How To Get Approved For Section 8?

Overview

Looking to avail for the Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Program? Keep reading to know how you can get approved for section 8 service!

Are you on a hunt for affordable housing? If so, you should definitely check out the Section 8 housing assistance program! Section 8 was introduced in the year 1937 by the house of Congress as part of the Housing and Development Act. The primary focus of this program is to assist and help families and individuals belonging to the low-income group. Thus, proving them with better access to safe and affordable housing in the United States. And today, it has helped millions of Americans to obtain affordable housing for their families and themselves.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) takes charge in overseeing the funds that are to be allotted to local Public Housing Agencies (PHAs). It is responsible to ensure that the program is accessible by all at the local level as well. The program is not limited to any specific type of housing. Therefore, you will find different types of housing such as apartments, houses, duplexes, and even mobile homes that are participants of this program. 

How to qualify for Section 8 program?

To qualify and get approved for the Section 8 program, it primarily takes two criteria into consideration. They are the size of your household and the total income of the family. The household group could consist of the following:

• A household with or without the presence of children. By this, Children who are also temporarily placed in foster care or home can be counted and included in a total number of household family.
• A household that has one or more people belonging to 60 years or older, living together.  In addition, a live-in caretaker is also eligible to be included in the total number of household members as well.
• A household that consists of one or more disabled individuals including their caretakers taking care of them.

Additional Requirements

Some additional requirements are as follows:

There are some other important additions needed, to qualify for the Section 8 program. You need to have a US citizenship or possess an eligible immigrant status. In addition to the status of your citizenships, you also need to have a clean criminal record. And as such, sexual offenders are strictly not eligible for the program. All relevant documents are collected by the Public Housing Authority. And, they will also undergo verification process with official local agencies, banks, and employers!

Subsidized mortgages

Applicants who are on the lookout for subsidized mortgages must have an income of a minimum of $10,300 per annum at the least. In addition, they should be mandatorily employed at their current job for at least a year to qualify for the mortgage subsidy!

Priority Standards

The authorities of the Local public housing are entrusted with the full rights to assign groups based on the levels of priorities. The groups of priorities are categorized and include people over the age of 62 years. Those working for more than 42 hours a week, people and families living in a shelter or are homeless and displaced. And those households who pays more than 50 percent of their income only on housing alone as well!

How to avail Section 8 work?

We have mentioned the eligibility criteria above. And in accordance with that, you can apply and get approved for the Section 8 program. For instance, individuals and families belonging to the group where the total household income is 30% or less of the median income for their respective area; are given the first priority treatment to issue the Housing Choice Voucher.

To avail Section 8, it starts with the process of application formalities. After which, you will go through the approval status. And once it is approved, you will be provided with a voucher. This can be used to rent an apartment or house from any of the participating landlords.

Here, the applicant needs to pay just a certain amount for the rent. And, the remaining balance will also be covered by the voucher. If you are wondering about the amount to be paid, rest assured you will also be required to pay the amount depending on your income.

The cost of additional utilities which are not covered in the rent are not eligible for coverage. Hence, applicants need to pay for them out of their pockets. Note that, the process of application formalities are long and may take up to many months until you are notified of the results.

Conclusion

To conclude, Section 8 is a law passed way back in 1937. It primarily focuses on providing affordable housing facilities by the federal government in partnership with house tenants all over the United States. You can get approved of Section 8 housing, and enjoy the benefits. In this program, it also ensures that government will pay a portion of or all of the cost of a property for households belonging to a low-income group. This consists of Americans with families or individually as well.

And thanks to this program, there has been a massive growth of benefactors of Section 8. It has an estimation of around 5.2 million Americans enrolled in this program over the years. Therefore, you should definitely check out this program if you fit the eligibility criteria and, is on the lookout for an affordable property!

Frequently Asked Questions