Information about Section 8 Housing:

Basic Eligibility Requirements:

• Must be at least 17 years of age on the date of application
• >HARC may request a police background check, credit report, utilities check, and prior landlord verification in order to determine eligibility for housing assistance

Family Income Eligibility
(Maximum gross Household Income)

How to Apply for Section 8

Applications
At this time, applications are being accepted for Section 8 assistance on Tuesdays between 10:00 a.m. – 1200 noon and 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.  

Process
Applications will be made available at the Housing Authority main office.  Applicants may complete one application per household, which will be date and time stamped upon receipt by HARC.  This is a preliminary application, and you will be which will be assigned a number.  

Application Selection
Based on the following preferences, families with children, and disabled or elderly families, will be offered housing before any other families from the waiting list. The date and time of application will be utilized to determine the sequence with the above prescribed preferences. 

Issuing a Voucher
Once all family information has been verified, their eligibility determined, their subsidy calculated, and they have attended the family briefing, the Housing Authority of Racine County will issue the housing choice voucher. At this point the family begins their search for a unit.

Finding a Place to Live
Voucher holders may search the private rental market for a housing unit that is decent, safe and sanitary according to federal Housing Quality Standards (HQS established by the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development and HARC). A copy of the HUD booklet, "A Good Place to Live!" is a good resource and is provided at the briefing meeting. The HARC also has a book of landlords with available housing units available to be viewed at the HARC office.  When a unit is found and the owner agrees to lease it under the Housing Choice Voucher Program, HARC will inspect the property. After the unit passes HQS inspections and rent has been approved, the landlord and tenant enter a lease for an initial term of one year. The landlord and HARC enter into an agreement called a Housing Assistance Payments Contract, through which the rent is assisted on the tenant's behalf. The tenant is responsible for the monthly payment of the difference between the total rent and the Housing Assistance Payment.