Below are brief descriptions of the various government programs that keep the properties listed on our website affordable to low-income households. Some properties operate under a single program, some operate under two or more programs.
In addition, you can follow the links on our "How is Affordable Housing Defined" webpage for links to the websites of the various government programs.
HUD SECTION 8 PROJECT-BASED SUBSIDY
Properties in this type of program are HUD funded properties where you DO NOT need to have a Section 8 Housing Choice voucher to receive a subsidized rent! They offer HUD subsidy directly from the property to you! Subsidy is available immediately at the property to qualified households and your rent will be 30% of your adjusted monthly income. The subsidy stays with the property and is not transferrable to other properties. Some properties are fully subsidized (every unit) and some only partially subsidized (only some units). See individual property listing for contact information and details.
USDA RURAL DEVELOPMENT WITH PROJECT-BASED RENTAL ASSISTANCE SUBSIDY
Properties in this type of program are Department of Agriculture funded, offering direct Rental Assistance subsidy from the property to you! Here again your rent can be subsidized without having to have a Section 8 voucher! Subsidy is available at the property to qualified households and your rent will be 30% of your adjusted monthly income. The subsidy stays with the property and is not transferrable to other properties. Some properties offer full rental assistance (every unit) and some only have partial rental assistance (only some units). This program is very similar to the HUD Project-based subsidy program above in how your rent is calculated. This program accepts applicants with annual income ranging from very low to moderate income limits, so these properties can accept applicants at a higher income level than most HUD programs allow, but gives a preference to lower income applicants. See individual property listing for contact information and details.
HOUSING AUTHORITY PROVIDED SECTION 8 VOUCHERS (Housing Choice Vouchers) Also know as Tenant-based subsidy:
Properties listed like this only offer subsidy for qualified applicants that have a Housing Authority provided Housing Choice Section 8 voucher.
You must first have applied and received a voucher through your local housing authority program.
You should contact your city or county Housing Authority directly for an application for their voucher/subsidy program. Then you can take your voucher to a property that accepts them and receive a subsidized rent.
Through this program, you will generally only pay 30% of your monthly household income for rent. Maximum rent amounts that the owner can charge for an apartment/house are designated by the Federal Government. If an owner wishes to charge more than the maximum rent authorized by the housing authority, the tenant may be asked to pay all or part of the difference up to 40% of monthly income. All properties listed on our site that do not have direct subsidy through another government program will take a Section 8 voucher. Vouchers are transferrable as they stay with the household, not the property, once you move out of the property. Generally, you may take your voucher to any property located anywhere it is accepted and use it to receive a subsidized rent (it is portable).
The basic (non-subsidized) rents at properties on our website that accept vouchers are often below market anyway, so even without a voucher, the base rents may be affordable for many low-income households. See individual property listing for contact information and details.
WASHINGTON STATE HOUSING FINANCE COMMISSION TAX CREDIT PROGRAM (WSHFC) NON-SUBSIDIZED AND MIXED WITH SUBSIDY
This state program restricts rents at these properties to below-market for qualified low-income applicants. There is not direct subsidy built into this program, but some properties may offer project-based subsidy or rental assistance on all or some of their units. All tax credit properties that do not have 100% project based subsidy must allow you to use a Housing Authority provided Section 8 voucher for one of their non-subsidized units. Units are set-aside at these properties for differing household incomes so there may be one or more waiting list lengths at these properties depending upon the unit availability for a particular applicant income catagory. The units set-asides that are available to you and the rent you will pay at these properties are determined by the HUD income limit your household meets- 30%, 40% 50% or 60% limit or somewhere in-between.
Income limits are still a qualifing factor at Tax Credit properties. The rents at these properties are tied to the HUD income limits. Rents can vary at these properties depending upon location, income level and other program requirements.
Again, this is not a subsidized program so you will not pay a subsidized rent unless you have a Section 8 voucher or the property has another subsidy program built into it. See individual property listing for contact information and details.
OTHER LOW-INCOME SUBSIDIZED, NON-SUBSIDIZED INCOME AND RENT RESTRICTED OR MIXED ELIGIBILITY PROGRAMS
These properties have other types of financing or subsidy that keep their rents affordable to low-income applicants. Through local or government grants etc, these properties have been able to obtain financing that allow them to keep their rents affordable.
Some properties might also offer project-based subsidy through a local city or county program. See individual property listing for contact information and details.
Some properties also have mixed eligibility- i.e. within the property, some units are low-income or subsidized and some are not.