Low Income Housing in Georgia

Low Income Housing Information

Low income housing can be a godsend, but if you don't know how to apply, or who to get your information to, how can you ever expect to be approved?

Since laws and procedure vary from state to state, you'll need to learn a few specifics before applying. We can help!

Should You Consider Living in Low Income Housing in GA?

Generally speaking, the option of living in low income housing is not a choice to be considered, but the only option available for people whose financial situation is bad enough to allow them to qualify for low income housing or other housing subsidies. The only exceptions to this general rule are people that benefit from rent control in urban areas or people who voluntarily decide to buy or rent hoes through a community land trust. Otherwise, if a person or family's economic situation is bad enough to allow them to qualify for low income housing, then chances are it is their only alternative to homelessness.

Georgia has a well developed low income housing system that is primarily administrated by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA, www.dca.state.ga.us). Working in cooperation with the federal government, the DCA overseas or administrates most federal programs - like Section 8 housing and the HOME initiative - as well as a number of state programs. The DCAs housing finance division hosts over twenty-five different programs and initiatives designed to help with various aspects of helping low income or special needs Georgians find and qualify for low income housing. Therefore, people that need assistance with their housing expenses should probably begin their research into what is available in Georgia at the DCA website.

The current strategy for dealing with the lack of affordable housing in Georgia is a five year "Housing and Community Development Strategic Plan" which went into effect in 2006, before the collapse of the real estate market and the economic downturn. At the time that the plan went into effect, the primary goal was the construction and development of more affordable housing because many low income people had been priced out of the market during the real estate bubble. Needless to say, the bursting of that bubble in 2008 and the continuing turbulence in the real estate market has radically altered the original plan. There is now an abundance of housing that can be converted to low income housing (especially foreclosed properties), the overall property values have dramatically declined, and new building seems redundant.

Unlike some states that have opted to invest more of their federal and state housing funds into homeownership options, Georgia has recognized and accepted the state's need for considerably more rental housing options for low income residents of the state. Not only has Georgia done an excellent job of maintaining earlier rental projects, it has specifically set out to devote a significant effort for the development of more affordable rental housing. DCA's Housing Tax Credit program offers developers a ten year state and federal tax incentive for the development of more rental units for low income people. On the consumer side, DCA runs the GeorgiaHousingSearch.org website that shows all low income rental units available in the state and provides the detailed information needed to determine whether or not someone qualifies.

Georgia has the distinction of being the home of the first community land trust (CLT) and still has several in operation, so opting to join a CLT may represent a choice to promote low income housing. However, for most people that qualify for low income housing there is no real choice involved, but qualifying people in Georgia have a larger than average number of programs in place to help them.