Low Income Housing in Indiana

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 I Search Online for Low Income Housing in Indiana?

Indiana has been good at getting its various government programs for low income people listed online with the relevant authorities, so looking for low income housing online is practical for people in Indiana. The primary state-wide housing authority in Indiana is the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority (IHCDA, www.in.gov/ihcda/) which offers a comprehensive website dealing with most federal and state-run programs to help low income people. However, the emphasis is primarily on helping low income people become home owners, as opposed to renters. Indiana does not offer any state-based rental assistance programs, but the IHCDA does oversee the federal Section 8 housing program in the state.

Instead of state level assistance, in Indiana a lot of the assistance programs are set up and operated by local county or municipal authorities. This is, in large part, due to the "poor relief" laws that have been in force in Indiana since 1894. These laws require every city, town and township in the state to provide various kinds of "poor relief" within its jurisdiction, and this frequently involves some form of housing assistance although this is not always the case. Further, most of these local authorities have their own websites, which can provide people looking online for low income housing and other forms of assistance with the information they need.

The local housing authorities for most of the major cities in Indiana have their own departmental websites. For example, the state's three largest cities: the Indianapolis Housing Authority (www.indyhousing.org), the fort Wayne Housing Authority (www.fwha.org), and the Evansville Housing Authority (www.evansvillehousing.org). Programs in smaller cities and towns can either be found on the city website or on the county government website. Indiana has been good about getting its government online, so people searching online can usually find what they need through the Internet.

Since Indiana does not offer its own rental assistance program, usually the only assistance available is through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Section 8 housing assistance program. Although this is a federal program, its actual implementation is done through local public housing agencies (PHAs), which coincide with the local housing authorities described above in Indiana. Therefore, if the person looking for low income housing already knows which locality they want to live in, they can visit the directory of local PHAs provided on the HUD website: www.hud.gov. This resource can also help low income people determine what sort of federal assistance is available in any given area, as the HUD directory does indicate the types of federal assistance available to each local PHA.

There are also a number of issue specific or non-profit and charitable organizations that are concerned with affordable housing in Indiana. An example is the "Our Indiana Home" initiative (www.ourindianahome.org), which provides a number of resources online. Similarly, there are area specific enterprises as well, like the Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC, www.ahcgrantcounty.com), provides detailed resources for people that need housing assistance or support in seven different counties. Finally most of the major cities also have their own community based organizations that are designed specifically to help members of the community meet their housing needs.