Low Income Housing Information
Importance of Renter's Insurance
Section 8 Apartments
Section 8 is a Federal housing assistance program which provides help to low income invididuals to find a house or an apartment. You must make an income below a certain threshhold to qualify for Section 8. That income level varies state to state and is usally indexed to an Area Median Income. The common metric is that you need to make in the bottom 50% of income for the area you are looking to find a rental.
Section 8 is not a State controlled program. It is controlled by the Federal Government and regulated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD for short). You must remember though that it is locally managed by the different state organizations and agencies that help designate certain apartment rentals as being Section 8 apartments.
The great thing about Section 8 is that you only pay what you can afford. So for example if you are only making $2,000 a month you may only have to pay 25-35% of your monhtly income which in this example would be $500 or $700 a month. It could be even lower than that depending on the state you live in and how much money you are making. The key thouhgh is that you can actually look for a rental for $1,000 a month and you only pay $500, the federal government pays the other 1/2, $500 and you can still live in the $1,000 rental unit.
The key thing to remember is the concept of Fair Market Rent. There is a certain fair market rent for each area and let's say it is set at $1,000 for New York City. If you wanted a Section 8 apartment in New York City and you found a unit that rented for $1,200 you would be eligible for $500 of assistance from the federal government, but since your unit is over the fair market rent then you would have to pay $500 + $200 (the amount the rent is over the fair market value) for a total of $700/month.
There can be very long wait lists for Section 8 Apartments so you need to call your local agency early to find out which units are available and if there is a waiting list. Sometimes there is a waiting list that can take a few months, so it's important to act early and get yourself in the queue so you can find an affordable place to move into.
Section 8 is not a State controlled program. It is controlled by the Federal Government and regulated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD for short). You must remember though that it is locally managed by the different state organizations and agencies that help designate certain apartment rentals as being Section 8 apartments.
The great thing about Section 8 is that you only pay what you can afford. So for example if you are only making $2,000 a month you may only have to pay 25-35% of your monhtly income which in this example would be $500 or $700 a month. It could be even lower than that depending on the state you live in and how much money you are making. The key thouhgh is that you can actually look for a rental for $1,000 a month and you only pay $500, the federal government pays the other 1/2, $500 and you can still live in the $1,000 rental unit.
The key thing to remember is the concept of Fair Market Rent. There is a certain fair market rent for each area and let's say it is set at $1,000 for New York City. If you wanted a Section 8 apartment in New York City and you found a unit that rented for $1,200 you would be eligible for $500 of assistance from the federal government, but since your unit is over the fair market rent then you would have to pay $500 + $200 (the amount the rent is over the fair market value) for a total of $700/month.
There can be very long wait lists for Section 8 Apartments so you need to call your local agency early to find out which units are available and if there is a waiting list. Sometimes there is a waiting list that can take a few months, so it's important to act early and get yourself in the queue so you can find an affordable place to move into.
You Can Also Start Browsing By Popular Cities:
