Missouri Section 8 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!

How do You Qualify For Section 8 Housing in Missouri

Section 8 housing is a national program, operated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and as such, the qualifying conditionals are the same in Missouri as they are anywhere else in the United States. The only additional assistance provided in conjunction with Section 8 by the state government of Missouri is the Missouri Affordable Housing Locator (http://ahl.mhdc.com/).

Although most states have a state agency or subsidiary corporation that helps to administrate the Section 8 program, in function the program is operated directly between HUD and local public housing agencies or authorities (PHAs). The PHA actually does most of the actual work of determining an applicant's eligibility and whether or not they qualify for the program. The basic requirements relate to the applicant's personal status and to the applicant's income as compared against the median income of the locality.

The personal status issue dictated by the federal government is that only U.S. citizens and legal residents with explicit permission by the immigration authorities are eligible for Section 8 housing. On top of this basic personal status issue that applies universally, some PHAs also impose additional restrictions and requirements, usually through a process of prioritization. That is, the PHA will determine that some groups of people are to be favored ahead of others, like families with children or the elderly.

Once basic personal status eligibility is determined, the next qualifying condition deals with the applicant's income level. Generally speaking - though there are some exceptions - the primary condition is that the applicant must have an annual income of fifty percent or less of the local median income. The local median income is determined by HUD and can be very different depending on the community in question. By law, the PHAs must give seventy-five percent of their Section 8 vouchers to applicants that make thirty percent or less of the area's median annual income. This means it is considerably more difficult for people making between thirty and fifty percent of the median income to get Section 8 housing despite qualifying.

Finally, a great deal of Section 8 housing is "project-based" as opposed to "tenant-based", which means that they only apply to particular housing developments or units and do not transfer with the resident if they move. This means that even people that fully qualify for Section 8 housing may still have to wait extensive periods of time before they can benefit from the Section 8 program. In general, the trend in recent years has been more for "tenant-based" vouchers since it allows the poor to fully integrate into the larger community as opposed to creating slums and urban blights. Nevertheless, merely qualifying does not necessarily mean that a person will be able to take advantage of the Section 8 rental subsidy.

Basic qualification for the program is fairly simple, though like most government programs there is a lot of paperwork involved. Further, the PHAs have an obligation to demand a wide range of records from an applicant to verify their income. This includes full information about the applicant's income and assets and this information is usually verified with the applicant's banks, lenders, employer and others.