Section 8
The Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program (familiarly known as Section 8) is a federally funded program that offers rental assistance (subsidy) for families who qualify. The housing authority that issues the voucher to the participant pays a portion of the monthly rent and the participant pays a portion of the monthly rent.
The Housing Authority of the City of Pasco and Franklin County (HACPFC) administers this program under the regulations and guidelines of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). While there are several HCV programs available from HUD, HACPFC offers only the tenant-based voucher program. This means that the voucher stays with the participant as long as they abide by their lease, HAP (Housing Assistance Payment) contract and HACPFC guidelines.
With this program, the voucher holder seeks their own rental unit in a neighborhood that meets their needs and interests. At the completion of the original 12-month lease, participants may move to another jurisdiction as long as the receiving jurisdiction agrees to provide administrative support for the voucher. This is called Portability.
Before the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) waitlist is opened, a notice will be placed on this website, as well as in the local newspaper, the Tri-City Herald. The notice will indicate what dates and times applications will be accepted, as well as where and how to apply.
When applications are accepted, the following conditions apply:
In order for an application to be placed on the appropriate wait list, the applicant is required to provide:
- Photo Identification (ID) for All Adults (examples of picture ID include: State issued driver’s license or ID card, passport, etc.)
- Birth Certificates for all household members
- Social Security Cards for all household members
- Immigration Card for all household members (if applicable)
- Verification of Income and/or Employment for all household members
- Bank Account Verification for all household members
- Vehicle registration(s) for all household members
Interested parties may obtain application forms at HACPFC’s administration office during regular business hours or on this website’s Forms page.
NOTE: Applicants must complete and submit an application for each housing opportunity (e.g. if applying for Public Housing and HCV, one application must be submitted for Public Housing and a separate application must be submitted for HCV).
Applications must be filled out completely in order to be accepted by HACPFC for processing. Where it is medically or geographically impossible for the applicant to submit an application in person, HACPFC will accept applications received via U.S. Mail (or other delivery service such as UPS or FedEx) or through the assistance of another agency.
Current Status – Closed
HACPFC is NOT accepting applications for the Housing Choice Voucher (familiarly known as Section 8) wait list at this time.
Already applied and need to change your address?
If you have already applied for a housing program, please make sure that we always have your current mailing address. Mail returned by the Post Office will cause your name to be removed from the waitlist.
Frequently Asked Questions about Section 8
Anyone is welcome to apply. HACPFC determines each applicant’s eligibility based upon several factors, including the following:
Income
At the time an HCV applicant’s name is near the top of the waitlist, the total household income must be 40% or less of area median income (AMI) for the Tri-Cities Metropolitan Area. Preference will be given to households that are at 30% or less of AMI.
FY 2020 Income Limits – Franklin County
Extremely Low-Income (30% of AMI)
| Franklin County Area Median Income: $77,500 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Family Size | 2020 Income Limit Category | ||
| Extremely Low-Income (30% of AMI) |
Very Low-Income (50% of AMI) |
Low-Income (80% of AMI) |
|
| 1 | 16,300 | 27,150 | 43,400 |
| 2 | 18,600 | 31,000 | 49,600 |
| 3 | 21,720 | 34,900 | 55,800 |
| 4 | 26,200 | 38,750 | 62,000 |
| 5 | 30,680 | 41,850 | 67,000 |
| 6 | 35,160 | 44,950 | 71,950 |
| 7 | 39,640 | 48,050 | 76,900 |
| 8 | 44,120 | 51,150 | 81,850 |
Assets: Money, property, and other goods having value are taken into account when income is calculated. Income created from assets is included the determination of eligibility, but the actual value of the assets is not. For example, if an applicant has money in a savings account, that money will not be added to the applicant’s income. However, if the applicant earns interest from the money in that savings account, the interest will be considered part of the applicant’s annual income.
Before the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) waitlist is opened, a notice will be placed on this website, as well as in the local newspaper, the Tri-City Herald. The notice will indicate what dates and times applications will be accepted, as well as where and how to apply.
When applications are accepted, the following conditions apply:
In order for an application to be placed on the appropriate wait list, the applicant is required to provide:
- Photo Identification (ID) for All Adults (examples of picture ID include: State issued driver’s license or ID card, passport, etc.)
- Birth Certificates for all household members
- Social Security Cards for all household members
- Immigration Card for all household members (if applicable)
- Verification of Income and/or Employment for all household members
- Bank Account Verification for all household members
- Vehicle registration(s) for all household members
Interested parties may obtain application forms at HACPFC’s administration office during regular business hours or on this website’s Forms page.
NOTE: Applicants must complete and submit an application for each housing opportunity (e.g. if applying for Public Housing and HCV, one application must be submitted for Public Housing and a separate application must be submitted for HCV).
Applications must be filled out completely in order to be accepted by HACPFC for processing. Where it is medically or geographically impossible for the applicant to submit an application in person, HACPFC will accept applications received via U.S. Mail (or other delivery service such as UPS or FedEx) or through the assistance of another agency.
No, but you must meet the other requirements.
No. You can make only one application to this waitlist. You may apply to more than one waitlist at a time.
At the end of the application process, you will receive a confirmation notice. Please keep this notice, this is your proof that you applied. HACPFC staff will not be able to retrieve this notice for you. No more than 15 business days after you apply, you will be able to check the status of your application.
If you have a disability that prohibits you being able to complete this application, please call the HACPFC at 509 547-3581 during normal business hours. Please expect to leave a message and receive a return call.
The application gives you an option to view it in Spanish or English. If you need assistance completing the application in a language other than English or Spanish, please contact the Housing Authority at (509) 547-3581 during normal business hours. Please expect to leave a message and receive a return call.
No, an application will just give you a chance to be placed on the wait list.
Housing resources are limited and many more people need help with their rent than the Housing Authority can help. Working with community service providers, the Housing Authority learned that homeless children and homeless persons with chronic health problems are the most vulnerable residents of our community. By focusing our resources on these people we hope to make as great an impact as possible on the need for housing in our community.
Housing Authorities are permitted to establish local preferences to give priority to applicants that meet the preference criteria. HUD specifically authorizes and places restrictions on certain types of local preferences. Any local preferences established must be consistent with the annual plan and the consolidated plan, and must be based on local housing needs and priorities that can be documented by generally accepted data sources [24 CFR 960.206(a)].
HACPFC will use the following local preferences:
Elderly or Disabled
Elderly family. A family whose head, cohead, spouse, or sole member is a person who is at least 62 years of age; two or more persons who are at least 62 years of age living together; or one or more persons who are at least 62 years of age living with one or more live-in aides.
Disabled family A family whose head, cohead, spouse, or sole member is a person with disabilities; two or more persons with disabilities living together; or one or more persons with disabilities living with one or more live-in aides.
HUD requires that families where the head and spouse, or sole member is a person age 62 or older, or is a person with disabilities, will also be given the benefit of the working preference [24 CFR 960.206(b)(2)].
Veteran Status
HACPFC also employs an admission preference for applicants who are veterans of United States military service who have been discharged or released, other than dishonorably, or are the unmarried spouse of a service person killed while in the active service military of the United States.
Local Preference
Person(s) who is/are otherwise eligible for assistance and where the Head of Household, at the time they seek housing assistance, is/are employed and reside with the jurisdictions of the Housing Authority of the City of Pasco and Franklin County and Kennewick Housing Authority.
Applicants should make every effort to ensure HACPFC has their current mailing address and telephone number so that when their application reaches the top of the wait list, they may be easily contacted.
Please be certain we know your current address at all times.
If your address changes from the information on your application you must tell us in writing. If we send you mail and it is returned by the post office, your name will be removed from the waitlist.
If your name is drawn from the waitlist, we will send you a letter inviting you to complete the eligibility process.
You have 60 days to find a home and complete the process for assistance now that you have a Housing Choice Voucher. The voucher has an expiration date on it. One thirty-day extension will be granted if you request it in writing before the expiration date. A second extension may be granted under certain circumstances if you have not found a unit for reasons beyond your control, or if you need a reasonable accommodation for a household member’s disability.
Step 1: Get information
We will give you a copy of the voucher and a Request for Tenancy Approval (RFTA) with a cover letter for prospective landlords. We will also give you a worksheet telling you how your rent was calculated, and the maximum contract rent you can afford.
Step 2: Find an available rental
You will need to look for housing that is currently available with a landlord that accepts vouchers. We also suggest that you use traditional housing search tools such as craigslist.com or the local newspaper.
The landlord will ask you for references and other information to see if you are a good potential tenant. If the landlord does not think you are a good fit for their rental, you will need to find another unit to apply for with another landlord before your time runs out.
Step 3: Return documents to your voucher specialist
When you find a home, you will fill out the Request for Tenancy Approval form with your prospective landlord. You will also need to have a copy of the lease that is not signed or dated yet. These completed documents need to be given to your voucher specialist.
Your voucher specialist will get in touch with the prospective landlord, and ask for any additional information they need.
Step 4: Inspection
If your voucher specialist approves the rental, the Housing Inspector will call and set up an appointment to inspect the unit.
If the rental passes Housing Quality Standards, the Inspector reports to the voucher specialist.
If the unit fails inspection, the landlord is notified of the Required Maintenance. The landlord can:
Make repairs required to bring the unit up to standards or
Not repair the unit and not participate in the program
If the landlord chooses not to participate, you still have the remainder of the 60 days to find another unit.
Assistance will not begin until the rental passes inspection.
Step 5: Sign your lease and other documents
The final documents are signed by you and the landlord, and your payments will begin.
If you already have a Section 8 Voucher, you may be eligible to transfer it to HACPFC. This process is called porting. HACPFC is not absorbing vouchers; we are billing the initial housing authority. If you are interested in porting to HACPFC, please contact your current housing authority.
If you are eligible to port, your initial housing authority will issue you a voucher to allow to port and prepare your paperwork for HACPFC, the “receiving housing authority.”
Your initial housing authority will need to send your portability documentation to HACPFC’s portability specialist by one of the following contact methods:
- Email: applications@hacpfc.org (PREFERRED)
- Fax: (509) 547-4997 (Attention: PORTABILITY)
- Mail: Housing Authority of City of Pasco and Franklin County, 2505 W. Lewis Street, Pasco, Washington 99301
Timing
It will take one to six weeks after we receive your paperwork to complete your move. The length of time depends on whether your household composition or income has changed since your last review, how quickly you respond to requests for information, whether the unit you choose is affordable to you, and whether the unit passes inspection the first time. We will issue you a voucher that expires 30 days after the expiration date on the voucher provided to you by your original housing authority. Please make certain you have enough time to complete the process before your voucher expires. It is not possible to complete the port process without coming to the city of Pasco or Franklin county.
Your Section 8 voucher can be used anywhere in the country where there is a housing authority that will accept it. This is called porting. The rules for porting are the same as for another move.
In order to move, please give notice to your landlord in writing and provide a copy to the HACPFC no less than 20 days prior to the last day of the month in which you wish to move. If you are in a lease, your landlord must agree to let you out of your lease. You must be in good standing with the HACPFC and your landlord to move.
In order for you to port-out to another housing authority, here are the steps you must follow:
- You must inform your assigned housing specialist, in writing, of your request to port-out, where you want to move to, and when you intend to move out of your current unit. You will need to submit a copy of the vacate notice that you provide to your current landlord.
- Your housing specialist will determine if you are eligible to port out of HACPFC’s jurisdiction.
- If you are eligible to port out, your housing specialist will provide you with a Voluntary Portability release form to complete. The Voluntary Portability release form allows HACPFC to send your paperwork to the proper housing authority and gives the receiving housing authority your current contact information.
- Once the portability specialist has a completed Voluntary Portability release form and copy of your vacate notice, they will issue your family a Housing Choice Voucher (if one has not already been issued to you).
- Your portability documentation will be sent to the receiving housing authority within 10 business days. Once your portability documentation has been received, it may take the receiving housing authority 2 weeks to process your paperwork. If you have not been contacted by the receiving housing authority, please contact their portability contact to inquire how long you will have to wait before they can assist you in your new unit. It is possible you may have to pay the full rent for up to one month.