PHA administers the Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCV), also known as Section 8, a federal rental assistance program that allows very low-income families to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market.  Since housing assistance is provided on behalf of the family or individual, participants are able to find their own housing, including single-family homes, townhouses and apartments.  Program participants are free to choose any housing that meets the requirements of the program. Most HCVs are “tenant-based,” meaning people can use them to rent any private apartment that meets program guidelines and if the family decides to move, the voucher goes with the family to lease another suitable unit.

In all of the PHA’s housing voucher programs, a housing subsidy is paid to the landlord directly by the PHA on behalf of the participating family. The family then pays the difference between the actual rent charged by the landlord and the amount subsidized by the program.