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Housing Choice Vouchers

Background

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. In Macomb County all vouchers are serviced through RPI Management.

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. Rental units must meet minimum standards of health and safety, as determined by the PHA.

 

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. 

Eligibility

Eligibility for a housing voucher is determined by the PHA 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 PHA 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.

During the application process, the PHA will collect information on family income, assets, and family composition. The PHA will verify this information with other local agencies, your employer and bank, and will use the information to determine program eligibility and the amount of the housing assistance payment.

If the PHA determines that your family is eligible, the PHA will put your name on a waiting list, unless it is able to assist you immediately. Once your name is reached on the waiting list, the PHA will contact you and issue to you a housing voucher.

Waiting Lists

Since the demand for housing assistance often exceeds the limited resources available to HUD and the local housing agencies, long waiting periods are common.

 

In fact, a PHA may close its waiting list when it has more families on the list than can be assisted in the near future.

 

PHAs may establish local preferences for selecting applicants from its waiting list. For example, PHAs may give a preference to a family who is (1) homeless or living in substandard housing, (2) paying more than 50% of its income for rent, or (3) involuntarily displaced.

 

Families who qualify for any such local preferences move ahead of other families on the list who do not qualify for any preference. Each PHA has the discretion to establish local preferences to reflect the housing needs and priorities of its particular community.

Status of Macomb County Housing Choice Voucher Waitlists

Currently, MSHDA has closed all open HCV waitlists.
This includes the EHV, HCV, and Homeless Preference HCV waitlists in Macomb County. 


Review this Detroit Free Press article that summarizes the current state of the HCV program in Michigan. (Published 10/4/24)


Please check MSHDA's website
for the most up to date information. 


Take a look at the list of Public Housing Agencies across the state of Michigan. These PHAs could have open lists while the federal program is closed, please reach out to them to find out more. 

 

Do you currently have a Housing Choice Voucher? 

Review HUD's HCV For Tenants website for the most up to date information specifically for voucher holders. 

 

Are you looking to move your voucher from, or to, Macomb County?

Please review MSHDA's webpage regarding Portability of Vouchers.

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