Great Falls Housing Authority

The idea of the HA is to provide housing assistance. There are differences among all the programs that we have mentioned so far in this material. Section 8 allows you to choose a preferred location. The landlord must also agree to accept the Section 8 housing vouchers.

Section 8 has 2 subdivisions: there is a tenant option and a project option. The tenant voucher follows the tenant. This means that the tenant can change housing and transfer the voucher with him if the new landlord accepts these vouchers as payment. The project housing is tied to a specific location and the tenant must reside in that location to get the rental assistance. In the public housing program, the proprieties are owned by the rental assistance agency.

There is also public housing, which is managed by the government. The idea is that there are housing options that are subsidized by the government. This program welcomes low-income families. The rent that the tenants pay depends on their annual income. So the difference between section 8 vs public housing is that section 8 lets you choose your residence and you get a subsidy on your rent and public housing allows you to live in a place that is owned by the government.

The most common HA program is Section 8. There is a long waiting list for this program. With the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of people that have applied for the vouchers of Section 8 has skyrocketed, hence there are a lot of application delays. As of right now, the housing authority waiting list is 1 year and a half. The public housing authority programs favors specific groups of people or families that fit certain profiles. Priority is given to veterans, to the elderly, to the people that are exiting domestic violence.

When getting a place to live with the housing authority, it is good news as your emergency is now solved. Well, there are always the questions of what happens next and how long can you stay in that place? The short answer is if you keep qualifying for the same requirements that you got the place in the first time. That means that if your income stays below 80% of the local median income, you are good. There is always the requirement of good behavior.

You also must take care of your part of the rent. The housing authority provides help, but the idea is that you still cover a small part of the rent and expenses. You also need to make your payments on time.

Section 8 is a great program to offer rental assistance. The voucher of Section 8 covers 30-40% of the rent cost, which also includes utilities. To qualify for section 8 vouchers, you need to prove to the housing authorities that minimally your income is 80% of the local median income. You also need to show American citizenship to all the people in your household. With immigrants, there are extra documents to submit, such as naturalization documents or I-94 stamps. You also need to show your past landlord history, hence if you have an eviction record, you will be disqualified.

The housing authority does detailed research to make sure that the people that are helped with rental assistance will get better and will make use of the help. This means that background checks are an important part of the work. The housing authority will disregard any applicant that has a criminal background. The housing authority will deny any applicant that is a sex offender or has records of drug use. The other detail is that if you have had a previous housing authority assistant and you got evicted, that is a big no, and your application will be rejected.

Regarding the use of the drug, there is a way around that and is the fact that you show that you have completed a drug treatment program. Even if you have a criminal background, each case is special, and you are given a chance to say your plea and to explain the circumstances. Also, felonies older than 5 years are not considered part of the application.