Income limits:
PHAs must set the overall income cap for
families admitted to the voucher program between 50 percent and 80 percent
of the area median income. (Nationally, 80 percent of median income is $45,200
for a family of four.) PHAs may only set the local eligibility limit above
50 percent of area median income (nationally, $28,250 for a family of four)
if they state a reason for doing so in their annual plan for the voucher program.
In practice this requirement does little to restrict the flexibility of PHAs
in setting income limits.
Targeting to the neediest families:
Housing agencies are
required to ensure that 75 percent of households newly admitted to the voucher
program each year have incomes at or below 30 percent of the area median.
Nationally, 30 percent of median income is $16,950 for a family of four, or
roughly equivalent to the poverty line.
HUD refers to households with incomes up to 80 percent of the area median
as low-income households, those with incomes up to 50 percent
of the area median as very low-income households, and those
with incomes up to 30 percent of the area median as extremely low-income
households.
How Does a Family Use a Voucher to Obtain Housing?
Families can apply for vouchers at any agency that administers the voucher
program. Vouchers become available when the agency receives new vouchers or
families leave the program. (About 11 percent of vouchers "turnover" each
year; the rate varies substantially across the county.) Waiting times are
frequently very long; in 2000 the average wait for a voucher was 28 months.
In many communities waiting lists are so long that the lists are closed to
new applicants. A family that receives a voucher may use it either to help
pay the rent of its current unit or to rent a different unit. In either case,
the family must lease a unit with the voucher within a fixed period set by
the housing agency (this period must be at least 60 days but is often longer)
or the family will lose the voucher.
Once a family identifies a unit, the public housing agency must inspect the
unit to determine that it meets the voucher program's housing quality standards.
In addition, the agency must certify that the rent is "reasonable" - that
is, consistent with market rents for similar units in the local area. The
agency then signs a contract with the landlord and makes monthly subsidy payments
directly to the landlord. The landlord and the family also sign a lease agreement.
Landlords are under no obligation to rent to families with vouchers, although
landlords who receive Low-Income Housing Tax Credits or some other federal
subsidies are forbidden to discriminate against a family because it has a
voucher. (Some states and localities also forbid unsubsidized landlords to
discriminate against voucher holders.) Some families are not able to use their
vouchers within the allowed time period, for reasons such as a shortage of
affordable housing and the reluctance of some landlords to accept vouchers.
If this occurs, the family loses the voucher and the housing agency awards
it to a different family.
Studies have found that the proportion of voucher holders who are able to
use their vouchers - known as the success rate - fell from
81 percent in the early 1990s to 69 percent in 2000.This decline appears to
have reflected the tight housing markets in many areas at the time of the
latter survey; anecdotal evidence suggests that success rates in some areas
have risen substantially since 2000.
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