Low Income Housing in Connecticut

Low Income Housing Information

Low income housing can be a godsend, but if you don't know how to apply, or who to get your information to, how can you ever expect to be approved?

Since laws and procedure vary from state to state, you'll need to learn a few specifics before applying. We can help!

What Allows you to Qualify for Low Income Housing in CT

Connecticut has a strong social welfare system in place to help low income people with their housing expenses. The largest programs are the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program - more commonly known as Section 8 housing - and the Rental Assistance Program (RAP) which is operated by the Connecticut Department of Social Services. Both of these programs operate much the same way and the eligibility requirements of both are very similar.

Section 8 housing is limited to United States citizens and non-citizens that have specific approval of eligibility by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Beyond this specific limitation, the requirements to qualify for Section 8 housing assistance are based on the annual income of the family as compared against the median income level of the specific county or metropolitan area in question. Although there are some minor exceptions, the general rule is that in order to qualify the beneficiary's annual gross income cannot exceed fifty percent of the median income for the locality in question. The exact median income is regularly defined and published by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). If the applicant's total family gross income is less than fifty percent of the HUD produced median income figure, then the applicant qualifies for assistance.

The basic qualifications for Connecticut's state run Rental Assistance Program (RAP) is very much the same as the federal Section 8 program: it uses the same citizenship requirements, the same income requirements and even the same HUD generate median income figures. The real difference is that it expands eligibility to families as defined by Connecticut state law, as opposed to the federal definition. This means that certain Common Law relationships that would not constitute a "family" by the federal definition will qualify Connecticut residents for the RAP. Similarly, since the landmark 2008 Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health case, this also extends potential eligibility to same-sex couples, which are recognized as having family rights in Connecticut. Otherwise though, the RAP is virtually identical to Section 8.

The rest of the qualifications for both Section 8 and RAP assistance are determined by the relevant public housing agency (PHA) that assesses the applications. Generally speaking, it is the PHA that reviews all of the related documentation and makes the final call as to whether or not a potential low income family qualifies for either Section 8 or RAP housing assistance. Further, the PHA is allowed to give preference to people that are currently homeless or facing homelessness, people that are paying an inordinately large percentage of their income for housing (usually fifty percent or more), or people that have been involuntarily displaced through disaster. However, the PHA cannot establish or exercise preferences that violate federal - or state, the case of the RAP - anti-discrimination and equal opportunity guidelines usually involving things like race, national origin or gender.

As a general rule, if the applicant meets the citizenship and financial hardship requirement, they qualify for housing assistance in Connecticut. This does not, however, mean that they are guaranteed entry into any particular apartment complex or building. The PHA still has a lot of control in the matter.