Federal Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers

The Sandwich Housing Authority (SHA) operates a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program that allows assistance in private market housing. Vouchers are administered locally by public housing agencies. BHA receives federal funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to administer this 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 SHA.

A housing subsidy is paid to the landlord directly by the SHA 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.

The Housing Choice voucher program places the choice of housing in the hands of the individual family. The rental unit must meet an acceptable level of health and safety before the SHA can approve payments to landlords under the voucher program. When the voucher holder finds a unit that they wish to occupy and reaches an agreement with the landlord over the lease terms, the SHA must inspect the dwelling and review the lease for approval.

The SHA determines a payment standard that is the amount generally needed to rent a moderately-priced dwelling unit in the local housing market and that is used to calculate the amount of housing assistance a family will receive. However, the payment standard does not limit and does not affect the amount of rent a landlord may charge or the family may pay. A family which receives a housing voucher can select a unit with a rent that is below or above the payment standard. The housing voucher family must pay 30% of its monthly adjusted gross income for rent and utilities, and if the unit rent is greater than the payment standard the family is required to pay the additional amount. By law, whenever a family moves to a new unit where the rent exceeds the payment standard, the family may not pay more than 40 percent of its adjusted gross monthly income.

The SHA calculates the maximum amount of housing assistance allowable. The maximum housing assistance is generally the lesser of the payment standard minus 30% of the family’s monthly adjusted income or the gross rent for the unit minus 30% of monthly adjusted income.

Under the voucher program, new voucher-holders may choose a unit anywhere in the United States if the family lived within the jurisdiction of the SHA when the family applied for assistance. Those new voucher-holders not living within the jurisdiction of the SHA at the time the family applies for rental assistance must initially lease a unit within that jurisdiction for the first twelve months of assistance. A family that wishes to move to another jurisdiction must consult with the SHA to verify the procedures for moving.

Once the SHA approves an eligible family’s lease and housing unit, the family and the landlord sign a lease and the landlord and the SHA sign a housing assistance contract which runs for the same term as the lease. 

When a family selects a housing unit, and the SHA approves the unit and lease, the family signs a lease with the landlord for at least one year. The tenant may be required to pay a security deposit to the landlord. After the first year the landlord may initiate a new lease or allow the family to remain in the unit on a month-to-month lease. When the family is settled in a new home, the family is expected to comply with the lease and the program requirements, pay its share of rent on time, maintain the unit in good condition and notify the SHA of any changes in income or family composition.