Housing Without Services

1. Housing Without Services By Karl Bertrand, President/CEOProgram Design and Development, LLC

2. Today’s Topics • Making housing affordable • Accessing other services to prevent housing loss

3. Two WaysTo Make Housing Affordable • Housing Subsidies - give you $ to rent housing wherever you want • Subsidized Housing - special housing developments with affordable rents or reduced purchase prices

4. Rent Subsidies • The major source of rent subsidies is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) • The major type of rent subsidies from HUD is Housing Choice Vouchers (also known as Section 8 Vouchers)

5. Advantages of Housing Choice Vouchers • Flexible - you choose where you live • High rent subsidies adjusted to reflect Westchester’s high rents • Rent subsidies are adjusted each year as rents rise in our area • Most programs give priority to people with disabilities - including mental illness • Annually renewable for life

6. Basics of Housing Choice Vouchers • Have income eligibility limits • Rent subsidies capped at “Fair Market Rents” for our area • Require participant contribution = 30% of income • 11,000 vouchers in Westchester • Administered by over a dozen local agencies • Can also be used for home-ownership

7. Income Limits forHousing Choice Vouchers • All recipients must be very low-income(at or below 50% of the median income for your household size in your area) • At least 75% of recipients must be extremely low-income (at or below 30% of the median income for your household size in your area)

8. 3 Person 4 Person 2010 Income Limit Category 1 Person 2 Person Low Income (80% of AMI) $52,950 $60,500 $68,050 $75,600 $41,900 $47,150 $52,350 Very Low(50% of AMI) $36,650 Extremely Low (30% of AMI) $22,000 $25,150 $28,300 $31,400 2010 Income Limits (% of Area Median Income) for Westchester

9. Studio 1-BR 2-BR 3-BR 4-BR $1,169 $1,394 $1,621 $1,955 $2,410 2010 Fair Market Rents (FMRs)for Westchester Unit Size 2010FMR

10. Eastchester -Town of Greenburgh HA Mamaroneck HA -Town Mamaroneck HA - Village New Rochelle - City New Rochelle HA Peekskill - City Pelham HA - Village Port Chester - Village Tuckahoe HA - Village Mount Kisco - Village Ossining - Village White Plains - City Yonkers HA Yorktown - Town Westchester County (???) Local Section 8 Administrators

11. If You Qualify for Section 8 • Find your local Section 8 agency • Check the status of the waiting list • File an application as soon as you can • Notify the agency of any address changes • Be persistent - check your waiting list status every few months

12. Two Types of Subsidized Housing • Public Housing: two subcategories • Family Developments vary in quality and safety • Elderly/Disabled Developments tend to be smaller, newer, nicer and safer • Other Federally subsidized housing

13. Basics of Public Housing • Have income eligibility limits (80% of AMI, with other possibly lower limits set locally) • Rents adjusted to meet participant income: Can be as low as $5/month • Require participant contribution: usually = 30% of income • 4,575 units in Westchester • Administered by 10 local agencies

14. Greenburgh HA (115) Mount Kisco HA (76) New Rochelle HA (543) North Tarrytown HA (86) Peekskill HA (282) Port Chester HA (340) Tarrytown HA (151) Tuckahoe HA (151) White Plains HA (712) Yonkers HA (2,119) Local Public Housing Authorities Each Housing Authority (HA) sets its own admission preferences and application procedures. The # in parentheses is the HA’s total # of low-rent units.

15. Basics of OtherFederally Subsidized Housing • Owned by for-profit or non-profit developers • Built with federal grants in return for offering reduced rents for specific low-income groups • Can be targeted to elderly and/or disabled • May have specific # of units targeted to low income, very low income, and extremely low income people • Individual buildings or small developments • Scattered site - often new and high-quality

16. How to Find OtherFederally Subsidized Housing • Search for an apartment using HUD’s “Low-rent apartment search” online tool • Find it at www.hud.gov/apps/section8/index.cfm • Or Google “HUD Low-rent apartment search” • Search by state and then by city, county or zip code • You can search by type (disabled, elderly, family, etc.) • You can search by # of bedrooms • Gives name and address of property and phone # for management office • Westchester has 71 projects listed - 4 for disabled and 4 unspecified

17. Other Ways To Find Other LocalFederally Subsidized Housing • Call your city or town’s Department of Planning and Development • Call the Westchester County Planning Department at (914) 995-4400 • Ask them to tell you of any housing developments in your area that specifically target disabled or low-income residents and ask them to give you contact information for those developments • Then call those local developments and ask if they have units available, how you apply for them, and how you can tour them

18. Preventing Housing Loss #1(for renters) • If you are falling behind on your rent, call: The Bridge Fund171 East Post Road, Room 200White Plains, NY 10601(914) 949-8146

19. Preventing Housing Loss #2(for home-owners) • If you are falling behind on your mortgage payments, call: Westchester Residential Opportunities470 Mamaroneck AvenueWhite Plains NY 10605(914) 428-4507

20. Preventing Housing Loss #3(for renters and home-buyers) • If you feel you are the victim of housing discrimination, call: Westchester Residential Opportunities470 Mamaroneck AvenueWhite Plains NY 10605(914) 428-4507

21. Preventing Housing Loss #4(for renters) • If you feel your landlord is not fulfilling his obligations, charging you unfair rent or trying to evict you illegally, call: Legal Services of the Hudson Valley1-877-574-8529 (877-LSHV-LAW) • White Plains: 90 Maple Avenue• Yonkers: 30 South Broadway, 6th floor• Mt. Vernon: 100 East 1st Street, Suite 810