Wednesday, 2 March 2011

Section 8 Housing Guide

By Brandon Valencia


In today's strange profitable times it has grown more essential to find a way to pay for housing cost with incomes that have been cut either by job loss or pay reductions. The United States commenced offering federal housing help during the Great Depression. Although there are several different programs available, Section 8 housing is one of the most popular.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development offers two different types of voucher programs available in the Housing Choice Voucher Program. The first helps people with little incomes pay their rent by subsidizing it. The second does the same thing but is set up through the Veterans Administration for military veterans.

Section 8 is in reality a voucher system that is established to either be project or tenant based. Although there is a difference in the type of vouchers that are accepted there is not a difference in the way that a person would utilize for the program. The public housing agencies may set aside 20% of their vouchers to be used as project based vouchers.

Project based pertains to the vouchers being employed in specified public housing agencies. So whatever voucher of this type that an individual gets would only be able to be used at a particular apartment complex. Tenant based vouchers mean that the voucher can be used by the tenant at any apartment complex that accepts section 8 vouchers. When working under the tenant voucher system the individual or family would hire a unit and pay a portion of the rent, usually a percentage of the applicant's income, and the section 8 voucher would pay for the rest.

Applicants for the program will submit a form at the Housing Authority office. Not all cities are allowing for new section 8 applicants so verify that they are prior to submitting a form. Once an individual presents their application for section 8 housing it may take a few months or many years for them to receive a spot in the program. This is based on the quantity of space useable in the program in the applicant's city.

There are several welfares to landlords for accepting section 8 applicants. Some of the benefits include knowing that a portion of the rent will always be compensated on time by the housing authority, back rent available in the case of an eviction taking place, partial business license fee for the complex, annual inspections by the housing authority to ensure that the tenant is keeping the property in a good manner.

As with anyone beginning to hire an apartment there are some valuable points to also take into consideration. It is always fundamental to understand the contract prior to signing. Although the public housing agencies will be paying a percentage of the account it is vital to have an understanding of what is needed and covered at the new apartment. Consider getting renters insurance to protect the assets that are getting into the new house. It is critical to make sure that the apartment and area that is being moved into is safe and sound. Being a low-cost place to dwell is a great thing but safety is vital to a person and their family.

With the quantity of economic stress many people are presented with in today's world more people are wondering about section 8 housing. It is something that was set up by the United States many years ago and assists out a plenty of people today. It is a program that has welfares for both the renter and landlord that is involved in the rental.




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