Eligibility and Applications
Who Can Apply for Housing?
Eligibility for a housing voucher is determined by the PHA based on the total annual gross income and family size and is limited to US citizens and specified categories of non-citizens who have eligible immigration status. In general, the family’s income may not exceed 50% of the median income for the county or metropolitan area in which the family chooses to live.
Applicants must qualify as a family and/or as an eligible single person. Annual gross income must be within limits as established by HUD for this area, with adjustments for smaller and larger families. An eligible family includes but is not limited to a single person who may be elderly, near-elderly, displaced, disabled, or any other single person; or a group of persons residing together as a family that may or may not include children regardless of marital status. It includes elderly single persons; the remaining member of a tenant family; a displaced person; or a single individual. An elderly family is one whose head spouse or sole member is at least 62 years of age, and may include unrelated elderly, disabled or handicapped persons living together. Eligible families pay a monthly rent equal to the greater of 30% of their monthly adjusted income or 10% of unadjusted monthly income. If utilities are not included in the rent, the family receives a rent credit equal to the RHA’s estimate of the cost of utilities.
RHA has implemented preferences for its housing and voucher programs. If you wish to claim a preference, you may need to provide additional information on the application.
Additional Program Information
Program Process
- Families apply to the waiting list
- RHA selects from the waiting list and determines eligibility
- RHA issues a housing choice voucher and the family searches for housing
- Housing Quality Standards (HQS) inspection is conducted
- RHA determines whether the rent to owner is affordable and reasonable
- Landlord lease and Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) contract executed
Applicant Responsibilities
- The family must supply any information that the Raleigh Housing Authority or HUD determines is necessary in the administration of the program, including submission of required evidence of citizenship or eligible immigration status. Information includes any requested certification, release or other documentation.
- The family must disclose and verify Social Security Numbers and must sign and submit consent forms for obtaining information and all information supplied by the family must be true and complete.
- The family must use the assisted unit for a residence by the family. The unit must be the family’s only residence.
- The Raleigh Housing Authority must approve the composition of the assisted family residing in the unit and the members of the family must not commit fraud, bribery, or any other corrupt or criminal act in connection with the program.
- The members of the family may not engage in drug-related criminal activity or other violent criminal activity.
- The family must pay the family’s share of the rent directly to the landlord each month according to the terms of the lease and must pay for any utilities not included with the rent. Except for normal wear and tear, the family must not damage the dwelling unit and must also abide by the lease in all other respects. The landlord may evict for unpaid rent and/or failure to comply with the lease. RHA may terminate the family from the HCV program for providing false information and/or for failure to comply with program rules and regulations.
Lease and Contract Execution
The family and the owner must sign a lease for an initial twelve-month period and the owner must attach the HUD Tenancy Addendum to the lease. RHA does not sign the lease. The family may also be required to pay a security deposit directly to the owner. RHA does not subsidize or assist with paying the security deposit. The owner is responsible for collecting the security deposit and the family’s share of the rent directly from the family. The owner and RHA must sign the Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) contract no later than 60 days after the lease start date or the passed inspection date, whichever is later. RHA will pay the rent subsidy directly to the owner.
Housing Authority Role
RHA must make initial determinations of eligibility of all families and must re-determine family income and family composition annually in order to calculate family rent to the owner. RHA must also inspect all subsidized rental units in its voucher program each year to ensure that they still meet Housing Quality Standards. RHA is responsible for making rent payments to property owners and ensuring that owners and tenants abide by the rules of the program.
The Leased Housing Department is located at
900 Haynes Street
Raleigh, NC 27604
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