For the first time in nearly four years, the King County Housing Authority (KHCA) is accepting new applications for its Housing Choice Voucher program.
Families can apply for the program at kcha.org. The signup period lasts until 4 p.m. Feb. 10, 2015.
KCHA expects thousands of families to apply for the openings. It will then conduct a lottery among qualified families to select those who will fill 2,500 positions on the waiting list.
“A lottery is the fairest way to make sure that all qualified families have an equal shot at getting into the program,” KCHA Executive Director Stephen Norman said.
The following qualifications must be met to be eligible for the lottery:
• The head of household must be over the age of 18; and
• At least one member of the household must be disabled, or at least age 62, or under the age of 18; and
• Families must be low-income
Once a family has met the first three eligibility requirements, it must also meet one of the following:
• Must make less than 30 percent of the area median income for the family size ($26,450 for a family of four); or
• Be paying more than 50 percent of its total income for rent and utilities; or
• Be homeless; or
• Be living in substandard housing
KCHA will notify families by the end of March if they are being placed on the application list. Some families could start getting rent vouchers as early as April.
The Section 8 program enables low-income families to find a home in the private rental market. Generally, KCHA pays the difference between the rent charged by a landlord and the assisted family’s rental contribution, which is set at approximately 30 percent of the household’s income.