Please note that the Hours of Operation for the Housing Choice Voucher Program staff has changed. Housing Support Specialists will now be available Monday-Wednesday from 9 AM-4 PM, and Thursdays by appointment only.
Other departments, both at the Central Office and in our Developments will continue to operate with normal business hours.
Housing Choice Voucher Program
What is the Housing Choice Voucher Program?
The Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP) (formerly known as the Section 8 Program) is the federal government’s major housing program funded federally and administered locally to assist very low-income families, the elderly and persons with disabilities with affordable, decent, safe, and sanitary housing. Voucher holders may choose any housing type that suits the needs of their family, as long as the requirements of the program are met.
Through the HCVP, there are two forms of voucher assistance.
Project-Based Vouchers
Project-Based Voucher (PBV) holders reside in PBV units where they pay 30% of their income towards their rent and utilities. Any rent portion not paid by the PBV household is paid for by the program. Project-Based Voucher holders are assisted as long as they live in their PBV units and continue to qualify for the HCV Program. In order to move from PBV housing and into the private rental market with continued assistance of a housing voucher, PBV residents must apply for a tenant mobility voucher (a form of Tenant-Based Voucher).
Tenant-Based Vouchers
With Tenant-Based Vouchers (TBVs), very low-income families may select and rent affordable housing in the private market.
- Very low-income families are those with incomes below 50% of area median income (AMI).
- Tenants residing in tenant-based voucher units pay 30-40% of their income towards rent and utilities.
The Housing Authority makes housing assistance payments on behalf of its tenant-based voucher holders directly to landlords.
Eligibility
Eligibility for a housing voucher is determined by the Housing Authority based on the total annual gross income and family size and is limited to US citizens and specified categories of non-citizens who have eligible immigration status. In general, the family’s income may not exceed 50% of the median income for the county or metropolitan area in which the family chooses to live. By law, a Housing Authority must provide 75 percent of its voucher to applicants whose incomes do not exceed 30 percent of the area median income. Median income levels are published by HUD and vary by location. The Housing Authority serving your community can provide you with the income limits for your area and family size.
To meet the income guidelines, you must earn less than half (50%) of the typical income for a family of your size in the Asheville/Buncombe and Haywood County areas. Use the charts below to find out.
For questions or concerns please contact Co-Directors of the Housing Choice Voucher Program, Michelle Moore (828-239-3541, mmoore@haca.org) or Noele Tackett (828-239-3514, ntackett@haca.org).
Reasons to Rent with HCVP
Rental property owners can enjoy the benefits of renting through the Housing Choice Voucher Program and help meet the critical need for affordable housing in Buncombe County. Here are a few key reasons why you may want to consider leveraging this subsidized housing program:
On-time and convenient payments – Receive your Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) – which may be all of the rent, or a significant portion depending on family income – from the Asheville Housing Authority on time every month by direct deposit into your bank account.
Protection from tenant’s financial hardships – Any time a tenant renting through the program experiences an income change, their rent portion is adjusted. For a tenant experiencing a loss of income, this means his/her rent portion is reduced and Asheville Housing’s HAP is increased. This helps to minimize evictions for the tenant and unit turnaround expenses for the owner.
Free access to a pool of potential tenants and low-cost marketing – Asheville Housing’s voucher program provides housing assistance to thousands of tenants in Buncombe County. When searching for available rental properties, these tenants are referred to AffordableHousing.com. As a rental property owner, you can create a free AffordableHousing.com account, list your available rental properties, and review tenant profiles. If you prefer, for a small fee, you can create a premium listing to gain more attention to your rental property when tenants are searching.
Short Vacancies – New and existing tenants renting through Asheville Housing’s voucher program are always in need of affordable housing in Buncombe County and owners who will rent to them through the Housing Choice Voucher Program, so filling a vacancy is a pretty quick process.
Landlord Mitigation Fund – Asheville Housing has a damage mitigation fund to help owners in the rare case of a tenant causing excessive damage to an apartment.
For more information on participating as a property owner, please contact:
Kerry Moffat, Landlord Outreach Coordinator
Housing Choice Voucher Program
Direct line: 828-239-3508
Email: kmoffat@haca.org