Privately Subsidized Housing Projects

Who Can Benefit from Privately Subsidized Housing Projects

The Privately Subsidized Housing Projects program (also called Section 8 Project Based Housing) serves persons who have very low incomes, including persons who are elderly and persons who have disabilities.

What is Privately Subsidized Housing Projects

Under the Privately Subsidized Housing Projects program (also called Section 8 Project Based Housing), the federal government gives subsidies (money) directly to the owner of housing. The owner rents the housing to a person with low income but at a rate that is the total rent minus the amount of the subsidy. So, in effect, the subsidy picks up part of the rent amount.

The federal government gives the property owner a long-term contract. When the contract ends, the property owner can opt out of the program and refuse to accept a person's housing subsidy for rent, making that housing unaffordable to the person with low income.

How can a Person Apply for Privately Subsidized Housing Projects

You can find a list of this kind of housing on the Internet by doing a property search at this Website: www.hud.gov/sec8/sec8.cfm. Your Public Housing Authority (PHA) should also be able to direct you to housing in your areas.

Pros and Cons of the Program

Pros of the Privately Subsidized Housing Projects

• because many of these contracts are about to end, the housing projects are being reviewed and problems are being taken care of;
• some people with disabilities who are living in this housing , or who are on waiting lists for the housing, may get priority to get vouchers. This is because the contracts for the subsidized housing will end and the housing may not be available or affordable anymore.

Cons of the Privately Subsidized Housing Projects

• in Ohio, more than 80 percent of the contracts for this kind of housing will end between 2000 and 2004. The property owner can then stop accepting housing subsidies, and this means that the nicest housing can become unaffordable to people with low income;
• a substantial majority of this housing is designated only for people who are elderly, and as a result is not available to people with disabilities under the age of 62;
• although this kind of housing should have accessible units, it is not clear whether this requirement has been enforced.

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