What You Need to Know About Section 8 Housing

Section 8 housing is a program run by the federal government to help people with their rent so they can have a place to live. It is meant to help people get on their feet but there are rules that you should be aware of before you apply for section 8 housing. If you don't follow the rules, you could end up on the streets anyway.

Some things you need to know about section 8 housing:

Drugs/Alcohol Abuse- If you have been convicted of any drug related charges, you cannot get section 8 housing. If you are convicted of any drug related charges after you receive section 8 housing, you will lose section 8 housing. If you are involved in drug activity, be aware of this rule of section 8 housing before you bother to apply for it. There is a time span that will allow you to get back on section 8 housing but it is several years and you will have to fend for yourself within that span of time. The same goes for alcohol abuse. Any crime related to these two situations can cause you to be turned down for section 8 housing or to lose it.

Income- Section 8 housing is income based. If you are approved for section 8 housing, you will still pay a portion of the rent. If you get a raise, your rent portion will rise with it. The amount that your portion of the rent will be raised can seem extremely high when compared to how much your raise was. This is something that you should think about and plan for in case this happens to you.

Violence- Violent crimes are just as high on the list of no-no's for section 8 housing as drugs and alcohol. That means if you get into a fight with someone and you are convicted, you could lose your section 8 housing. Keep things under control and keep violence away from your doorstep. Walk away from it because it is not worth losing your housing for.

Others Living with you- You are not allowed to have anyone living with you that is not on your section 8 housing list. If you are caught, and eventually you will be, you lose your housing within 30 days. You will receive a notice in the mail informing you of the decision. You can fight it if you think that you have been unfairly treated. The process could be rather long and there is no way to be sure how that hearing will turn out. Make sure that you only have the people living with you that are on the section 8 housing list.

Reporting- It is your job to report any changes within your household to section 8 housing authorities as soon as possible. If you don't, you can and probably will lose your housing aid. It is important to keep the section 8 authorities up to date on everything from who is living in your house to the amount of money that you make.

Mail- According to the rules of section 8 housing, you are not allowed to receive mail for anyone at your place of residence who does not live there. If you receive even one piece of junk mail, you may get a letter in the mail stating that you have lost section 8 housing. This is one of the times that could be tricky. Just because mail comes in someone else's name at your home doesn't mean that person lives there. Junk mail and other types of mail often find their way to an address where the person doesn't live due to the fact that they may have previously lived in the residence or some other odd reason. It may pay to fight this and ask for a hearing if you really don't have another person living with you that is not on the paperwork.

Paybacks- You could be required to payback section 8 housing if you misuse the funds that you are receiving to pay rent. That means that in any of the above situations, you could be expected to pay back a huge portion of money depending on how long the violation has been in effect. It is not worth trying to fool the system. How are you going to pay back money that you know you don't have in the first place. If you had it, you wouldn't have needed assistance in the first place.

Section 8 housing can be a great deal of help to you if you are in hard times. It is important to do what you are supposed to when you are supposed to in order to avoid the consequences. You should also be aware that is someone reports you to section 8 housing for something, they will not ask for your side of the story. You will receive a certified letter in the mail telling you that your section 8 housing has been revoked and you have 30 days to find another way to pay your rent.