Senior Citizen Housing Assistance

• Author: William Asher
• Posted: 2024-05-14

With housing costs constantly on the rise, many senior citizens with limited incomes are struggling to find an affordable place to live. Accessibility is an issue for those with limited mobility, and some become confused and frightened by having to leave houses and neighborhoods where they have lived for decades. Fortunately, there is help for those facing tough housing decisions.

While good resources are available, it is important to fully understand all the choices available and prepare for the change carefully. Long-term needs must be considered, especially security, comfort and dignity. Programs offered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will help seniors get into appropriate quality housing that is also affordable. These include funds for home ownership and rent assistance along with other services to help the elderly and disabled.

The qualifications for the HUD programs are as follows:

- One household member must be age 62 or older.
- The family must be low income or very low income according to the limits set by HUD. The low-income limit is no more than 80 percent of the local median, and very low income means no more than 50 percent of the local median.

If qualified, there are programs for housing vouchers, subsidized housing, rent assistance and public housing.

Housing Vouchers

The Housing Choice Vouchers Programs (HCVP), which used to be called Section 8, allows families and individuals to choose where they want to live. This allows those who are elderly, low income or disabled to find appropriate housing in the open rental market. The individuals or families are advised on which units they qualify for and are given either a tenant-based voucher or a project-based voucher. The tenant-based voucher can be transferred to another location, while a project-based voucher is limited to certain buildings and units and cannot be used in another location.

In many cases, there is a waiting list for this type of housing because there is more demand than availability.

Home Ownership Vouchers

This program was created for first-time buyers who require assistance with mortgage payments and other associated costs. The expenses covered include mortgage insurance, principal and interest, homeowner's insurance and any applicable real estate taxes.

The eligibility requirements for this program are:

- Must be a first-time home buyer
- Must meet HUD requirements for elderly, low-income or disabled individuals
- Must not have owned or sold a home in the previous three years

Public Housing

The public housing program helps low-income individuals, families, the disabled and the elderly to move into safe, quality housing. HUD provides the funding for buildings that are locally owned and operated. The types of housing available include single-family homes, high-rise apartments and duplexes. Public housing units are restricted to those who are low income, disabled or elderly.

Eligibility is determined by the following criteria:

- Yearly gross income
- Whether the applicant is elderly, disabled or part of a family
- Whether the applicant is a United States citizen or has another qualifying immigration status, such as a green card.
- Whether the applicant provides positive tenant references

The amount of rent to be paid will be calculated using the above.

Subsidized Housing

Known officially as the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program, this assists senior tenants with low incomes by connecting them with property owners offering reduced rents. It also provides funding advances to organizations to build, remodel or acquire properties that can serve as housing for low-income or frail seniors. To keep the cost of the units down, HUD subsidizes the difference between operating expenses and what tenants are able to pay. The result is elderly people only have to contribute 30 percent of their income toward the monthly rent.

The units available are typically one-bedroom apartments that have a full bathroom and kitchen. They come with extra features such as no-skid floors, grab bars and wheelchair ramps. In some cases, there is weekly housekeeping, meals delivered to the home and transportation to medical appointments and outings.

In order to qualify for subsidized housing, individuals must be at least 62 years old and meet HUD guidelines for being very low income.