Kansas Low Income Housing

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!

Why Kansas is a Great Option for Low Income Housing?

The idea of "great options" is not usually associated with getting subsidized low income housing in any location, nevertheless the affordable housing options in Kansas are better than in many other states because the state itself provides programs on top of those offered by the federal government. The raising and allocations of funds for affordable housing by the state is not done by all states, but Kansas is one of those where the state government considers it a priority to help its residents in need of housing options above and beyond the programs offered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development programs.

The primary state agency that oversees housing issues on a statewide basis in Kansas is the Kansas Development Finance Authority (KDFA, www.kdfa.org). Directly tied to the state government, the KDFA is more concerned with raising funds for housing projects rather than managing the programs, which is handled by the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (see below). Instead the KDFA raises fund by issuing bonds and other securities. Further, the KDFA also helps many Kansas residents with the financial side of affordable housing and helping residents facing financial hardship. For example, the KDFA can purchase notes that are secured by Kansas mortgages, provide loans to low income home buyers, and can work with other federal and state agencies to help finance affordable housing.

The actual administration of federal and state housing programs is handled by the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC, www.kshousingcorp.org), which is a subsidiary of the KDFA described above. The KHRC administrates many of the federal housing programs for Kansas, such as the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HARP) and the Homeowner Rehabilitation Program (HR) which is funded through the HUD HOME program. Further, the KHRC also administrates the state housing programs, such as the Kansas Housing Development Grant Program (HDGP) and the First Time Homebuyers Program (FTHB) for low income people. Beyond the specific housing assistance programs, the KHRC also deals with a number of home improvement programs, such as those replacing old appliances with newer, more efficient ones and those dealing with improving household insulation and energy efficiency.

Of course there are also local housing authorities that play a pivotal role in most local subsidized housing like Section 8 and similar programs. What really makes Kansas better than some other states on the issue of affordable housing is the active involvement of the state government and the allocation of state funds to help with housing. Otherwise, the state works much like most others. Further, the KHRC has a good website that explains what programs are available and what the requirements are for them in easy to understand terms. The Kansas Housing Resources Directory, issued by the KHRC is available online in PDF format and offers a comprehensive guide to all of the programs available in Kansas, their requirements and their benefits. This should probably be the first resource explored by new applicants for housing assistance in Kansas. Offline versions of this guide may be available from the local housing authority if the resident is already in the community in question.