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Affordable Rent And Flexible Accommodations

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Rental assistance programs are offered to those living in the United States to provide affordable rent and flexible accommodations to fit participant need. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, often called Department of Housing and Urban Development or HUD for short, offer three types of rental assistance programs that include privately owned subsidized housing, public housing, and the Housing Choice Voucher Program. “Privately owned subsidized housing is a program in which apartment owners offer reduced rents to low-income tenants with the help of HUD. Public housing provides affordable apartments for low-income families, the elderly and those with disabilities. Lastly, the Housing Choice Voucher Program, otherwise know …show more content…

The housing choice voucher allows a housing subsidy to be paid directly to the landlord on behalf of a local public housing agency. The public housing agency is able to make payments as the Department of Housing and Urban Development federally funds the voucher program. After the subsidy is paid the participant pays the difference between the actual rent and that paid by the subsidy. Upon receiving the housing voucher the public housing agency determines a payment standard for the local housing market chosen by the voucher participant. The payment standard, however doesn’t limit the amount a landlord may charge or the voucher holder’s portion of payment. “The housing voucher family [participant] must pay 30% of its monthly adjusted gross income for rent and utilities, and if the unit rent is greater than the payment standard the family is required to pay the additional amount” (Housing Choice, n.d.). This is a general requirement and specific public housing agencies may have slightly different requirements. In Cuyahoga County, “Under the rental voucher program, the family [participant] is generally required to pay approximately 30% of adjusted monthly income toward rent and utilities. The Housing Assistance Payment made by CMHA [Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority] to the owner generally pays the remainder” (HCVP, 2015). Eligibility for a housing voucher may vary from state-to-state, but is generally determined by

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