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Federally subsidized housing means that the government pays part or all of your rent. The part of your rent the government pays is called the "subsidy." Unlike private rental housing, landlords in federally subsidized housing have many more rules to follow. These rules decide about who gets into the housing (admissions), rents, leases, grievances, and evictions. If you live in federally subsidized housing, you have more legal rights than tenants in private rental housing. These rights include the following things.

? The landlord must follow certain rules about who gets admitted to the housing.

? Your rent is limited.

? Usually you pay no more than 30% of your income for rent and utilities.

? Your tenancy usually is not time limited. As long as you don't break the lease or the law, you are allowed to stay.

? You may be evicted only for good cause.

? Usually you must be given notice and a chance to contest a denial of admission.

? Before your subsidy may be ended, you must be given notice and a chance to contest.

What are the types of federally subsidized housing?

There are two types of federally subsidized housing. In one type, the subsidy is tied to the tenant. This is called "tenant-based assistance." In the other type, the subsidy is tied to the housing unit. This is called "unit-based assistance." This article is about tenant-based assisted housing. Other articles on this web site are about unit-based assisted housing.

What is tenant-based assisted housing?

There is one main type of tenant-based assisted housing. This is called a housing voucher. This is a type of federally subsidized housing where the assistance is tied to the tenant. This is a subsidy that you can take from place to place. Your voucher helps you rent decent housing in the private market. Your voucher helps pay part of your rent and sometimes part of your utility bills.

The voucher program is run by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). A local agency has an agreement with HUD (or sometimes with the Virginia Housing Development Authority - VHDA) to run the program in a certain area, usually a county or independent city.

How do I move a voucher from one unit to another?

            Because your assistance is tied to you, and not to your unit, you may carry your voucher from one landlord to another.  To have your assistance continue without interruption, you must follow all the proper procedures to break or not renew one §8 lease, and to enter a different §8 lease.  If you want to move to another county, the §8 agent in the old and the new county must allow you to use your voucher in the new county.

If you are beyond the first year of your lease, you need only give your landlord a written 30 day notice of intent to move.  You should ask for a new voucher from the §8 agent right away.  You should try to use the new voucher on a new unit right away.  All paperwork must be done at least 15 days before your new lease starts.  If you give your 30 day notice of intent to move and get a new voucher the same day, you must get all paperwork for the new unit done in 15 days.  The unit inspection report, the lease, and the HAP contract must be done in 15 days to assure there will be no break in your housing assistance payments.

If you are within the first year of your lease, the process is more complicated.  You can't merely give a written 30 day notice of intent to move.  Rather, you must break your lease.  There are only two ways to do this.

? You and your landlord agree in writing to break the lease.

            ? Your landlord has broken some promise under the lease and hasn't fixed the problem within a reasonable time after getting a written request from you or the §8 agent.

            When you move a voucher from one assisted unit to another, you must follow five steps.

1. You give your old landlord a written notice you are ending the lease, and you give the §8 agent written notice you have done this.

            2. The §8 agent gives your old landlord a written notice ending the HAP contract, and gives you written notice this has been done.

            3. The §8 agent gives you a new voucher that is good for 60 days.

            4. After you find a new unit, the §8 agent inspects it to be certain it meets Housing Quality Standards and the rent is fair.

            5. If §8 agent approves the new landlord, the unit, and the lease, you and the new landlord sign a new lease, and the §8 agent and the new landlord sign a new HAP contract.