Housing Without Services

By Karl Bertrand, President/CEOProgram Design and Development, LLC

Today’s Topics

1. Making housing affordable

2. Accessing other services to prevent housing loss

Two WaysTo Make Housing Affordable

1. Housing Subsidies - give you $ to rent housing wherever you want

2. Subsidized Housing - special housing developments with affordable rents or reduced purchase prices

Rent Subsidies

• The major source of rent subsidies is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

• The major type of rent subsidies from HUD is Housing Choice Vouchers (also known as Section 8 Vouchers)

Advantages of Housing Choice Vouchers

• Flexible - you choose where you live• High rent subsidies adjusted to reflect

Westchester’s high rents• Rent subsidies are adjusted each year as rents

rise in our area• Most programs give priority to people with

disabilities - including mental illness• Annually renewable for life

Basics of Housing Choice Vouchers

• Have income eligibility limits

• Rent subsidies capped at “Fair Market Rents” for our area

• Require participant contribution = 30% of income

• 11,000 vouchers in Westchester

• Administered by over a dozen local agencies

• Can also be used for home-ownership

Income Limits forHousing Choice Vouchers

• All recipients must be very low-income (at or below 50% of the median income for your household size in your area)

• At least 75% of recipients must be extremely low-income (at or below 30% of the median income for your household size in your area)

2010 Income Limits (% of Area Median Income) for Westchester

$31,400$28,300$25,150$22,000Extremely Low (30% of AMI)

$52,350$47,150$41,900$36,650Very Low(50% of AMI)

$75,600$68,050$60,500$52,950Low Income

(80% of AMI)

4 Person

3 Person

2 Person

1 Person

2010 Income Limit Category

2010 Fair Market Rents (FMRs)for Westchester

2010FMR

$2,410

4-BR

$1,955

3-BR

$1,621

2-BR

$1,394

1-BR

$1,169

Studio

Unit Size

Local Section 8 Administrators

• Eastchester -Town of

• Greenburgh HA

• Mamaroneck HA -Town

• Mamaroneck HA - Village

• New Rochelle - City

• New Rochelle HA

• Peekskill - City

• Pelham HA - Village

• Port Chester - Village

• Tuckahoe HA - Village

• Mount Kisco - Village

• Ossining - Village

• White Plains - City

• Yonkers HA

• Yorktown - Town

• Westchester County (???)

If You Qualify for Section 8

1. Find your local Section 8 agency

2. Check the status of the waiting list

3. File an application as soon as you can

4. Notify the agency of any address changes

5. Be persistent - check your waiting list status every few months

Two Types of Subsidized Housing

1. Public Housing: two subcategoriesa) Family Developments vary in quality and

safety

b) Elderly/Disabled Developments tend to be smaller, newer, nicer and safer

2. Other Federally subsidized housing

Basics of Public Housing

• Have income eligibility limits (80% of AMI, with other possibly lower limits set locally)

• Rents adjusted to meet participant income: Can be as low as $5/month

• Require participant contribution: usually = 30% of income

• 4,575 units in Westchester• Administered by 10 local agencies

Local Public Housing Authorities

• Greenburgh HA (115)

• Mount Kisco HA (76)

• New Rochelle HA (543)

• North Tarrytown HA (86)

• Peekskill HA (282)

• Port Chester HA (340)

• Tarrytown HA (151)

• Tuckahoe HA (151)

• White Plains HA (712)

• Yonkers HA (2,119)

The # in parentheses is the HA’s total # of low-rent units.

Each Housing Authority (HA) sets its own admission preferences and application procedures.

Basics of OtherFederally Subsidized Housing

• Owned by for-profit or non-profit developers• Built with federal grants in return for offering

reduced rents for specific low-income groups• Can be targeted to elderly and/or disabled• May have specific # of units targeted to low income,

very low income, and extremely low income people• Individual buildings or small developments• Scattered site - often new and high-quality

How to Find OtherFederally Subsidized Housing

• Search for an apartment using HUD’s “Low-rent apartment search” online tool

– Find it at www.hud.gov/apps/section8/index.cfm

– Or Google “HUD Low-rent apartment search”

• Search by state and then by city, county or zip code

• You can search by type (disabled, elderly, family, etc.)

• You can search by # of bedrooms

• Gives name and address of property and phone # for management office

• Westchester has 71 projects listed - 4 for disabled and 4 unspecified

Other Ways To Find Other LocalFederally Subsidized Housing

• Call your city or town’s Department of Planning and Development• Call the Westchester County Planning Department at

(914) 995-4400• Ask them to tell you of any housing developments in your area that specifically target disabled or

low-income residents and ask them to give you contact information for those developments• Then call those local developments and ask if they have units available, how you apply for them,

and how you can tour them

Preventing Housing Loss #1(for renters)

• If you are falling behind on your rent, call:

The Bridge Fund171 East Post Road, Room 200White Plains, NY 10601(914) 949-8146

Preventing Housing Loss #2(for home-owners)

• If you are falling behind on your mortgage payments, call:

Westchester Residential Opportunities470 Mamaroneck AvenueWhite Plains NY 10605(914) 428-4507

Preventing Housing Loss #3(for renters and home-buyers)

• If you feel you are the victim of housing discrimination, call:

Westchester Residential Opportunities470 Mamaroneck AvenueWhite Plains NY 10605(914) 428-4507

Preventing Housing Loss #4(for renters)

• If you feel your landlord is not fulfilling his obligations, charging you unfair rent or trying to evict you illegally, call:

Legal Services of the Hudson Valley1-877-574-8529 (877-LSHV-LAW)

• White Plains: 90 Maple Avenue• Yonkers: 30 South Broadway, 6th floor• Mt. Vernon: 100 East 1st Street, Suite 810