Waiting list about to open again for Minneapolis rent subsidies

Last update: June 9, 2008 - 11:12 PM

For the first time in five years, applications for federal rent vouchers in Minneapolis will be accepted by the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA).

People may request applications Thursday and Friday. Electronic applications will be at www.mphaonline.org, and paper applications will be available at six Minneapolis libraries and the two Minnesota Work Force Centers.

When the waiting list was last opened in 2003, more than 8,900 applications were requested for the 4,494 housing vouchers MPHA currently administers. The agency estimates more than 15,000 applications will be requested this time around.

Because 500 people still are on the waiting list, applicants are expected to wait anywhere from one to five years before they reach the top of the list. A system awarding points for things such things as being homeless, paying more than 50 percent of the household income for rent and utilities, or being displaced by circumstances beyond a family's control help determine a spot on the list. Groups of applicants are then randomized based on a tiered point system. Applicants do not need to live in Minneapolis, though they get preference points if they do.

The upper limit to qualify ranges from a gross annual income of $43,050 for one person to $81,200 for a family of eight. However, 75 percent of vouchers go to people with "extremely low" incomes, ranging from $17,000 for one person to $32,000 for a family of eight.

Section 8 vouchers are personal rent subsidies that allow low-income families to lower their rent in the private market. They are issued to families that make less than 80 percent of the area's median income. The average annual household income for current voucher recipients is $12,197, and the average assistance payment is $727 per month. With the vouchers, a family has to contribute only 30 percent of its income toward rent. The vouchers are accepted by more than 2,200 landlords.

For more, call the wait list information line at 612-335-4404.

RODRIGO ZAMITH