Beyond Food Stamps: Over 9M Americans Qualify for Section 8 Housing — Do You?
Written by
Josephine Nesbit
Edited by
Nicholas Morine
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Low-income households which need assistance paying monthly rent may qualify for Section 8 Housing. Although 38 million people in the U.S. lived in poverty in 2022, USAFacts noted that just over 9 million people receive housing subsidies through the HUD’s Section 8 program.
Section 8 Housing is a term derived from Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937. The program offers financial subsidies to landlords who offer rental units to low-income people at below-market rents. Section 8 accounts for about 80% of housing units and participants in HUD housing assistance programs, USAFacts reported. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which oversees and funds the program, eligibility is based on your household’s total annual gross income and family size.
Project-Based Rental Assistance vs. Housing Choice Vouchers
The HUD offers two types of Section 8 Housing:
- Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA): PBRA provides subsidies to private building owners who rent at below-market rates to eligible tenants. The government and building owners agree on a rental rate based on the HUD’s estimates of fair rent price for the market and adjusted for low-income tenants based on their resources. Tenants must contribute 30% of their monthly income toward rent or a minimum of $50, whichever is higher.
- Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV): Under the HCV program, public housing agencies (PHAs) receive funds from the HUD to administer vouchers directly to low-income renters for a percentage of rental costs. HCV is a tenant-based program, and renters are not limited to specific buildings. However, the housing must meet health and safety standards, and the building owners must agree to receive a portion of the tenant’s rent from a voucher.
According to USAFacts, over 2 million people received PBRA in 2022, and the average annual income was $14,405. Each year, about 40% of subsidized rental units are reserved for households with “extremely low incomes,” or incomes lower than 30% of the local median income.
In 2022, 5.2 million people received HCV, and recipients had an average annual income of $16,610. The maximum amount of the voucher is determined by the fair market rate for housing in the area and the family’s household income. Every year, 75% of new households accepted into the program qualify as extremely low-income.
You’ll be put on a waiting list once you apply and qualify for Section 8 Housing. According to Eligibility.com, HCV applicants are likely to wait on the list for up to two years, unless you have waiting list priority. PHAs may choose to put some eligible applicants at the top of the list if they are extremely low income, homeless, living in a shelter, have a disability or are elderly or a veteran, Benefits.com reported.
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