Housing Choice Voucher Program

What are Housing Choice Vouchers?

The Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program is the federal government’s major program for assisting very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled 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.

Participants are free to choose any housing that meets the requirements of the program and is not limited to units located in subsidized housing projects.

Vouchers are administered locally by Orange County Housing Authority (OCHA); a public housing agency (PHA). OCHA receives federal funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to administer the voucher program.

A family that is issued a HCV is responsible for finding a suitable housing unit of the family’s choice where the owner agrees to rent under the program. This unit may include the family’s present residence. Rental units must meet minimum standards of health and safety, as determined by OCHA.

A housing subsidy is paid to the landlord directly 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. 

Am I eligible? 

HCV eligibility is determined by the total annual gross income and family size and is limited to US citizens and specified categories of non-citizens who have eligible immigration status. In general, the family’s income may not exceed 50% of the median income for the county or metropolitan area in which the family chooses to live. 

How do they function? 
The HCV program places the choice of housing in the hands of the individual family. An HCV holder is advised of the unit size for which they are eligible, based on family size and composition.

The housing unit selected by the family must meet an acceptable level of health and safety before OCHA can approve the unit. When the voucher holder finds a unit that they wish to occupy, and reaches an agreement with the landlord over the lease terms, OCHA must inspect the dwelling and determine that the rent requested is reasonable.

A family which receives a voucher can select a unit with a rent that is below or above the payment standard. The housing voucher family must pay 30% of its monthly adjusted gross income for rent and utilities. If the unit rent is greater than the payment standard, the family is required to pay the additional amount. By law, whenever a family moves to a new unit where the rent exceeds the payment standard, the family may not pay more than 40 percent of its adjusted monthly income for rent.

The rent subsidy
OCHA will calculate the maximum amount of housing assistance allowable. The maximum housing assistance is generally the lesser of the payment standard minus 30% of the family’s monthly adjusted income or the gross rent for the unit minus 30% of monthly adjusted income.

HCV waitlist

Orange County’s Housing Choice Voucher waitlist is open only to the following preference categories: participants in Orange County’s Permanent Supportive Housing Move On Program, and residents experiencing homelessness referred through the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness’ and Continuum of Care’s HOME Committee and Housing Help coordinated entry program. If you need housing assistance and do not align with these categories, please contact our Housing Helpline at 919-245-2655, or housinghelp@orangecountync.gov.