Why Low Income Housing is Offered in Rhode Island
Low income, or affordable, housing is offered in Rhode Island for the same reason that it is issued everywhere, to help low income people get a safe and clean place to live despite lacking the means to afford such a place on the open market. The need for housing assistance has been a constant issue in urban areas since before independence and remains one today. Quite simply, market driven housing prices almost automatically exclude half the population - those making below the median average income - from decent housing without assistance provided by the government. Rhode Island is no exception to this rule, and being a largely urban or suburban state, real estate is generally priced out of the range of half their population, which is why low income housing is offered in Rhode Island.
In the United States, the dominate low income housing program is the Section 8 program, named after its founding section in the U.S. Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 which initially created the program. In general this program works as a subsidy program, but insists that the beneficiary pay at least a portion of their own rent, usually between thirty and thirty-five percent of their monthly income. The government voucher makes up the remaining amount owed on the rent. While it is possible in some cases for the beneficiary to spend absolutely nothing on rent, this is exceedingly rare; instead it is generally expected that the beneficiary will spend at least some portion of their income - regardless of its source - on their housing expenses.
Section 8 housing comes in two forms nationally, project-based and tenant-based. Project-based Section 8 housing dominates the available units because this idea has been in action much longer than tenant-based Section 8. In project-based Section 8 housing, either developers build housing specifically to be used for Section 8 or landlords refurbish older properties with federal money in order to dedicate them to Section 8 housing needs. In both cases, the property owner and managers receive good incentives - often in the form of tax credits - to dedicate their properties to affordable housing units for a fixed period of time. the properties are administrated by the local public housing authority (PHA), which determines eligible residents and then allows them to live in the units. The PHAs serve as the primary administrator between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the subsidized income beneficiary.
Tenant-based Section 8 - also known as the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program - allows the tenant to apply for and receive certification that they qualify for Section 8 housing. Once they receive their certificate, they are then free to find their own rental property within the issuing PHA's jurisdiction in which to live. In theory the idea sounds great since it allows low income people to integrate into the wider society as opposed to being confined to low income housing blocks which frequently devolve into slums. The problem is that the landlord has to voluntarily agree to accept the Section 8 vouchers, something that usually involves a lot of extra work and hassle, so many independent landlords simply will not accept Section 8 vouchers, allowing them to reject low income residents.