Types of low income apartments

A tax credit apartment is an apartment with a lower rent that only households earning under an income limit can rent. The owner gets a federal tax break for keeping the rent low, and a building with these apartments is a tax-credit building.

The tax break is the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, often shortened to LIHTC. A tax-credit building can also have apartments at the usual market rent, which anyone can rent. When you call, ask for the lower-rent apartments.

Who qualifies:

Your household must earn no more than the building's income limit. That is usually 50% or 60% of the area median income, the middle income where you live: half of the families there earn more, and half earn less. The building's office can tell you the limit in dollars for your household size. Many buildings also ask for a minimum income, the least you must earn to show you can pay the rent.

What you pay:

You pay a set rent that doesn't go up or down with your pay. The owner can't charge more than a limit based on your area's income limits, and that limit counts your utility costs too, so the rent is usually lower than at similar apartments nearby. Ask the building's office which utilities you pay on top of the rent. A Section 8 voucher pays part of the rent on an apartment you choose. If you have one, a tax-credit building can't turn you down because of it, and the voucher pays part of your rent there too.

How to apply:

Call or visit the building's office and ask whether a lower-rent apartment is free now or whether you can join a waitlist. When a new tax-credit building opens, some cities give out its first apartments through a lottery, a random draw among everyone who applies by the deadline.

A Section 8 building is a privately owned apartment building where the government pays part of the rent for tenants with low incomes. Its official name is project-based Section 8.

It is different from a Section 8 voucher. A voucher pays part of the rent on an apartment you find yourself, and you can usually take it with you when you move. In a Section 8 building, you get the lower rent only while you live in that apartment. If you move out, the next person who moves in gets it, and at your new home you pay the full rent unless you have other help, such as a voucher.

Who qualifies:

HUD, the federal housing department, sets a low income limit for each area, usually 80% of the area median income, and your household must earn no more than it. Most apartments that come free go to households under HUD's very low income limit, usually 50% of the area median income, and some are set aside for households with even lower incomes. The building's office can tell you each limit in dollars for your household size.

What you pay:

You pay about 30% of your income in rent, and the government pays the owner the rest.

How to apply:

Call or visit the building's office and ask to join its waitlist. Each building keeps its own list, so you can join the lists at several buildings at once. The building can't charge you a fee to apply or to check your credit.

Low income senior apartments are in senior buildings: apartment buildings for older adults with low incomes, paid for with money from HUD's Section 202 program.

You may also see them called Section 202 housing. Some were later fixed up with money from the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, so they are tax-credit buildings too. You live in your own apartment. It is not assisted living or a nursing home. Many buildings have a staff member who connects residents with services such as cooking, cleaning and rides.

Who qualifies:

In most senior buildings, at least one person in your household must be 62 or older when you move in, and the others can be any age. Some older senior buildings also rent to younger adults with disabilities. Most also take only households under HUD's very low income limit for your area, usually 50% of the area median income.

What you pay:

In most senior buildings, you pay about 30% of your income in rent, and the government pays the rest. Some older buildings charge a set rent instead, so ask the building's office which it charges.

How to apply:

Call or visit the building's office and ask to join its waitlist. Each building keeps its own list, so you can join the lists at several buildings at once.

Public housing is an apartment or house where your landlord is the local housing office, a government agency officially called the housing authority.

It comes in every size, from single houses to tall apartment buildings. Some public housing buildings are only for older adults or people with disabilities.

Who qualifies:

Your household must earn no more than HUD's low income limit for your area, usually 80% of the area median income. At least one person in your household must be a US citizen or have an eligible immigration status. If some people in your household don't, the household can still get in. The rent is lowered only for the members who are citizens or have an eligible immigration status, so the household pays more than a household of the same size and income whose members all qualify. The housing office also checks references, such as past landlords, before it offers you an apartment.

What you pay:

Your rent is usually about 30% of your income, so it goes up when you earn more and down when you earn less. If you move out, you give up both the apartment and its lower rent.

How to apply:

Apply to the housing office, not to the building. It puts you on its waitlist and offers you an apartment when your name comes up. Many housing offices open their waitlist for only a short time, so apply as soon as it opens. The housing office can't charge you a fee to apply.

A building for people with disabilities is an apartment building or small group home for adults with disabilities who have low incomes.

Many were built with money from HUD's Section 811 program, so you may also see them called Section 811 housing. Many offer support services to residents. Some are set up for people with one kind of disability, so ask the building's office who it serves and what services it offers.

Who qualifies:

At least one adult in your household, 18 or older, must have a disability. In most of these buildings, your household must also earn no more than HUD's very low income limit for your area, usually 50% of the area median income.

What you pay:

In most of these buildings, you pay about 30% of your income in rent, and the government pays the rest. Some charge a set rent instead, so ask the building's office which it charges.

How to apply:

Call or visit the building's office and ask to join its waitlist. Some states also set aside apartments for people with disabilities in other affordable buildings. Those apartments are filled through referrals: a case manager, or your state's health or Medicaid agency, sends your name to the state's housing agency. If you don't have a case manager, ask your state's housing agency how to get referred.