2 Answers
The short answer is that under Section 8 rules, when you first rent a unit or
move to a new unit, your share of the rent will be between 30% and 40% of
your household’s
adjusted income. Later on in your tenancy, your share of the
rent may be even more than 40% if the landlord raises the rent. The minimum
amount of rent that you must pay will be 30% of your household’s adjusted
income. The maximum when you first rent or move can be no greater than
40% of your monthly income.
12 But, it is impossible to tell exactly how much
your rent will be until after a housing authority approves a specific place.
When you get a voucher, you should ask the housing agency to write out the
maximum amount that you will be able to rent a place for.
The longer answer to this question is more complicated. Figuring out your
portion of the rent depends on several variables.
Fair market rents and payment standards
Every year, HUD publishes the
<font face="TimesNewRoman,Italic">fair market rents </font><font face="TimesNewRoman">for each area in the United</font>
States. These figures reflect what HUD thinks is the appropriate rent, based on
number of bedrooms, for each area of the country. The current
<font face="TimesNewRoman,Italic">fair market</font>
rents
<font face="TimesNewRoman">in Massachusetts are listed in the </font><font face="TimesNewRoman,Bold">Reference Materials </font><font face="TimesNewRoman">at the end of this</font>
chapter.
Using these
<font face="TimesNewRoman,Italic">fair market rents</font><font face="TimesNewRoman">, a local housing authority then sets what is called</font>
a
<font face="TimesNewRoman,Italic">payment standard</font><font face="TimesNewRoman">, which is used to calculate the rent the housing authority</font>
pays to the owner (known as the housing assistance payment, or HAP). A
housing authority may establish its payment standard between 90% and 110%
of local fair market rents.
<font size="1" face="TimesNewRoman"><font size="1" face="TimesNewRoman">13 </font></font><font face="TimesNewRoman">Generally, what happens is that the housing</font>
authority subtracts 30% of your
<font face="TimesNewRoman,Italic">adjusted income </font><font face="TimesNewRoman">(</font><font face="TimesNewRoman,Italic">tenant total payment</font><font face="TimesNewRoman">) from</font>
the
<font face="TimesNewRoman,Italic">payment standard </font><font face="TimesNewRoman">and pays the difference to the landlord. This is called</font>
the
<font face="TimesNewRoman,Italic">maximum subsidy</font><font face="TimesNewRoman">.</font>
<font face="TimesNewRoman">Go to this site ...</font>
<font face="TimesNewRoman">http://www.masslegalhelp.org/housing/finding-housing-booklets/using-a-section-8-voucher.pdf</font>
13 years ago. Rating: 3 | |