How to Qualify for Low Income Housing in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin offers a good range of affordable housing options for its low income residents and a lot of the requisite information to qualify for these programs can be found online. As is the case in most states, in response to federal initiatives, the primary focus is on helping low income people purchase homes. However, Wisconsin does provide a good range of options for people seeking subsidized rental properties (like Section 8 housing) or reduced rent properties (like HOME program units). Further, Wisconsin is a reasonably well wired state so a lot of the preliminary research can be done online before actually arriving in the state.
For just locating affordable housing in Wisconsin, probably one of the best resources online is the Front Door to Wisconsin's Affordable Housing website: www.wifrontdoorhousing.org. This resource identifies affordable housing options throughout the state: project-based Section 8 housing, landlords accepting Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV, or tenant-based Section 8 vouchers), reduced rent properties developed under the federal HOME program or the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) scheme and others. Further, the website provides at least some external resources that may be helpful to people looking for affordable housing.
Although low income housing options in Wisconsin are dominated by federal programs, the state of Wisconsin also offers a number of it own programs for people in need of housing assistance. To learn about these state options, one should visit the website of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce - Housing Services: http://commerce.wi.gov. This website provides a basic overview of the state administered programs available as well as further information about the standards for qualification and how to apply for these programs. Depending on circumstances, some of these state programs may actually represent a better alternative than those offered by through the federal government.
As is the case throughout the United States, by far the majority of affordable housing units available for low income people in Wisconsin are those offered through the Section 8 program. Administrated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and local public housing agencies (PHAs), the Section 8 program comes in two forms: project-based housing linked to the housing unit and tenant-based housing vouchers (also known as the Housing Choice Voucher program). The primary qualifying condition is a means test in which the applicant,s annual gross income is compared against the HUD-defined median income of the locality in question. There are other minor qualifying conditions that must be met and some PHAs also have their own restrictions based on their defined priorities, but the means test is really the main thing to be taken into consideration for most people.
Detailed information about the Section 8 program and a comprehensive list of local PHAs (which are in charge of processing new applications) can be found on the HUD website: www.hud.gov. To find out about local availability, waiting periods, and local priorities that may make it easier or more difficult for some people to get a unit, one should contact the local PHA directly. The PHA often also has additional information about other local programs that may or may not be government funded and other resources applicable to that particular jurisdiction. Exact qualifying conditions differ by area, so contacting the local PHA is a good way to avoid undue paperwork.