RLTO Resources
HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER FACT SHEET
The Chicagoland Apartment Association publishes this pamphlet as a public service. It is meant to inform and not to advise. Before enforcing any rights or remedies you may want to seek the advice of an attorney who can better analyze the specific facts of your case. Click Here to see this pamphlet in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format.
What are housing choice vouchers?
• The housing choice voucher is the federal government’s program to assist very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled afford decent, safe and sanitary housing in the private market.
• Participants are able to find their own housing, including single-family homes, townhouses and apartments and are not limited to units located in subsidized housing projects.
• Housing choice vouchers are administered locally by public housing agencies (PHA).
• A housing subsidy is paid to the landlord directly by the PHA on behalf of the participating family. The family then pays the difference between the actual rent charged by the landlord and the amount subsidized by the program.
Eligibility
• Individual or family eligibility for a housing voucher is determined by the PHA based on the total annual gross income and family size and is limited to US citizens and specified categories of non-citizens.
• Generally, the family’s income may not exceed 50% of the median income for the county in which the family chooses to live. Median income levels are published by HUD and vary by location. Area levels are available through your local PHA.
• The housing voucher family must pay 30% of its monthly adjusted gross income for rent and utilities, and if the rent is greater than the payment standards (contributed by the PHA), the family is required to pay the additional amount. By law, whenever a family moves to a new unit where the rent exceeds the payment standard, the family may not pay more than 40% of its adjusted monthly income for rent.
Tenant’s Obligations
• The family selects the housing unit and must sign a lease with a landlord for at least one year.
• The family may be required to pay a security deposit to the landlord.
• The family is obligated to comply with the lease and the program requirements, pay its share of the rent on time and maintain the unit in good condition.
• The family must notify the PHA of any changes in the family’s income or composition.
Landlord’s Obligations
• The landlord must provide a decent, safe and sanitary housing unit at a reasonable rent.
• The dwelling unit must pass the program’s housing quality standards and be maintained to those standards as long as the owner receives housing assistance payments.
• The landlord must enter into a lease with the family for at least one year.
• The landlord must enter into a housing assistance payments contract with the PHA that runs for the same term as the lease agreement.
Best Practices
• The landlord must apply the same screening standards to housing voucher recipients that they apply to non-voucher recipients.
• Both the landlord and the tenant must comply with all applicable provisions of the Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, as this ordinance applies the same to all affected units, whether subsidized or non-subsidized.
• Make it clear in your advertisement that you accept housing choice vouchers.
Resources
• Chicago Housing Authority – (312) 742-8500
– Responsible for housing choice vouchers in Chicago
• Cook County Housing Authority – (312) 663-5447
– Responsible for housing choice vouchers in suburban Cook County
• CHAC – (312) 935-2600 – Administers the Chicago
– Housing Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher Program (ask for Landlord Outreach)
• Housing Choice Partners of Illinois – (312)386-1009
– Administers the Cook County Housing Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher program |