Section 8 Taking Applications for First Time in Four Years

After four years and thousands of names on a waiting list, a rental assistance program is ready to take new applicants.

Section 8 vouchers are meant to help low-income families pay for an apartment or rental home. The vouchers cover the cost for most of the rent and utilities, but the recipient still has to pay 30 percent. The last time Metro Housing and Development Agency took applicants for Section 8 was December of 2008. MDHA’s Mark Drury expects another flood of applications this time, but those who get a voucher will still have to do some legwork to find affordable housing.

 

“Once they’re issued a voucher, they have to go out and find a rental property that accepts a Section 8 voucher. We’ll certainly help them with that, but that’s also part of the challenge.”

Drury says MDHA will issue three to four hundred vouchers in the next two months, then another hundred per month for the rest of the year. Those who receive vouchers will be selected by lottery. The agency will take applications for five days, starting March 26.

MDHA will only take applications online or through the mail. Agency officials say they want to avoid the chaotic scenes that have occurred in other cities. Two years ago in Atlanta, more than 30,000 showed up at an event to apply for Section 8 vouchers.