Income-based housing benefit: Difference between revisions

In the United States, the largest income -based housing benefit is the Housing Choice, commonly known as "Section 8", one of the programs authorized under [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_8_(housing) Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937], commonly known as Section 8. Managed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), it pays to landlords a large portion of the rents and utilities of about 2.1 million lower-income households which have been issued a voucher, on an ongoing basis as long as they remain eligible for the voucher. Housing Choice vouchers are "'''tenant-based'''," as opposed to "project-based," so a tenant with a voucher may apply the voucher benefit for any apartment meeting minimum standards whose landlord will accept the voucher. Housing Choice also allows individuals to apply their monthly voucher towards the purchase of a home.

Section 8 also authorizes a variety of "project-based" rental assistance programs, under which the owner reserves some or all of the units in a building for low-income tenants, in return for a federal government guarantee to make up the difference between the tenant's contribution and the rent in the owner's contract with the government. A tenant who leaves such a subsidized project will loseloses access to the project-based subsidy. &nbsp;(Wikipedia).&nbsp;<br/> &nbsp;

The UK's Housing Benefit is a means -tested social security benefit in the UK that is intended to help meet housing costs for rented accommodation. It is the second biggest item in the Department for Work and Pensions' budget after the state pension, totalling £23.8 billion in 2013–14. &nbsp;[more: Wikipedia: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_Benefit Housing Benefit]].&nbsp;<br/> &nbsp;

<blockquote>''"In total, federal rent assistance programs helped about 51,000 Oregon households in 2018 — significant but well short of covering existing needs. In 2017, the year of most recent data, about 290,000 renter households in Oregon met the definition of being cost burdened, devoting more than 30 percent of their income towards housing. Of these, 149,000 were severely cost-burdened, paying more than 50 percent of their income on housing."''</blockquote> <blockquote>''"About three in four renter households in Oregon eligible for a housing voucher don’t receive one.41 Waitlists are closed in many Oregon communities — including the two most populous counties, Multnomah and Washington — and have been for years. When Oregonians are able to get on a waitlist the average wait time is more than two years to get a voucher."''</blockquote> <blockquote>''"Many states, Oregon included, have small state-funded rent assistance programs that target specific populations, such as seniors or the chronically homeless. "''</blockquote> <blockquote>''"Massachusetts is an example of a state with a broader rent assistance program, one aimed at low-income people. Through a combination of tenant- and project-based vouchers, the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program serves over 5,000 low-income households. The program is administered by Public Housing Agencies but overseen by the state housing agency."''</blockquote>