Government assistance programs are wide-ranging and vary across all industries in order to reach Americans in need throughout the country. One way of distributing such assistance to citizens and communities is through government housing assistance and housing development programs. These programs are managed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, otherwise referred to as HUD and the Federal Housing Authority, known more commonly as FHA. The vast array of programs offered by HUD is unimaginable. On the HUD website, the Department defines its overall mission as “creating strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.” We will highlight just a few of these programs that fall under the Office of Housing’s authority related to both HUD and FHA.
HUD Rental Assistance Programs
There are three ways that HUD offers assistance to low-income families looking to rent an apartment or house. There are subsidies to private owners of apartment complexes, government owned housing in apartment/condo/townhouse/single-family style homes, and a housing choice voucher program (known more commonly as section 8).
Privately Owned Subsidized Apartments – this is a program that allows low-income families to rent from apartment complexes they otherwise may not have been able to afford, applying and paying rent at the apartment management offices like any other tenant. The HUD program provides a subsidy directly to the apartment owners as a way to compensate the difference between what the tenants has been determined to be able to afford and what the owner normally charges for the apartment. To search for apartments in your area participating in this program, use the HUD search tool at http://www.hud.gov/apps/section8/index.cfm.
Public Housing – housing built with the intention of being occupied by lower income families, the elderly, or people with disabilities. Public housing is a program of eligibility based onlower income status and a select few other qualifiers. An adviser who specializes in public housing will determine your eligibility based on 4 categories:
1) annual gross income
2) whether you qualify as elderly, a person with a disability, or as a family
3) U.S. citizenship or eligible immigration status
4) references to make sure you and your family will be good tenants
Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 
– as an offshoot of the public housing program the housing advisers that assist families applying for public housing may recommend to people that they also apply or inquire about the voucher program. To determine the rent that families pay for their public housing an equation is used to compare their income and the apartment’s “fair market rent” (FMR) price. To ensure the family does not pay over 30% of their income to rent HUD bases the dwelling’s FMR on the local area, size of the apartment, amount of bedrooms, age of the building, and general construction status. If the dwelling is worth more than 30% of the families’ income, they may still be eligible for vouchers to subsidize the difference. The FMR rates must be re-estimated each fiscal year in the same way that each family must re-submit their income statements each year. Rental rates based on standard-quality housing units have the following attributes:
- occupied rental units paying cash rent
- specified renter on 10 acres or less
- with full plumbing
- with full kitchen
- unit more than 2 years old
- meals not included in rent
HUD & FHA Home Buyers Assistance Programs
The HUD programs are not exclusively offered to lower income families choosing to rent a home. There is also a wide array of programs offered to individuals and families looking to purchase, refinance, and remodel a purchased home. When you are ready to consider buying a home or to begin searching for a home to buy, it is wise to seek out the services of a housing counselor. The HUD office in your local area can provide you with a wealth of information about trusted lenders, home prices, home owner’s insurance, renting v. owning in the current market, and many other frequently asked questions about home-buying. To find a counselor near you the HUD offers a searchable database at http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm.
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Loans – program designed to help home buyers with low to moderate income and less cash on hand for down payments so that they are still able to qualify for home loans. Benefits of an FHA loan include:
- Only requires a 3% down payment
- Ability to finance closing costs
- FHA has set limits on the amount lenders can charge for some closing cost fees (e.g. origination no more than 1% of mortgage).
- Maximum mortgage amount can vary significantly by area. FHA adjusts this amount periodically based on certain economic variables. You should check with your local FHA office or approved lender to determine your maximum mortgage amount.
- Under certain conditions, automatic cancellation of the FHA mortgage insurance premium
For more information on FHA and other home-buying information with secured government loans, visit http://www.ginniemae.gov/index.asp.
203(k) Rehab Mortgage Insurance – for families and individuals who are looking to buy or have already bought a home that they consider a “fixer-upper,” the HUD and FHA both offer programs to encourage buyers to make the choice to buy and/or make upgrades that will increase the home’s worth. There are detailed stipulations to loan amounts, mortgage costs, construction costs, and priority is given to weatherization and energy efficiency projects before luxury or aesthetics. There are multiple programs for all variations of scenarios.
- Rehabilitation or Repair of a Home Without Mortgage or Refinancing – in this case the HUD offers a Title I Home Improvement Loan to credit-qualifying borrowers. For a single family home a loan can be used for alterations, repairs and/or site improvements; with a maximum loan amount of $25,000 for a maximum term of 20 years. For multifamily structures a loan can be used for building alterations and repairs only; with a maximum loan amount of $60,000 (averaging only $12,000 in actual loans) for 20 years.
For more information or any other questions you may have about qualifying for government housing assistance visit the HUD website at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/resources.
After detailing this small sampling of programs that the federal government supports with funding and employment opportunities, it is clear that there are plentiful resources available for people in need. This is only a few examples from the housing sectors of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and they have many more offices within their authority. There is only more encouragement to be found with the realization that the federal government supports 15 total departments that offer assistance through their subsidiary offices who allocate funds to branching programs and state government initiatives.
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