Learn About Section 8 Requirements in Nevada

Nevada applicants may meet U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 requirements in Nevada if they are low income, elderly or have qualifying disabilities. HUD partners with local Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) to help struggling renters who meet program criteria find and afford safe, stable and sanitary types of housing options appropriate for their needs. Section 8 assistance is open to families of all sizes and backgrounds. HUD housing requirements do not discriminate against applicants on the basis of race, gender, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or any other protected characteristic.

In addition to age, disability status and income, Section 8 eligibility guidelines focus on identifying applicants who are a good fit for the program and meeting priority needs in the community. To that end, PHAs may evaluate applicants on factors such as their tenancy histories, involvement in criminal activity, their statuses as veterans or displaced persons or their risk of homelessness.

Learn About Nevada Section 8 Requirements for Family Status

“Do I qualify for low income housing assistance if I live in a non-traditional family?” is a common question among those interested in completing the Section 8 application procedure. HUD regulations allow for a wide variety of family types to meet program eligibility standards. Under Section 8 qualifications, a “family” can be:

• A single adult.
• Any group of persons living together, including married or unmarried couples without children or single parent households.
• Elderly or disabled persons and their qualifying live-in aides.

Live-in aides qualify as members of a household if they are necessary for the support, care and health of an elderly or disabled person.

Section 8 housing eligibility standards may further qualify families as:

• Disabled families if the head or co-head of the family has a qualifying disability.
• Displaced families where government action, natural disasters or other recognized causes have involuntarily forced applicants from their homes.
• Elderly families if the heads of household are 62 years of age or older.
• Near-elderly families if the heads of household are between 50 and 61 years of age.

These designations may qualify families for priority assistance, depending on the needs and policies of their local PHAs.

What are the Section 8 income limits in Nevada?

Section 8 income limits in Nevada are determined by the size of applicants’ families and the regions of the state in which they live or are apply for assistance. Federal HUD housing regulations use the following the guidelines to define household income levels.

• Low income households have annual gross incomes at or below 80 percent of the regional median.
• Very low income households have annual gross incomes at or below 50 percent of the regional median.
• Extremely low income households have annual gross incomes of 30 percent or less of the regional median.

Section 8 income requirements are determined using a sliding scale that accounts for family size and regional income variations. For example, a single person household in the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority’s jurisdiction would qualify as low income with an annual income of $39,250. He or she would be considered very low income with an annual income at or below $24,550 and extremely low income with a gross income of $14,750 or less.

Under the same Section 8 qualifications, a family of four in the Southern Nevada region would qualify as low income at $56,050, annually, very low income at $35,050 and extremely low income at $25,100 or less. Section 8 income eligibility for families in the Reno region, by contrast, would be judged using the same percentages (80, 50 and 30) but different dollar amounts, as the median income on which calculations are based in Reno is different than the median income in Southern Nevada.

Learn About Nevada Section 8 Qualifications for Legal Presence and Residency

As per federal HUD housing requirements, applicants do not need to be residents of Nevada to apply for rental assistance in the state. Applicants must, however, be United States citizens or eligible non-citizens. Section 8 regulations allow PHAs to grant vouchers to resident non-citizens if they are:

• Legal permanent residents.
• Hold refugee, asylum or “parole” status.
• Living in the United States under federal amnesty provisions.
• Human trafficking victims.

Learn About Additional Section 8 Requirements in Nevada

Section 8 housing eligibility guidelines define qualifying disabilities as physical, mental or emotional impairments which are:

• Formally diagnosed by a licensed physician.
• Long-term or indefinite in nature.
• Compromise individuals’ ability to live independently and/or to earn income.
• Not derived solely or primarily from substance use or abuse.

Applicants applying for assistance on the basis of a disability must be able to document their diagnoses.

Public Housing Agencies often apply supplemental criteria when evaluating applications to determine not only which applicants technically qualify for low income housing, but which applicants are best positioned to benefit from assistance. Most often, this takes the form of identifying and disqualifying applicants with behaviors and histories known to be incompatible with program requirements. These tenant disqualifications can include:

• Criminal behavior. Federal Section 8 eligibility standards deny assistance to individuals with recent or violent criminal records who might reasonably present a threat to others. Applicants must agree to a criminal background check as part of the application process.
• Negative tenancy histories. Applicants with a history of contentious relationships with landlords, failure to pay rent, lease breaking or causing damage to prior homes, apartments or properties are typically not considered eligible for low income housing
• Substance abuse. Applicants with active substance abuse issues will not qualify for Section 8 housing
• Outstanding debt to other PHAs. Applicants who owe money to other PHAs in Nevada or other states due to failure to pay rent, broken program contracts or other causes are not eligible for Section 8
• Eviction from other assistance programs. Applicants who were dropped from other state or federal assistance programs or by other PHAs for violent or threatening behavior or failure or refusal to comply with program regulations and standards are not eligible to enroll in the Section 8 program.

Section 8 program requirements also deem families ineligible for assistance if they do not satisfactorily complete the application process. Applicants must submit their applications through approved methods and provide all required supporting documentation within the timeframes set by their PHAs to qualify for assistance. Applicants can contact a Nevada HUD office by reviewing the information here.