Mitchell Housing Authority

You can apply for the housing choice voucher program by reaching out to the local housing authority office. You fill out their application form and provide all supporting documents. After you have all the forms and supporting documents, you drop them at the local office, and then you are placed on a waiting list. If approved, you will receive a mail at your current address stating the details. You will then notify your landlord. After you have been accepted onto the housing choice voucher program go to the housing office and sign the contract.

The most popular program for public housing assistance is Section 8. There are many steps to apply for this type of assistance, but first and foremost you need to make sure that your landlord accepts payments in the form of vouchers provided by the housing authority. To apply for Section 8, you need proof that you have a low income, which comes in the form of job checks or tax returns, you need a state ID, you need to show your USA citizenship, you need to have a clean record, which means no felonies or drug use. The last part of the application is the special situations, which can either significantly put you at the bottom of the waiting list or can push you to the top. The idea is simple: the more drastic your situation, the earlier you will get the help.

This means that being homeless, having a disability, having an income that is on the 50% or below the local average income, living in a shelter, being a veteran, being part of the elderly, and exiting domestic abuse, will push you on top, as these are categories that need immediate assistance. You can also bypass the waiting list by reaching out directly to the housing authorities. You can also use the help of a social worker, who can assist you in navigating the application faster and can direct you to a new opportunity.

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.

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.

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.