Section 8 Application: Fill & Download for Free

Pretty hard.I worked for Section 8 in Berkeley, CA for a few months as a temp, and my boss was the coordinator that determined who got in. This was many years ago, so the specifics may have changed, but this gives you an idea of the challenges a person has to get through to get Section 8 housing.There's usually a waiting list and people are on it for several years before the government office gets to contacting the applicant. By then, the person may have a different address and is unreachable. If that happens, they would need to submit another application and go to the bottom of the list again.When they finally get called up, they have to go to an interview at the Section 8 office. If they miss their appointment, they pretty much need to re-apply.Once they make it to the interview, they must make it through the eligibility requirements. One requirement is that they have to prove they have some kind of income to pay their portion of the rent and utilities, which aren't covered by Section 8. It didn't need to be employment necessarily, just some kind of money coming in.I saw some of the rent prices and addresses of the Section 8 housing, and my sense was that they were more expensive than non-subsidized housing, and in very bad areas of town. (I had just moved to Berkeley and was looking for my own place so I had a decent idea of what rents were in what areas.) The portion of rent the individual was responsible for looked similar to what I was paying for my non-subsidized apartment. My sense was that the landlords were jacking up the rent to get money from the government. Also, for landlords, Section 8 housing has strict code requirements they must adhere to, are subject to inspections, and are rented to people that are less likely to take care of the property, which translates to higher expenses than the average rental property.All of these challenges make it difficult for anyone to get on Section 8, and it is even harder for people who are already homeless.

Hi there! Thanks for the A2A. If you don’t mind, I’d like to clarify a couple aspects of your question that some may misinterpret:The United States Government, state governments, counties, cities and even more local governments don’t ‘give’ public housing to anyone. The program you’re referring to is a current far-right, Rush Limbaugh-cancer-inflaming bugaboo: ‘Section 8’ housing vouchers.Section 8 housing is NOT government-owned. The Section 8 properties are owned and operated by private landlords who agree to take the vouchers from Uncle Sam for those unable to afford housing on their own. It’s a great deal for these landlords:They get to be slumlords who rarely repair things and allow heat or water to stay broken for days… because the Section 8 residents are so terrified they’ll lose their housing by breaking any of the rules they are required to follow, they don’t want to antagonize the landlord or give him reason to over-scrutinize them.The properties they own tend to be old, ragged buildings that market-rate renters would never consider looking at;The draconian rules the government imposes on Section 8 housing recipients — no 911 calls, no felons, no drugs of any kind, nobody can spend the night unless they’re on the government-guaranteed lease, and all are subject to random domicile inspections. If the apartment is determined to be poorly maintained (by the residents; the owner is allowed to let things rot) their lease can be revoked.And unlike any other renters, Section 8 is guaranteed income for all units designated for the vouchers. The US Treasury is never late paying rent; their checks don’t bounce; and unlike the rest of us, if Section 8 renters disappear into the night and never return, the government guarantees some or all of the remaining lease term money for the landlord.Thank you for letting me clarify some misconceptions about Section 8. Now, on to the details:Because Section 8 has been so vilified by the GOP, the budget for the program is regularly slashed in almost every biannual omnibus spending bill.The cuts to rental funds availability as well as drastic cuts to the HUD staff who administer the program has created an enormous backlog of applications with so few HUD employees available to review themThere are no direct means for an individual or family to apply for Section 8; they must have a social worker, community social services team, or file for direct financial aid with the county to get a referral, which gets them a 20–30 page application to complete.Once the application is submitted, the Section 8 backlog (as of 2014, when I worked in nonprofits) JUST TO GET A REVIEW OF AN APPLICATION was a wait of five years minimum, eight years probable to get off the waiting list and have your application reviewed.The application review process often takes several more months to complete.There are no programs or assistance for the poor family to find subsidized housing during the 8 years they’re waiting to find subsidized housing.This immoral, intentional effort by the GOP to inflict as much hardship and suffering as possible on the poor and weak isn’t targeting undocumented immigrants, Mexican rapists or drug addicted gang members.What it does do: Puts entire families on the street for years. Applicants for subsidized housing often are households with two parents working two jobs each, or single mothers with a couple children who work 2–3 jobs under conditions you or I wouldn’t last 30 seconds in before running out the door, sobbing like infants.The families applying for Section 8 are “pre-qualified” by the social worker who refers them to apply. Section 8 housing cannot be inhabited by anyone with a felony record (no matter how long ago, or what the felony entailed). There is zero-tolerance for drug use, and some states compel residents to undergo random drug tests while living in the landlord’s socialized housing complex. And children in the family are required to be registered in school, attend regularly, and stay out of trouble. A fight at school could put the family back on the street.So Section 8 residents are among the least-crime prone, least-drug using, most-upstanding, most family-values residents a building owner could ever hope to occupy their slums.Nobody asks the most important, life-critical question: “What the hell does the family do for eight years just waiting to get their application reviewed?”I know it’s because nobody cares… but you should: when a family starting their years-long gamble on getting vouchers survives by couch-surfing 1–2 nights per friend, this constant chaos and uncertainty affects the parents ability to get to work on time, stay focused on the job, and not make any mistakes.This part flummoxes me: the people we used to call ‘Conservative’ screamed for decades about “personal responsibility” and “family values”. Yet the system they demanded their elected officials make as difficult and painful as possible for those using it turns mothers and fathers responsible enough to hold down four job between them into families of four sleeping in a friend’s car, then taking buses across town to the next friend willing to take them in fr the night.This existence is stressful, especially with children involved. The parents lose their jobs because they woke up late sleeping on a steering wheel… which forces them to apply for cash assistance with the county. Before anyone has an ‘Ah-Ha!’ moment hearing this, realize what cash assistance is in 2020 America: the most generous states provide about $124 per month in assistance. Some states offer less that $75 a month.Try it yourself and see how you do:get $125 in cash. I’ll send it to you if you agree to sign a contract abiding by the terms of poverty and supply receipts and proof-of-couch for the month of your test.While trekking the family across the state finding a couch for a couple days, figure out how you can eliminate all expenses other than food… so you’d have $38/week to feed a family of four.Did you get rid of that phone and the $79 monthly plan? Great. No employer will hire you if you don’t have a phone and no permanent address. Spend wisely.When you run out of money on the third day, pull yourself out of the hypothetical and ask yourself this: What are you willing to do to keep your kids from going hungry? You’re already on the housing waiting list, but there’s no other social services to help you.FINALLY…I hate to agree with you, but the US government spending $71 billion to subsidize housing is unacceptable. It’s socialism, and it rewards one group of people while ignoring the rest of the people who work hard and try to support themselves on their own.We agree on this, right? I don’t like to admit when I feel this way about government handouts, but —Oh wait. I am so stupid! I wasn’t describing the cost of the Section 8 program… I mistakenly described the Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction, which costs taxpayer $71 billion a year to subsidize homeowners with a mortgage. It’s a massive handout that rewards one group and ignores the rest who are desperately trying without any government help.This part is correct, I checked: Section 8 housing subsidies would be impossible to fund at $71 billion a year in handouts. Section 8 only uses $28 billion dollars, and none of that money goes to the working poor family. It all goes to the landlord, so it’s more like a handout for landlords who also want guarantee payment of rent, strong-values families, and no criminals.Section 8 would need to double its budget to be on the same level as the money handouts to mortgaged homeowners.Which leads me to one question back to you:What percentage of financially secure homeowners asking the government for a handout on the first $1,000,000 value of their home’s mortgage via MID use the $15k-$40k in federal welfare benefits to make themselves a better life? What portion regress, and blow that taxpayer gift on buying a boat or some other depreciating purchase?And since the percentage of adults 18–45 in the upper half of income brackets are more likely to use illegal drug periodically than those in the lower half of income brackets at the same age, do you think the irresponsible handouts financially secure drug addicts take from taxpayers through the Mortgage Interest Deduction need to be stopped immediately?Would drug use decrease if they stopped relying on Big Government to reward them for incurring such a large debt through their mortgage?Thanks in advance. You opened my eyes with this one, so I appreciate it.

Go to the NYC HPD website (HPD - Section 8 - Applicants)