Do You Qualify for Section 8 Assistance?

Rental prices are soaring across America.

In 1 year, some renters saw their prices jump over 100%.

Assistance for renters is available through the government.

Americans can use Section 8 to help pay rent.

One Simple Way To Know If You Qualify For Section 8 Assistance

(NewsReady.com) – Many industries took a hit during the pandemic, but the housing market wasn’t one of them. Housing prices increased more than 18% from October 2020 through October 2021. People are selling their homes for incredible prices and making excellent profits.

On the flip side, rental prices have soared. Nationwide, the cost of renting jumped 14% in December 2021 alone. In some areas of the country, renters are facing an increase of up to 40%. Even during the best of times, some Americans need help – that’s where Section 8 comes in.

Rental Assistance

Section 8 is a name for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Choice Voucher Program. It provides vouchers to help low-income individuals and families pay for housing. According to statistics, 2.1 million Americans live in Section 8 housing. The average monthly rent is $347 for households that receive the benefits. More than 5.23 million people use the Housing Choice Vouchers program.

The Public Housing Authority distributes housing vouchers to landlords to subsidize rent for needy Americans. Tenants who receive vouchers are required to pay 30% of their monthly adjusted gross income (their monthly taxable amount minus their IRS deductions) for utilities and rent. Sometimes, people are able to use those vouchers to purchase modest homes.

Qualifications for Section 8

There are strict guidelines to determine who qualifies for the program. First, a person or family must meet the income requirements. There are three income-limit tiers that also account for the area a person lives in and the number of people in their household.

Extremely low: to meet this threshold a person must be at 30% of the median income level in their area
Very low: this level is 50% of the median income level
Moderately low: 80% of the city’s median income level

Applicants must meet HUD’s definition of family to qualify. That means they have to meet any of the conditions listed below:

Have a family member who’s disabled
Have children
Lived with people who received the benefits, but now live alone because they moved out
Have a family member that’s age 62 or older
Has been displaced from their house for an approved reason

Applicants for Section 8 must also be either a US citizen or belong to one of the eligible non-citizen groups such as a permanent resident. Those applying for the benefits generally need to have a rental history free of evictions to qualify.

Americans can apply for the program by contacting their local Public Housing Agency.