How do you get on section 8?

Answer 1

Call the Housing and Urban Development(HUD) department of your city hall or go back to the same place you applied. If you already applied, were accepted and have applied for an apartment, the property manager or managment co of that building can find out for you. In particular case though, just because you qualify for Section 8 does not mean you will be accepted at any particular building. That is entirely up to the OWNERS discression.

Answer 2

A section 8 voucher is now known as a Housing Choice Voucher, a voucher that is issued that guarantees that the government will pay its portion of your rent as long as all involved abide by their rules.

To get a housing choice voucher you have to go to your local Housing Authority, which may or may not have a waiting list. If it does not have a waiting list, this means that their current waiting list is overwhelmed and they cannot accept more entries. You will have to check with your local Housing Authority on a periodic basis. They will also post notices in your local newspaper about any waiting lists that may be open.

If you are lucky to be on a waiting list, be prepared to wait at least five years for your name to come up on it, although quite often the Housing authorities will push your name up it if you fall into special categories which include elderly, disabled, disabled veterans, or victims of domestic violence.

When your name comes up on the list you will be sent forms that you will need to fill out and include additional information when you send this back to your local Housing Authority. Meanwhile, you need to answer any letters that they send you, especially those which request you to update them with information, especially if such information changes like your address and phone number. If ever you do move you must notify the local Housing Authority of your new address, because if they try to contact you and do not receive a response, your name will be taken off the waiting list immediately -- there are other people waiting!

When your name does come up on the waiting list and you are given the forms to fill out, you will need documentation of your disability, if applicable, proof of your income, proof of your family size, and the release of information which allows the Housing Authority to conduct background investigation of you (such as credit, criminal background, and verification of benefits). If you fail any of these background checks with the exception of the credit, you may need to explain yourself or likely be rejected for your voucher.

Once you pass this background check and everything is okay, you will be given an appointment date at which you will report to the Housing Authority for orientation and to be issued your voucher. You will then have 60 days to find an apartment or a home of a landlord that will accept your voucher. You may ask for an extension if you're having trouble but there's no guarantee it will be given to you. If you don't find a home buy that specific period of time your voucher will expire.

After you have found a home, you will give your potential landlord a form that was given to you by the Housing Authority called Request for Tenant Approval, or RFTA, which are landlord must fill out and send to your local Housing Authority (your lander can give you back the form and you can take it there).

If the information on the RFTA is correct, and it is determined that the apartment or home is affordable for you, an inspector will be sent to the property to inspect the apartment, too and sure it meets housing quality standards, or HQS, then you're apartment will be approved and you can go ahead and move in provided you have met the landlord's requirements, such as security deposit, etc.

If the apartment has not passed such inspection, you may be allowed to move-in but to landlord will be given time to fix the problem or the Housing Authority will not issue a check for payment; or you may not be allowed to move into the unit in the first place, and the inspection will have to be rescheduled once the landlord rectifies the problem.

This is how the voucher system works

Answer 3

Sometimes section 8 is needed to help families get through a rough spot. Nowadays, almost everything is done online, so an application with a case number can be checked online. If that option is not available, then a call to the caseworker would help.

Answer 4

Getting on section 8 is generally a three step process, the most difficult being the first step: getting on the waiting list. To get out of waiting list you have to go to or call your local, regional, or state Housing Authority, and follow their instructions on how to get on the waiting list -- if it's open! If you are lucky enough to get your name on the waiting list, you must update the Housing Authority of any changes in your address so that they can keep in touch with you and send you more information when your name comes up on it, something that can take between two and 10 years or more.

When your name comes up on the waiting list the Housing Authority will send you forms and more information with instructions on how to proceed in the application process. Generally they need proof of your income and any disability benefits you may be receiving. You will also be granting them permission to perform an investigation on you, including a criminal background check, a credit check, and a review of any income you may be receiving including its source. If any of these findings are questionable they will ask you for more information or deny your application.

Once your application is submitted and all of the information is gathered, the Housing Authority will give you an appointment to appear in person, where you will be oriented and explained about the program, and you will be issued a voucher. Upon receipt of the voucher you will have generally about 60 days to find an apartment or home. If you are not living in the jurisdiction where the voucher was issued you must live there for at least one year before you are eligible to port your voucher somewhere else. If you do not find an apartment or home within 60 days you may be able to ask for an extension, which may or may not be granted to you.

Once you find a landlord who will accept your section 8 voucher, you will need to give a form to the landlord, who will fill it out and send it -- usually via fax -- back to your Housing Authority. An inspector from the Housing Authority will arrange a date for you and your landlord to be there when he or she inspects the property, to ensure it meets their standards known as Housing Quality Standards, or HQS. If it does not meet HQ S., you may or may not be allowed to move into the unit until the repairs are made, depending on severity of the flaw. If the inspection passes then you will be allowed to move into the unit, or to stay in the unit you are living in if that's the unit that is being inspected.

Once everything is settled you will be told how much rent you have to pay versus how much housing assistance payment or HAP the Housing Authority will be paying on your behalf.

Answer 5

There's really no such thing as section 8 housing. Either the landlord takes section 8, which means that they are willing to be paid by the government a portion of the rent on behalf of the tenant, or the landlord doesn't participate in such program. In this scenario the property is not considered section a property: it can be considered conventional property or what is known as a low income housing tax credit property, or LIHTC. This type of property is one that the landlord has taken out a low interest loan subsidized by the federal government, in exchange for tax credits and other benefits if they allow low income residents to rent from them.

Another Perspective

Rental properties where the owners participate in section 8 housing programs are informally referred to as "section 8 housing". A person who is looking for an apartment and sees one at a reasonable price may ask a friend in that neighborhood if the unit is in a section 8 housing facility.

You could ask neighbors if the facility where you live accepts section 8 housing clients. You could also call the landlord or rental office and ask.

Answer 6

There is no way to get your house to become section 8, per se. But you can, at the landlord, accept section 8 tenants. To do this your dwelling must be able to pass housing quality standards inspections, which will be performed by an inspector from the housing authority in your jurisdiction before approving the next tenant.

Answer 7

There are two types of section 8 housing: project-based and tenant-based. In a project based setting, the housing it typically owned by the city or County Housing Authority. In this case, this is known as public housing. Here, the tenants are living in one particular housing unit that is owned by the Housing Authority. In this case the tenant cannot move anywhere except to another housing development on by the same Housing Authority. On a tenant-based section 8 housing, this means that the tenant has been issued a voucher with which they can find appropriate housing for themselves, from a landlord who accepts those vouchers. To see if a particular housing development is a section 8 project, you might be able to interview the tenants that live there. One of them is bound to tell you that it is a public housing unit. If you have a voucher, then you need to look for an apartment or housing that is owned by a landlord who will accept such vouchers.

Answer 8

The only way to find out the status of your section 8 application or position on the waiting list is to call the Housing Authority that maintains the list.

Answer 9

I would like to know what number is they on with the Parma section 8 list