Julia Anderson
We’ll show you how Section 8 housing vouchers can make that happen, along with a hack to get affordable housing quicker.
If you’re struggling to pay your landlord each month, it’s time to get acquainted with Housing Choice Vouchers. What are they? The fancy new name for the old Section 8 program, which helps you pay a large portion of your rent so you can start saving for other purposes.
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We’ll discuss how Housing Choice Vouchers work. But since they can take a long time to secure due to high demand, we’ll also reveal a hack that many people have used to get affordable housing a lot faster.
Housing Choice Vouchers Background
The Housing Choice Vouchers Program is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The HUD distributes funds to local Public Housing Agencies (PHAs), which are the organizations that handle local applicants like yourself.
As for why the Housing Choice Vouchers Program exists, it’s to provide low-income families with safe, affordable housing so they can gain the stability they need to eventually become financially independent.
Applying For A Housing Choice Voucher
The application process for a housing voucher begins with contacting your local PHA. They will let you know what it takes to be eligible for a voucher, which is usually based on your income. Although this varies according to location, you usually need to make less than half the median income for your area to qualify for Section 8. When speaking to the PHA, they will let you know what documents are needed to apply, and they may set up an appointment for you to come in person to begin the process.
Housing voucher applications are usually straightforward and ask about your household members, income, monthly expenses, etc. You will also have to reveal any criminal or eviction history, as either could disqualify you.
If your application gets rejected, you can appeal and explain why you should be accepted into the program. If it gets accepted, you will be put on a waitlist. This is the major downside to Housing Choice Vouchers, as some applicants claim they were given wait times of 10 years.
A Hack To Get Affordable Housing Faster
After you apply for Section 8, don’t just wait for your acceptance letter so you can sit on the waitlist. Instead, be proactive and start contacting affordable housing buildings directly. Doing so could help you find units that don’t require vouchers, which can help you bypass the Section 8 process of having to wait years to get assistance.
Again, this move is in addition to applying for Section 8, so you can expand your opportunities. And to find affordable housing buildings you can contact, do the following:
- Ask different PHAs in your city, county, or even state for a list of affordable housing contacts.
- Use the HUD map to find affordable housing near you.
- Google “affordable housing” in your city of choice to find possible units.
When speaking to those contacts, ask if they require vouchers or if they have any units that charge 30 percent of income. If they answer no to the vouchers and yes to the 30 percent units, that means you can get affordable housing without having to sit on the waitlist for years. How is this possible? Because some buildings have their own funding to help low-income families.
