Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV)

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What is Section 8?

The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program (“Section 8”) is the largest and most successful low-income housing assistance program in the country. Property owners who participate in the Section 8 program benefit from the program because as much as 100% of the rent is paid by the government. If the lease terms and property are maintained, the rent is virtually guaranteed and sent to the owner every month, often by direct deposit into the owner’s bank account.

Section 8 participants can rent most properties that are listed at, or around, the current market rent rate.

How Does Section 8 Work?

Approximately 2.3 million households receive federal rental assistance via the Section 8 program. Section 8 is federally funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Although federally funded, the Section 8 program is administered locally by over 2,400 Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) across the country.

Is it Hard to Get a Section 8 Voucher?

Obtaining a Section 8 voucher is not easy. Because of funding limitations, not everyone who qualifies for a Section 8 voucher receives one. Due to overwhelming demand, many waiting lists for Section 8 assistance are closed and only open sporadically and for brief periods of time. This makes getting on a Section 8 waiting list challenging. If you manage to get on a Section 8 waiting list, long wait times are the norm and families often wait years to receive a voucher.

Further complicating the process, most PHAs also have different local priorities or methods of selecting applicants from their waiting list. Often this includes a local residency preference for those living or working within the PHAs jurisdiction or homelessness. Some PHAs also administer special purpose vouchers that are designated for specific populations, like the Mainstream Section 8 voucher program which provides a Section 8 voucher to households with a disabled adult household member, non-elderly and homeless.
In short, there are many different conditions that can make applying for Section 8 cumbersome and difficult. Some websites that you can register with to be notified of when a wait list is opening is:

AffordableHousing.com

Affordablehousingonline.com

Income Level for the Section 8 Program

2023 Income Limits

Household Size	30% of AMI	50% of AMI
1	$32,650	$54,350
2	$37,300	$62,150
3	$41,950	$69,900
4	$46,600	$77,650
5	$50,350	$83,850
6	$54,150	$90,050
7	$57,800	$96,300
8	$61,550	$102,500

Section 8: How Do I Register/Create a New Account?

You MUST FIRST register with the New York State Verification System.

Once registered, you will be able to access the Landlord Portal.

For your convenience, a step-by-step Landlord Registration Guide is available at: https://hcr.ny.gov/landlord-portal-registration-guide

This is an important notice of a recent, federal policy change pursuant to the implementation of NSPIRE.

Due to the significant risk of carbon monoxide exposure associated with unvented, fuel-burning heaters, effective 1/1/2024 HUD will no longer permit their use in properties receiving Section 8.

Section 8: How Do I Apply? What Does the Application Process Entail?

The Section 8 Program at the Rockland County Housing Choice Voucher Program is a lottery based application process. The dates of the lottery are announced in public notices, affordable housing website, the DSS website and social media platforms. The last lottery was held in 2021 for the Mainstream Vouchers.

When an opening of a wait list is announced, you will be given instructions to file online. If you require a reasonable accommodation, please call our office at 845-364-3100 Option 1.3.1 or Email.

Once the application window closes, the lottery is drawn. Each applicant will receive notification if they were chosen for the list and if so, what their position number is. A wait list purge is done annually to confirm your continued interest in remaining on the list. Once a voucher is available and your number is reached, you will be contracted by mail and introduced to the application process. Your meeting will be in person with a Community Builder from the Housing Choice Voucher Program. At this meeting an eligibility determination will be made, and you will participate in a briefing to learn more about the program.

The Rockland County Housing Choice Voucher program is a Local Administrator for the Public Housing Authority, New York State Homes and Community Renewal

Rockland Housing Choice Voucher Team

Jennifer Reilly - Coordinator (Portability) - (845) 364-3100 Option 3.1.6
Rafael Estrella * - Sr. Community Builder (Homeownership, FSS) - (845) 364-3100 Option 3.1.7
Jeffrey Drummond - Community Builder - (845) 364-3100 Option 3.1.1
Osvaldo Santana * - Community Builder - (845) 364-3100 Option 3.1.2
Brandon Torres - Community Builder - (845) 364-3100 Option 3.1.3
Krista Cardillo - Community Builder - (845) 364-3100 Option 3.1.4
Daddy Paul *# - Community Builder - (845) 364-3100 Option 3.1.5
Fritzner Soliman # - Community Builder - (845) 364-3960
Digna Chalco Quituizara * - Community Builder - (845) 364-3857

#Creole speaking
*Spanish speaking

Rockland Housing Choice Voucher Program (RHCVP)

Housing Choice Vouchers are vouchers where the applicant will find their own housing.
Project Based Vouchers belong to the unit, they are for a specific unit in a specific complex.
Homeownership Vouchers: Tenant is financially approved to purchase a home, with assistance from the program. These vouchers are limited to 15 years.
Family Self Sufficiency Program. FSS Program helps Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher tenants achieve economic independence.

The program is geared to increase affordable housing options for families with income below 50% of the area median income. Special preference may be given to families with income under 30% AMI. Families with a tenant-based voucher are responsible for choosing safe, decent and affordable privately owned rental housing that meets HUD’s Housing Quality Standards (HQS) and has a reasonable rent as compared to other unit in the area.

Landlord Information

The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract provides a brief overview of the responsibilities of the tenant, landlord and the PHA. Contracts begin on the 1^st or the 15^th of each month and must be at least 12 months. Tenants are responsible to pay approximately 30% of their adjusted income as rent each month and they program will pay the balance through the HAP payment. All payments will be sent to the landlord on the 1^st of each month. We strongly encourage each owner to set up direct deposit with us, so their funds are immediately available.

Once you have found a tenant with a Section 8 voucher, you must complete a Request for Tenancy Approval with all the required documents. The packet will be reviewed and when deemed complete, a HQS inspection will be scheduled. All units must meet HUD’s HQS standards. Please refer to the HQS Move-In Checklist. All units must be vacant, power on and swept clean to be eligible for an inspection.

Landlord Portal:

The current Landlord Portal is available to verify payments received.

Affordablehousing.com is a free service for landlords to list their properties to find new tenants. Tenants are referred to this site on a regular basis to find new listings.

If you recently bought property that has a Section 8 tenant occupying, please complete this packet to update ownership information to be sure you are paid on time.

Family Self Sufficiency Program

The Statewide Housing Choice Voucher Program administers the FSS Program which helps Housing Choice Voucher recipients achieve economic independence.

The primary objective of the FSS program, administered under the supervision of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is to provide opportunieis to low income Section 8 families for education, job training, counseling and other forms of social service assistance, so they may obtain the education, employment and business and social skills necessary to achieve self- sufficiency.

The N.Y. State Housing and Community Renewal (HCR) FSS Program began as a demonstration project in 1992 with approximately 100 families in six counties. It is now a successful statewide program administered via HCR’s Local Administration network in over thirty counties, with a current enrollment of more than 1,500 families. To date, more than 2,000 families have successfully completed and graduated from HCR’s Statewide FSS Program.

How Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) Works

Each FSS Program combines stable, affordable housing, usually with case management services provided by the local FSS Coordinator to support participants in accessing the services needed to achieve self-sufficiency. Participation is voluntary and available to families who currently receive assistance from HCR’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program.

The FSS Program objectives:

The FSS Programs objectives include:

Providing FSS resources to all Section 8 families that desire to become economically independent.
Establishing working partnerships with public and private agencies to gain access to activities and supportive services need by program participants to successfully complete contracted goals.
Addressing service issues that are identified as barriers to FSS families becoming economically self-sufficient.
Providing FSS families with a service plan based on their strengths and needs with realistic outcomes.
Implementing a case management system with the FSS Coordinator’s support that will encourage and support FSS families to become self-sufficient.
Providing ongoing evaluation to address program effectiveness. Goal achievement and asset building are important elements of successful program completion. Once enrolled, FSS participant families are required to develop a 5-year individual training and service plan that charts steps needed to achieve mutually identified goals. Goals may include, for example, obtaining a GED or college degree, gaining employment, or finding a new job with higher earnings, starting a business, or buying a home via participation in the HCR Section 8 Homeownership Program. The family successfully completes the FSS program when all obligations under the FSS contract of Participation are fulfilled on or before the expiration of the contract term.

Contact

If you are a current participant and interested in the FSS Program, please contact Rafael Estrella in writing.

Homeownership Voucher

Participants in the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) Program can request to convert their tenant-based voucher, if eligible, to the Homeownership Voucher Program. The basic premise of the Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program is that instead of using voucher subsidy to help a family pay rent, the voucher subsidy is provided to help a first-time homeowner meet monthly homeownership expenses.

Families must meet HCVP requirements:

First time homeowner or cooperative member.
Minimum income requirement.
Employment requirement.
Homeownership counseling.
Down payment requirement.
In good standing with the Section 8 tenant-based program for at least one year.
Family Self Sufficiency participant (Optional, but suggested).

The prospective home must pass an initial Housing Quality Standard (HQS) inspection conducted b the housing agency and an independent home inspection before the Housing Agency may approved the purchased by the family. The voucher will be good for a maximum period of 15 years if the initial mortgage incurred to finance purchase of the homeownership assistance is 10 years. Elderly and disabled families are exempt from a time limit for homeownership assistance. If your Section 8 subsidy is terminated for any reason (including if the family earns too much money for continued assistance), the family is responsible for the entire mortgage payment. You will continue to have your annual recertification every year if you remain on the program.

Homeownership Counseling:

Rockland County Housing Action Coalition
120-126 N. Main Street
New City, NY 10956
(845) 708-5799

Contact

If you are a current Rockland Section 8 participant interested in Homeownership, please contact Rafael Estrella in writing.

Wait Lists

Wait List

Housing Choice Voucher Wait List (Currently Closed)
Mainstream Wait List (Applicant must be disabled, under 62 yrs of age and homeless or risk of homelessness): (Opening 5/13 - 5/24/24)
Youngblood Senior Housing Wait List, 201 N. Main St. Spring Valley, NY:(62 yrs. of age or older) - (Opening 5/13 - 5/24/24)
Spring Valley Site III Senior Housing Wait List 46 N. Madison Ave. Spring Valley, NY”:(62 yrs. of age or older) - (Opening 5/13 - 5/24/24)
Depew Manor, Depew Avenue, Nyack, NY Wait List: (62 yrs. of age or older) - (Opening 5/13 - 5/24/24)
Waldron Terrace, Highview Court, Nyack, NY Wait List: - (closed)
Walnut Hill Senior Housing, Route 9W, W. Haverstraw, NY Wait List: - (62 yrs. of age or older) (Opening 5/13 - 5/24/24)
Spring Valley Preservation, Spring Valley, NY (closed) Wait List:
- Lakeview Village, Spring Valley, NY(62 yrs. of age or older): - (Opening 5/13 - 5/24/24)
- Highview Apartments 105 Fred Hecht Dr., Spring Valley, NY: - (Opening 5/13 - 5/24/24)