According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), public housing was originally established to provide decent and safe rental housing for eligible low-income families, the elderly, and persons with disabilities. In the 1970’s, a market-based program known as the Section 8-Rental Assistance program was created for lower income households offering struggling families affordable housing in locations of their choice, a change from the previous programs which limited low-income housing to large scale, high rise public housing in urban areas, more commonly referred to as “the projects.”
Currently, there are approximately 1.3 million households living in HUD public housing units, which are administered by some 4,000 separate local public housing agencies (PHAs). Chartered by states and given significant autonomy to issue bonds and enter other long-term financing arrangements, PHAs generally operate at the local municipality or county level, often with multiple PHAs functioning in the same metropolitan area.
Through the Section 8 Rental Voucher Program, the administering housing authority issues a voucher to an income-qualified household, which then finds a unit to rent. If the unit meets the Section 8 quality standards, the PHA then pays the landlord the amount equal to the difference between 30 percent of the tenant’s adjusted income (or 10 percent of the gross income or the portion of welfare assistance designated for housing) and the PHA-determined payment standard for the area.
Unfortunately, the demand for housing assistance often exceeds the resources available to HUD and the local housing agencies, so long waiting periods are common. With one- to five-year waiting lists that are sometimes closed to new applicants, only one-fourth of those eligible for housing assistance actually receive it. In fact, a PHA may close its waiting list when it has more families on the list than can be assisted in the near future and like a lottery, direct housing assistance provides substantial benefits only to a portion of those who need it.
If this is all very confusing to you, you are not alone! Working through the maze of public housing assistance can be complicated and confusing, particularly for the elderly and physically challenged. Discouraged by the paperwork, long-lines and run-arounds many qualifying individuals give up on their efforts to seek help. However, if you qualify for Section 8 Rental Assistance, it can make a significant difference in your quality of life and standard of living.
