Good info LIT LOVE. Here is my two cents

I can shed some light on rental assistance, as that was my expertise for 25+ years. Rental assistance is available from two sources: Privately-owned Subsidized Housing and Public Housing Authorities. The Public Housing Authorities have 2 programs: 1) Public Housing is renting at a physical property owned by the local housing authority. 2) The Housing Choice Voucher program allows you to choose where you live (with some restrictions), and the housing authority will pay the landlord the rent above ‘Tenant Rent’.

‘Tenant Rent’ is the portion you will pay based on your income. Calculation of rent is generally the same at both Privately-owned housing and Public Housing Authorities: 30% of your ‘Adjusted Income’, less an allowance for average utility costs. So, if you have no income, you would pay no rent. If you do have income, and have a verified disability, the cost of medical treatment will be deducted from your actual income to arrive at the ‘Adjusted Income’. Many times your disability cannot be verified until your SSI/SSDI is approved. So, you would not be able to claim medical bills until then.

The preference for elderly/disabled was once mandatory for both programs. In the late nineties, the federally mandated preference was revoked, and replaced by an Optional preference. In my experience, only Public Housing Authorities still apply the Optional preference for elderly/disabled. The reason is that the Public Housing Authorities have only 2 programs with only 1 definition of disability.

There are 18 different programs for Privately-owned Subsidized Housing, and six different definitions of disability. The definition of disability that is applied depends on the program the property is operating under. Many times more than one program can exist at a given property, making the application of a disability preference difficult.

The size of apartment you will qualify for depends on your family size. You will find that most Privately-owned and Public Housing have adopted the HUD occupancy recommendations of: Minimum one person per bedroom, and maximum two people per bedroom. So, a single person would only qualify for a one bedroom, where a family of 4 could qualify for a 2, 3 or 4 bedroom.

HUD has a website with a great search engine for both Privately-owned and Public Housing.

http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/po...tal_assistance

At the same page is a link for Housing Counseling Agencies. If you are not interested in subsidized rentals, the Housing Counseling Agencies would be the place to start, as they can provide help and advice with your current housing situation.

If you are interested in a subsidized rental, here is what you can anticipate for average wait times. This, of course, will vary depending on where you live.

• Public Housing (physical property): 2-3 months
• Privately-owned: 2-4 bedroom: 3-6 months
• Privately-owned: 1 bedroom: 9-12 months
• Privately-owned restricted to elderly/disabled: 12-15 months
• Housing Choice Voucher Program: 1-2 years