TYPES OF SUBSIDIZED HOUSING
1. HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER PROGRAM: The program formerly known as the Section 8 Voucher Program is now officially known as the Housing Choice Voucher Program. However, since the name Section 8 has been used for over thirty years, many people still refer to it as the Section 8 Voucher program. The Housing Choice Voucher Program is administered by the State of Connecticut Department of Housing and local Housing Authorities. It is a major federal program that helps very low income families, seniors, and people with disabilities afford housing in the private market. Some vouchers are tenant based and some are project based. In the tenant based program, the voucher is assigned to the household (individual or family) seeking housing. Tenant-based housing may also be called “portable” since renters can take the voucher with them when they move within the United States and its territories. In the project based program, the housing subsidy is attached to the unit and often is not “portable.”
Housing Choice Voucher Program Website: The State of Connecticut Department of Housing and Public Housing Authorities in Connecticut that have the Housing Choice Voucher Program are required to post information about any opening of their Housing Choice Voucher Program Wait List on a website maintained by the United Way of Connecticut/2-1-1, http://www.cthcvp.org/. At this website, you can check for any currently open Housing Choice Voucher Program wait list in Connecticut. You can also register for an automatic email update, which will advise you when a housing authority posts an opening on this website. Some housing authorities may post current information about other housing options on their own website. Applications are only accepted during times when the waitlists are open.
2. SITE BASED RENT SUBSIDY PROGRAMS: With site based or project based rent subsidy programs the subsidy is assigned to a public or private housing development. Site based housing may also be called “non-portable” since tenants cannot take the housing subsidy with them when they move. Although there is a project based Section 8 rent subsidy program (administered by HUD) and other funding programs administered by HUD and other federal and state agencies, most project based rent subisidy programs are NOT consistently identified by their funding source, e.g., Section 8, Section 202. This type of subsidized rental housing may be easier to get into because there are more units available and generally speaking the tenants cannot take the voucher with them when they move.
3. RAP (Rental Assistance Program) VOUCHERS: RAP is a state-funded program administered by the Connecticut Department of Housing. The Department of Housing monitors the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program and State Rental Assistance Program (RAP) statewide waiting lists, and may open up the program periodically for a lottery, to be placed on the waiting list.
WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN LOOKING FOR SUBSIDIZED HOUSING
The State of Connecticut Department of Housing and local public housing agencies that have Housing Choice Voucher Programs will have a wait list established for people seeking Housing Choice Vouchers. Housing authorities and other agencies usually close their wait list to new applicants once they have a certain number of names on the wait list. There are only a small number of agencies in Connecticut that offer Housing Choice Voucher Programs. However, there are hundreds of subsidized rental projects, managed privately or by a housing authority. While many of these non-portable subsidized rental programs may also have wait lists for rental units, the larger number of programs means that people seeking subsidized rental housing will have a better chance of finding a rental with a non-portable program than they will by getting on a Housing Choice Voucher Program wait list.
TIPS FOR FINDING SUBSIDIZED RENTAL HOUSING IN CONNECTICUT
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PREPARED BY: 211/jm
CONTENT LAST REVIEWED: December2023