HUD Rental Assistance for 60,000 Families

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo today awarded rentalassistance vouchers that will help 60,000 very low-income families live in housing they otherwise couldnot afford. Cuomo awarded the vouchers to about 500 housing authorities in the U.S., Puerto Rico,Guam, the Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands.The $347 million in "Fair Share" Section 8 rental assistance vouchers were awarded competitivelybased upon community needs. Almost 700 housing authorities submitted applications requestingmore than 111,000 vouchers.Under the program, qualified recipients generally pay no more than 30 percent of their income as rentwhile HUD picks up the remainder of the tab. Families may live in any community where an affordableunit can be found that meets housing quality standards, and where the owner is willing to participate inthe Section 8 program.