City of
Tempe
Housing Services Division
NEW LAWS THAT PROTECT SECTION 8 TENANTS' RIGHTS
LIVING IN FORECLOSED PROPERTIES NOW IN EFFECT.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!
SECTION 8 WAITING LIST
IS CURRENTLY CLOSED. NO PRE-APPLICATIONS ARE BEING ACCEPTED AT
THIS TIME.
Section 8 Program
Notification
Click
here regarding a new HUD
notification related to
Supplemental
Information Regarding Identification of Family Members, Friends or Other
Persons or Organizations Section 8 Rental
Assistance
City of Tempe
Housing Services Commitment
The Section 8 Housing
Assistance Program was enacted by the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974. The program is funded through and monitored by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD).
The City of Tempe established Tempe Housing Services as a division of the
Community Development Department in June of 1975. The City of Tempe
Housing Services was authorized to administer the Section 8
Existing Housing Assistance Payments Program within the city limits
of Tempe.
Tempe Housing
Services began operation in 1975 with funds to assist 50 families
under the Section 8 Existing Program. Today, the City of Tempe
Housing Services is a division of the Development Services
Department and is funded to assist 1082 families.
As a public service
agency, it is our goal to provide excellent service to the families
in our community. We will make every effort to inform you of the
program rules, and to advise you of how these rules affect you.
Federal regulations are not always easy to understand, so it is
very important that you ask questions if you are not sure of
something.
Requests for
Accommodation
Persons with
disabilities may request a reasonable accommodation in order to
fully utilize this housing program and any related services. We
will make all reasonable efforts to be flexible in assisting
persons with disabilities to participate in the program
successfully. Requests for accommodation will be verified to ensure
that the accommodation is reasonable. Examples of reasonable
accommodations are: home visits if your disability prevents you
from coming to our office, TDD device, accessible formats for
correspondence, the use of an advocate or interpreter for those with Limited
English Proficiency, a current
listing of rental units known for accessibility to disabled persons
that may be available.
Program Information
The Tempe Housing
Services provides rent subsidy to eligible very low-income families
through the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program.
On the Housing Choice
Voucher Program, the family can pay more or less than 30% of their
adjusted gross income, depending on the actual rent of the unit
they find. The maximum amount that the Housing Authority will pay
is an amount equal to the Payment Standard minus the
family’s total tenant payment.
The Payment Standard
-
is established by the
City of Tempe Housing Services
-
is based on the cost of
housing and utilities for Tempe; and
-
depends on the family
composition and the bedroom size of the unit. For example, the
payment standard is higher for families requiring 3-bedroom units
than families requiring 1-bedroom units.
The Tempe Housing
Services makes a housing assistance payment for the remaining part
of the rent directly to the Landlord or Owner. For the Owner, the
obligations are very similar also, however there are differences
that an Owner needs to be aware of.
Eligibility
Individuals or families
whose income does not exceed the maximum annual gross income limits
set by HUD are eligible to apply for the Program.
A "family" can
be:
-
a single person who is
62 years of age, disabled according to Social Security definition
or handicapped;
-
any other single
person;
-
a married couple whose
head of household, or spouse, is 62 years of age, disabled
according to Social Security definition or handicapped;
-
any two or more persons
sharing residency whose income and resources are available to meet
the family's needs and who are related by blood, marriage or
operation of law (or who have evidence of a stable family
relationship, which has existed over a period of at least 2
years.)
The income limits effective 3/19/09
are:
| Very Low |
Extremely Low |
| 1 Person $23,350 |
1 Person $14,000 |
| 2 People $26,650 |
2 People $16,000 |
| 3 People $30,000 |
3 People $18,000 |
| 4 People $33,300 |
4 People $20,000 |
| 5 People $36,000 |
5 People $21,600 |
| 6 People $38,650 |
6 People $23,200 |
| 7 People $41,300 |
7 People $24,800 |
| 8 People $44,000 |
8 People $26,400 |
| 9 People
$46,150 |
9 People
$28,000 |
| 10 People
$48,750 |
10 People
$29,250 |
HUD Regulations require
75% of our new admissions to be at 30% of the median income
(Extremely Low).
Preliminary Applications
Families who initially
meet both the income and family composition requirements must
complete a preliminary application with the Tempe Housing Services.
The preliminary application process determines whether the family
is initially eligible for the Program according to their family
income and composition. Currently, no pre-applications are being accepted.
View Map
Regulation requires
that 75% of new Section 8 admissions be extremely low-income
families. If necessary to meet the statutory requirement that 75%
of newly admitted families in any fiscal year be families who are
extremely low-income, Tempe Housing Services retains the right to
skip higher income families on the waiting list to reach extremely
low-income families. Tempe Housing Services will monitor incomes of
newly admitted families and income of the families on the waiting
list.
Preference Point System
To better serve those
persons truly in need of housing in the City of Tempe, HUD and
Tempe Housing Services has established a Preference Point
System.
The definitions
are as follows:
WAITING LIST PREFERENCE
DEFINITIONS
1. INVOLUNTARILY DISPLACED
BY FEDERAL OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACTION
To qualify for this
preference, the applicant is or will be involuntarily displaced if the applicant
has vacated or will vacate his/her housing unit as a result of one or more of
the following actions:
Activity carried on by an
agency of the United States or by any State or local Governmental body or agency
in connection with code enforcement; or
a
public improvement or development program; or
due to uninhabitability as a
result of a natural disaster such as a fire or flood.
Verification of Involuntary
Displacement will be verified by Certification from a unit or agency of
government that you have been or will be displaced by government action, or due
to uninhabitability due to a natural disaster (i.e., fire or flood).
PREFERENCE POINTS: 200
2. HOMELESS IN THE CITY OF
TEMPE
To qualify for this
preference, the applicant must lack a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time
residence; and have primary night time residency that must meet one of the
following criteria:
a
supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary
living accommodations; or
an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to
be institutionalized; or
a
public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular
sleeping accommodation for human beings,
a transitional project that is
designed to provide housing and appropriate support services to homeless persons
to facilitate movement to independent living within 24 months.
Homeless in Tempe: Residency
in Tempe prior to becoming homeless will be verified with the shelter and/or
transitional living program the individual and/or family is staying.
PREFERENCE POINTS: 150
3. RESIDE IN THE CITY OF
TEMPE
To qualify for this
preference, applicant must meet at least one of the following criteria:
Lessee (tenant); must have a current lease with the legal owner/landlord of the
rental property; or
Household member; must be listed on a current lease as legally living in the
rental property as a member of the Lessee's household; or
Lessee (tenant); must be
legally responsible for rent payments to the legal owner/landlord of the rental
property.
Residency will be verified
with the legal owner/landlord of the rental property.
OR
4. WORKING, OR HIRED TO
WORK, IN THE CITY OF TEMPE
To qualify for this
preference, the Head of Household and/or Spouse or Co-Head or Sole Member must
meet at least one of the following criteria:
-
be physically employed in the city limits of
Tempe; or
-
have been notified that they are hired to
work in the city limits of Tempe; or
-
employed in the city
limits of Tempe through an internship or other training program designed to
prepare individuals for the job market may qualify for this preference.
Employment will be verified
with the employer. An applicant shall be given the benefit of the working family
preference if the Head of Household and/or Spouse or Co-Head or Sole Member is
age 62 or older, or is a person with disabilities and is homeless and/or resides
in the City of Tempe.
PREFERENCE POINTS: 100
MAXIMUM
POINTS POSSIBLE: 450
Applicants with the
highest point total will be offered a Housing Choice Voucher
first.
Applicants may claim or
change Preference Points at any time from the date of preliminary
application until Program participation. To claim Preference
Points, you must complete a Preference Certification. When
Preference Points are claimed or changed, the family’s name
will be moved to the appropriate Preference Point List according to
the time and date of preliminary application.
| 
