Section 8 [Housing and Urban Development ] Law and Legal Definition
In 1974, Congress passed the Housing and Community Development Act, which amended the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 to create the Section 8 Program. In the Section 8 Program, tenants pay about 30 percent of their income for rent, while the rest of the rent is paid with federal money. The two main Section 8 programs are tenant-based vouchers and project-based vouchers. In the tenant-based program, eligible families with a certificate or voucher find and lease a unit and pay a reasonable rent, which is based upon a percentage of their income. The local housing authority pays the owner the remaining rent, which is capped by the Fair Market Rent (FMR). The housing authorities determine the reasonable rent and the FMR is determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).Section 8 is now referred to as Housing Choice Vouchers, which includes the following types of voucher programs:
- Conversion Vouchers Family Unification Vouchers
- Homeownership Vouchers
- Project Based Vouchers
- Tenant Based Vouchers
- Vouchers for People with Disabilities
- Welfare-to-Work Vouchers
