TO FAQ Who qualifies to receive Section 8 Rental Assistance?
How do families receive Section 8 Rental Assistance? Due to the limited amount of Federal funding, the availability of Section 8 assistance nationwide is severely limited. Families who apply to receive Section 8 rental assistance must typically wait from 6 months to 10+ years to receive this benefit. The Section 8 Program is not an entitlement program. This means that not every family whose income makes them eligible for Section 8 automatically receives assistance. Consequently, the family must apply and wait to receive Section 8 assistance. The Housing Authority maintains a wait list and assists families from that list. Each Housing Authority may have different wait list criteria which determines where a family will be placed on the waiting list. Some agencies base wait list placement on the date and time the application was received or by lottery while other agencies may have preferences based on an applicants housing circumstances. Wait list positions are not fixed and a family may
