New York City will accept Section 8 rent voucher applications for one week beginning at midnight

New York City will begin accepting applications for Section 8, also known as the Housing Choice Voucher program, for the first time since 2009 at midnight tonight. The application will be open for only one week, until 11.59pm on Sunday 9 June. Applications will be accepted online through the application page on the city’s website.

We encourage all eligible individuals and families in the ward to submit an application, particularly if you have had to rely on church assistance for rent in the past.

Application period

Additional information and links

• Section 8 application — this is the actual online application
• NYCHA: Applying for Section 8 — overview and links
• Frequently-asked questions
• Gothamist (local news website): “NYC is set to unlock its Section 8 waitlist. But don’t wait to apply.” — comprehensive news article about the application period

Section 8 subsidizes rent for eligible individuals and families. A list of frequently-asked questions (FAQs) on the city’s website explains: “Eligible families receive a voucher to search for housing within a neighborhood of their choice and rent a unit from a participating landlord. Families pay a reasonable share of their income toward rent, and the program provides a subsidy to cover the difference.”

Eligibility for the program is subject to these income limits:

Family size	Income limit
1	$54,350
2	$62,150
3	$69,900
4	$77,650
5	$83,850
6	$90,050
7	$96,300
8	$102,500

A local news website notes, “In addition, the head of the household must be 18 or older and the household must include a U.S. citizen or member with an eligible immigration status, per federal rules.”

If you need access to a device to submit an application, we will make the computer in the clerk’s office and other devices available this Wednesday, 5 June, from 6.00 to 8.00pm. Please notify the bishop if you plan on coming to the church building that evening so we can work to make sure we have enough devices available.

The FAQs page provides a list of information you will need to provide on the application. It notes that “documentation is not required to be submitted with the application. If you are selected to be placed on the waitlist and then contacted for an eligibility interview, additional documentation will be requested at that time.”

The ward has no additional information. Please refer to the websites linked to above for answers to any other questions you may have.