How to Apply for California Section 8

The California Section 8 (Housing Choice Voucher) Program is a federal government initiative that aims to help low-income families in the state to access affordable, safe and sanitary housing. This program is operated by the California Housing Authority (PHA) which has offices spread across the state. The California Public Housing Authority (PHA) receives funds directly from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and uses these funds to administer the vouchers to beneficiaries of the program.

A family that qualifies for the voucher is supposed to locate a suitable housing unit where the owner agrees to rent the unit under the program. This housing unit can either be the family’s current residence or a selected suitable unit that meets the PHA, s minimum standards of health and safety. In certain circumstances a family can decide to use its vouchers to purchase a reasonably affordable home.

So how does the program works? The Section 8 (Housing Choice Voucher) program pays a housing subsidy directly to the landlord with the family paying the difference of the actual rent and the program subsidy.

In order to qualify, applicants to the California section 8 (Housing Choice Voucher) need to meet a set of specified eligibility requirements. These eligibility requirements are mainly based on the applicant’s family income and nationality.

If you meet the California Section 8 basic eligibility requirements, you should go ahead and apply for participation in the program. Application is a fairly easy process that requires you to contact your nearest California Public Housing Authority (PHA) local agency, fill an application form. Provide the necessary verification documents and wait for your application to be processed.

Upon successful completion of the application process, you will be admitted into the California Section 8 (Housing Choice Voucher) Program and will be issued with a housing choice voucher.

Who can Qualify for Section 8?

In order to qualify for the California Section 8 (Housing Choice Voucher) Program, applicants need to meet a set of specified eligibility requirements. These eligibility requirements are set by the California Public Housing Authority (PHA) and are mainly based on the applicant’s family income, residence and nationality which are discussed below:

California Section 8 (Housing Choice Voucher) Program-Income Eligibility Requirements

In order to qualify for the California Section 8 (Housing Choice Voucher) Program applicants need to meet a set of income eligibility requirements. These income eligibility requirements are based on the family income and size. Generally speaking in order to qualify for this program, applicants must have an income that is considerably lower than the area’s median income.

The PHA divides applicants into three income category namely: very low-income, extremely low income and low income. The low income households are those that earn 80% or more than 80% of the area’s median income while the extremely low income household is at 30% of the area’s median income. The very low-income category earns 50% of the area’s median income.

It should be noted that close to 75% of the vouchers are issued to individuals who fall in the extremely low-income category.

California Section 8 (Housing Choice Voucher) Program-Nationality Eligibility Requirements

Applicants to the California Section 8 (Housing Choice voucher) program should either be U.S. nationals or registered legal aliens.

How to Apply

If you meet the California Section 8 (Housing Choice Voucher) basic program eligibility requirements, you should go ahead and apply for participation, all you need to do is:

• Contact your nearest California Public Housing Authority (PHA). A list of local California PHA,s and their respective contact information available on this link: http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/pha/contacts/states/ca.cfm (List of California PHA,s Local Agencies)

• After contacting your nearest PHA, you should obtain, fill and submit an application.

• After filling the application, you should wait for the PHA to process your application.

Upon successful processing of your application, you will be admitted into the California Section 8 (Housing Choice Voucher) program, and will be issued with a housing choice voucher.

You can obtain further information on the California Section 8 (Housing Choice Voucher) by using the contact information available on this link: https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/public_indian_housing/pha/contacts/ca (California Section 8 (Housing Choice Voucher) Program Important Contact Information)