Nassau County Housing Authority

The idea of Section 8 is that it allows the landlord to rent their proprieties to eligible tenants that get federal help. The tenant pays its rent partially with the voucher and partially with its money. Section 8 covers rent for up to one year. For more than 1 year, you apply again for the program.

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.

Applying for housing authority assistance needs a lot of paperwork, but is very straightforward. You start by reaching out to your local HA. You can open our free site to find the closest to your location. You complete the housing options assessment, which is an online form. You also bring the supporting documents: id, proof of income, and details regarding your special situation. After, you get all these documents and crop them at your local housing authority.

After your application is received, you will get a written notification of your application. If you get accepted, you will sign a lease with your HA.

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.

To qualify for the housing authority, you need to reach out to the housing authority office. You then fill out a form that they give you and on that form, you list the below information:

• Names of the persons that will live with you.
• Their sex, birthdate, and relationship to you.
• Your contact and current address.
• Special circumstances that apply to you ( veteran, disability, elderly, etc.).
• Details of the previous landlord. The idea is that these landlords will be reached out to and asked if you are a reliable tenant.
• Income information, which means tax documents and W2 documents.
• Bank information, as that will be used to check the accuracy of your monetary situation.
• There is also a chance that you might get a home visit and asked questions.