Housing Choice Voucher Program
The housing choice voucher program is the federal government’s major program for assisting very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market. Since housing assistance is provided on behalf of the family or individual, participants are able to find their own housing, including single-family homes, townhouses and apartments.
The participant is free to choose any housing that meets the requirements of the program and is not limited to units located in subsidized housing projects.
Housing choice vouchers are administered locally by public housing agencies (PHAs). The PHAs receive federal funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to administer the voucher program.
A family that is issued a housing voucher is responsible for finding a suitable housing unit of the family’s choice where the owner agrees to rent under the program. This unit may include the family’s present residence. Rental units must meet minimum standards of health and safety, as determined by the PHA.
Housing choice vouchers are administered locally by public housing agencies (PHAs). The PHAs receive federal funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to administer the voucher program.
A housing subsidy is paid to the landlord directly by the PHA on behalf of the participating family. The family then pays the difference between the actual rent charged by the landlord and the amount subsidized by the program. Under certain circumstances, if authorized by the PHA, a family may use its voucher to purchase a modest home.
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:
Michelle Moore, Landlord Outreach Coordinator
Housing Choice Voucher Program
Direct line: 828.239-3541
Email: mmoore@haca.org