HUD's Public Housing Program

WHAT IS PUBLIC HOUSING?
- Public housing was established to provide decent and safe rental housing for eligible low and moderate income families, the elderly, and persons with disabilities. Public housing comes in all sizes and types, from scattered duplex and quad apartments to high-rise apartments for elderly families. Rent in these units is set for each family based on their anticipated annual adjusted income.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
- Public housing is limited to low-income families and individuals. HA determines your eligibility based on: 1) annual gross income; 2) whether you qualify as elderly, a person with a disability, or as a family; and 3) U.S. citizenship or eligible immigration status. If you are eligible, the HA will check your background through a series of standard screening tests designed to protect the safety of our current residents and property. At minimum, we screen 1) criminal history in the past five years; 2) credit as it relates to your rental history, including evictions; and 3) references from past landlords. Based on this screening, the HA will deny admission to any applicant whose habits and practices may be expected to have a detrimental effect on other residents or on the public housing environment.

IS THERE EMERGENCY HOUSING?
- No. We do not have any emergency housing. There is a waiting list and the length of the waiting list varies depending on the number of vacancies we have each month and how many people are applying for housing. The waiting list also varies depending on which bedroom size you qualify for.

HOW IS BEDROOM SIZE DETERMINED?
- Bedroom size is determined by the number, generation, and sex of the members of your family. If your family composition changes after you move in, you may request to be transferred to an apartment with the appropriate number of bedrooms for your current family size. In general, we will allow one bedroom for every 2 people of the same generation and sex. Infants under the age of 2 will not warrant an extra bedroom. Persons of different generations and/or of different sexes will not be considered to be housed in the same room. To give a few examples: a single parent with a 1 year old son, and a 5 year old daughter would be eligible for a 2 bedroom apartment. A single parent with a 3 year old daughter, a 6 year old son, and a 17 year old son would be eligible for a 3 bedroom apartment. A single parent with a 4 year old child and a grandparent in the household will be eligible for a 3 bedroom apartment. A couple with a 6 month old child will be eligible for a 2 bedroom apartment.

HOW IS RENT DETERMINED?
- Your rent, which is referred to as the Total Tenant Payment (TTP) in this program, would be based on your families anticipated gross annual income less deductions, if any. HA will exclude from annual income the following allowances: $480 for each dependent; $400 for any family whose head or spouse is elderly or a person with a disability; and some medical deductions for families headed by an elderly person or a person with disabilities. Based on your application, the HA will determine if any other deductions should be subtracted from your annual gross income. Annual income is the anticipated total income from all sources received from the family head and spouse, and each additional member of the family 18 years of age or older.

The formula used in determining the TTP is the highest of the following, rounded to the nearest dollar:
- (1) 30 percent of the monthly adjusted income. (Monthly Adjusted Income is annual income less deductions, and divided by 12 months);
- (2)10% of gross monthly income;
- (3) or $50 minimum rent