The New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) evaluates NY Section 8 requirements and NY Section 8 eligibility for anyone who wishes to receive housing assistance in the state. The HCR evaluates each applicant’s Section 8 qualifications based on the guidelines established by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
To be eligible for the program, applicants must meet income requirements as outlined by the HUD. Specifically, the candidate’s income may not exceed 50% of the median income for the area. The department uses income from wages, Social Security benefits and other federally funded benefit programs when calculating the family’s income. The HUD also requires that each applicant prove legal presence in the U.S. as either a U.S. citizen, eligible non-citizen or refugee.
Keep reading for more information on the Section 8 requirements and Section 8 income limits for the state of New York.
To meet Section 8 housing eligibility, NY applicants must meet requirements for family status. Per Section 8 requirements, a family consists of one or more individuals that live together regardless of relation. To qualify, at least one member of the family must fall into one of the below categories:
In the event of a family breakup, the HCR reevaluates the household to determine which members of the family continue to meet Section 8 eligibility requirements. Family breakups and any other changes in income or family composition should be reported to the HCR as soon as possible.
New York Section 8 eligibility rules require applicants to meet income guidelines outline program. Section 8 income requirements specify that the household’s income must fall into one of the following categories:
The HCR uses the income of all household members over 16 years old to determine if a family meets the Section 8 income requirements according to HUD guidelines. Income is calculated according the guidelines mentioned below.
Since wages are often the bulk of a family’s income, the HCR takes the wages every household member over the age of 16 years old earns. This includes:
Assets are excluded from Section 8 income limit calculation. However, the interest earned on those assets are counted. The HCR considers the following as assets:
Under HUD guidelines, certain funds or kinds of income are not included in the calculation of a family’s yearly income. The following are excluded from income calculations:
The HCR deducts certain expenses from the base income to arrive at an adjusted gross income. The adjusted gross income is the amount used qualify the family for the program. The following expenses are deducted from income and are not included in the Section 8 income limits calculation:
Per New York Section 8 eligibility rules, applicants must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen to be accepted into the program. When evaluating an applicant’s Section 8 qualifications, they must be either of the following:
Each family must provide appropriate documentation to prove their legal presence in the country. Individuals who do not wish to state their citizenship are ineligible for the program. However, the remaining members of the household may still meet Section 8 housing eligibility requirements.
To meet Section 8 requirements, New York applicants must provide a valid Social Security number. Per HUD housing requirements, when adding a new member of the household, the candidate must provide documentation of the new family members SSN within 30 days. When adding a family member who is under six years of age, the applicant has 90 days to provide documentation of the individual’s SSN.
To participate in the program, each member of the household must consent to verification of all information contained in the application.
Family members over 16 years of age must pass a background check. Individuals with a habitual pattern of criminal activity are automatically disqualified for the program. Anyone who has been evicted from federally funded housing due to drug-related criminal activity is automatically denied, as well as any member of the household who has committed bribery or fraud in relation to assisted housing.
To meet Section 8 requirements, family members who are 18 years of age or older must consent to collect all information necessary to verify the information contained in the application. Family members who do not sign a consent will be denied for the program.
Anyone evicted from federally-funded assisted housing within the last five years may be denied a housing voucher. Applicants who were evicted from federal or Section 8 housing due to criminal activity will be ineligible for the program for 3 years following the eviction. To regain eligibility status, the evicted family member must show successful completion of a supervised drug rehabilitation program.
To contact your New York HUD office, click here.