earners to access safe, sanitary, and decent housing within the private market. Participants get their own housing that includes townhouses, apartments, and single family homes.
The program is administered by local public housing agencies (PHAs). The U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) releases funds to PHAs for the voucher program. PHAs allow participants to select a housing unit of their choice, provided they meet program …show more content…
When the PHA reaches your name on the waiting list, they contact you and process your housing voucher.
How to Apply
If you are interested in applying for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, please get in contact with your local PHA. Contact information for all PHAs can be easily accessed via the HUD portal. You may also contact the HUD office that is nearest to you to get further assistance on how to apply.
How waiting list and local preferences affects you
The resources available to the HUD and PHAs are barely sufficient to meet the high demand for housing assistance. This may sometimes cause long waiting periods. In extreme cases, a PHA may be forced to close a waiting list if the number of families on the list exceeds its ability to provide assistance in the near future.
In some cases the PHA may come up with local preferences to help select applicants from the waiting list. Families with the following characteristics are often given preference:
• Housed in substandard conditions or homeless
• Uses more than 50 percent of family income to pay rent
• Has been displaced …show more content…
The PHA is mandated to use housing needs and priorities of a given community to establish preferences.
Additional Information
The housing voucher program understands that families may need to change houses due to job location, size, and other reasons. Therefore, families are allowed to without losing housing assistance. A family must however remain in a unit for the first 12 months of assistance before they can move to another PHA jurisdiction. Procedures for moving must also be consulted with the issuing PHA.
The Housing Choice Voucher Program provides roles for the housing agency, the HUD, the tenant and the landlord. Basically, once a housing unit is approved, the landlord and the tenant are required to sign a lease. The PHA and the landlord also sign a contract for the housing assistance payments and this includes the lease period. The HUD provides the funds and maintains an oversight