Rental assistance waiting list opens
RUPCO, an affordable housing provider, on Monday will open its waiting list for rental assistance for the first time in two years.
Applications for eligibility for the “Housing Choice Voucher Program” will be available in English and Spanish through Dec. 14.
The program provides rental assistance for extremely low-income families, RUPCO says in a press release.
“Funding enables people with limited income to choose and lease safe, affordable, privately owned, rental housing,” the agency said. Ulster County individuals and families earning 50 percent or less of the area median income are eligible to apply. For a family of four to be eligible, they must have a household income of $37,950 or less. For single people, the income threshold is $26,600.
Applicants needing help completing the paperwork can attend a free application support day at The Kirkland Hotel, 2 Main St., Kingston, on Oct. 31, Nov. 14, and Dec. 13, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. “Being placed on the wait list doesn’t guarantee receiving a Housing Choice Voucher right away,” Vanessa Secore, director of Rental Assistance for RUPCO, said in the press release. “Many applicants
wait up to a year to receive rental assistance.” The agency says applications will be entered into a random lottery drawing to be conducted after Dec. 14.
The first 1,000 applications selected from the lottery will be added to the waiting list. All applicants will be notified by mail whether they were selected for the list. Letters will be sent by Jan. 31, 2017. The program, commonly referred to as Section 8, is funded by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department. The money is funneled through the state
Homes and Community Development agency.
The last time the waiting list was open in Ulster County was November 2014. RUPCO currently owns or manages 15 properties with 430 apartments providing housing to more than 500 people, the agency said.
“The majority of those residents represent our community’s most vulnerable populations: the elderly, seniors, disabled and working class families,” the press release says. RUPCO’s Housing Choice Voucher Program assists 1,959 families
with rental subsidies. RUPCO awards $11 million to local landlords in Ulster and Greene counties through the program.
People interested in applying for the voucher program can download an application at www.rupco. org/hcv-ulster-county-waitlist-2016 as of Monday or obtain a copy at RUPCO’s Ulster County office, 289 Fair St., Kingston. Applications can be mailed or dropped off. No faxed or emailed applications will be accepted. The deadline for submission is Dec. 14 at 4 p.m.