The Section 8 Program was enacted as part of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. It is designed to provide decent, safe, and sanitary housing for very low-income families while maintaining their rent payments at an affordable level.
Section 8 housing is subsidized housing that isn’t owned by the HACFL. Instead, a Section 8 unit is owned by an independent landlord who has entered into an agreement with the HACFL to accept rent subsidy payments from the HACFL.
When your household is accepted into the HACFL’s Section 8 program, you receive a Housing Choice Voucher. The voucher represents a contractual agreement between you and the HACFL, specifying the rights and responsibilities of each party. You will be scheduled for a briefing session, which you must attend to receive your voucher. At this briefing session, you will receive all necessary information and forms. We will explain to you:
Once you have been issued a voucher, you have 60 days to find a unit suitable for your family whose landlord is a participant in the HACFL’s Section 8 program. Within that time period, you must submit a Request for Lease Approval (RFLA) to the HACFL. This RFLA contains the details of the lease for the unit into which you want to move. Once the HACFL approves the lease, you are accepted into the HACFL’s Section 8 program and the HACFL begins providing rent subsidy payments to your landlord.