Washington 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!

How to Learn More about Low Income Housing in WA

Washington State operates a good number of low income housing projects for residents of the state, though it is not as comprehensive as the programs offered by neighboring Oregon. Nevertheless, there is plenty of information available to help people in need of housing assistance in the state. This is particularly true in the larger metropolitan areas, all of which have vibrant non-profit housing advocacy organizations that can usually provide all of the information that someone looking for housing assistance should need.

Frequently, one of the best sources for information about basic low income housing options in a particular state is the state's housing entity, usually a government department, public corporation, or other semi-governmental organization that oversees the various federal housing programs in the state. In Washington State this entity is the Washington State Housing Finance Commission (WSHFC, www.wshfc.org). However, the WAHFC website does not provide a great deal of information for renters or people seeking affordable rental property. Instead, the emphasis is much more on low income home buyers and various programs meant for property owners and/or land developers.

Instead, the better option for people seeking low income rental properties in Washington State is the AptFinder website: http://aptfinder.org/. Despite sounding like one of the endless apartment referral services on the Internet, in fact it is an affordable apartment locator owned and operated by Multifamily Affordable Properties (MAP), a non-profit organization that operates throughout Washington State. For people just looking for available low income housing units, this is probably the best place to go online, at least as a first step. Needless to say, it is entirely possible that there might be better options in any given locality, but the AptFinder website is likely to give visitors at least an idea of the affordable housing situation in any given area.

Generally speaking, the key authority for affordable housing options in the United States is the local public housing authorities (PHAs) overseeing a given locality. Virtually every county and/or metropolitan area in the United States has a PHA and these organizations are likely to have far more information about what is available in their area than anyone else. Not only do these PHAs tend to administer public housing and the federal Section 8 program, but they frequently have close ties to the housing advocacy organizations, charities, and other resources that are applicable to the area. This is just as true in Washington State as elsewhere, so assuming the person in need of housing assistance already knows where they want to live in Washington State; contacting the local PHA is probably the best option.

Washington State has a good range of options available for people in need of housing assistance and people in need usually do not have too much trouble finding assistance. If a new resident does not necessarily know where they want to live, the AptFinder option is probably the best first step, whereas if they already know precisely where they need to be, contacting the local PHA is probably the better move. Information about renter's and tenant's rights and other concerns are also readily available both online and through the local PHA.