The HPHA's federal and State voucher programs provide rental assistance for low-income families in the private rental market.
The HPHA provides rental assistance to low-income families in the private rental market through the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program which is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The program, formerly known as Section 8, was created by the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. Participating families are free to choose any housing that meets the requirements of the program and are not limited to units located in subsidized housing projects.
The HPHA's HCV Program covers the island of Oahu only.
Participation in the program is limited to low-income families and individuals. The HPHA determines your eligibility based on annual gross income; whether an applicant qualifies as elderly, a person with a disability, or as a family; and U.S. citizenship or eligible immigration status.
The HPHA uses income limits developed by HUD. Low-income families are defined by HUD as earning 50% or less of the median income for a given county or metropolitan area. To view the latest HUD-established income limits, click here.
The HPHA will calculate the maximum amount of rental subsidy that can be provided for a voucher family's dwelling unit. This amounts is generally the lesser of the payment standard minus 30% of the family's monthly adjusted income, or the gross rent of the dwelling unit minus 30% of the family's monthly adjusted income. The HPHA establishes payment standards by zip codes. The asking rent for the dwelling unit must also be determined to be reasonable when compared to other unassisted units in the same area.
Once the HPHA approves a voucher family's dwelling unit, the family and the landlord will sign a lease. The HPHA and the landlord will also sign a contract for housing assistance payments for the same term as the lease. This means that everyone - tenant, landlord, and the HPHA, - each has a role and various obligations under the voucher program.
When a family selects a housing unit, and the HPHA approves the unit and lease, the family will sign the lease for a period of one year. The tenant may be required to pay a security deposit to the landlord. After the first year, the landlord may initiate a new lease or allow the family to remain in the unit on a month-to-month lease. The tenant is expected to comply with the lease and all program requirements, pay their share of the rent on time, maintain the unit in good condition, and notify the HPHA of any changes in income or family composition.
The landlord is responsible for providing decent, safe, and sanitary housing to a tenant at a reasonable rent. The dwelling unit must pass the program's inspection standards and be maintained up to those standards for as long as the landlord receives housing assistance payments. Additionally, the landlord is expected to provide services agreed to as part of the lease signed with the tenant and the contract signed with the HPHA.
The HPHA provides a tenant with housing assistance that enables their family to afford suitable housing. The HPHA will enter into a contract with the landlord to pay a share of the asking rent for a dwelling unit. If a landlord fails fails to meet their obligations under the lease or contract, the HPHA has the right to terminate assistance payments. The HPHA must also reexamine the tenant's income and family composition as well as inspect the dwelling unit to insure it complies with the program's inspection standards.
Most Housing Choice Vouchers are "tenant-based," meaning families use them to rent any private dwelling unit that meets the HPHA's program guidelines. Project-Based Vouchers (PBV), in contrast, are attached to specific units which are rented exclusively to program participants. The HPHA allocates a portion of the HCV funding it receives from HUD for long-term contracts which provide rental assistance at affordable housing properties across the island of Oahu.
Special Purpose Vouchers (SPV) are a component of the HCV Program administered by the HPHA. These vouchers are used in collaboration with Continuums of Care (CoC) and other partners to provide rental assistance to specific populations. Learn more about SPVs administered by the HPHA below.
Mainstream and Non-Elderly Disabled (NED) vouchers are Housing Choice Vouchers with special eligibility criteria to serve non-elderly persons with disabilities (i.e., at least 18 years and less than 62 years of age) or households with a member with disabilities. There are small differences between the Mainstream and NED programs, and within the NED program there are two types of vouchers – Category 1: non-elderly persons and families with disabilities, and Category 2: persons leaving institutional care for community-based housing and services. HUD awards these vouchers through competitive Notice of Funding Opportunity processes (NOFO). Additional awards based on performance and utilization have also been made to Mainstream applicants funded through NOFO.
The Family Unification Program (FUP) and Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) Initiative makes HCVs available to PHAs in partnership with Public Child Welfare Agencies (PCWAs). FUP vouchers serve to assist child welfare involved families who lack adequate housing to prevent the out-of-home placement of their child or children, or to facilitate family reunification. Both FUP and FYI vouchers assist youth between the ages of 18 to 24 who have exited foster care or will exit foster care within 90 days and are experiencing or at-risk of experiencing homelessness. FUP vouchers are allocated to PHAs through a competitive NOFO process. FYI vouchers awards have included both competitive NOFO as well as non-competitive awards based on demonstrated need and PHA administrative performance, including utilization of FUP and FYI.
Funded through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) Program provides HCVs to PHAs to assist individuals and families who are homeless, at-risk of homelessness, fleeing, or attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking, or were recently homeless or have a high risk of housing instability. HUD allocated these vouchers to communities with the greatest need for EHVs and where local PHAs demonstrated the capacity to administer the vouchers. Collaboration and referrals from the CoC and Victim Service Providers (VSPs) are a key element of the EHV program implementation along with many waivers to reduce housing barriers. Unlike the other SPVs discussed in this fact sheet, which are funded through annual appropriations and are permanent assistance, EHVs are one-time funding received through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and set to expire in September 2030.
The HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) program combines HCVs for homeless Veteran households with case management and clinical services provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMC) - or a VA contractor or VA designated service provider (DSP). HUD and the VA collaboratively award HUD-VASH vouchers to VAMC and PHA partnerships based on geographic need and PHA administrative performance. In recent years, this allocation has been done through a registration of interest notice, requiring PHAs to self-identify interest in additional vouchers. HUD-VASH eligible households consist of eligible homeless veterans and their families. Eligibility determination and veteran selection and intake is done by the VAMC or DSP. After intake, HUD-VASH eligible families are referred to the partnering PHA for the issuance of a voucher or selection for a Project-Based Voucher unit.
The HPHA administers a State Rent Supplement (RSP) Program which operates similar to, but independent of the federally funded HCV Program. The RSP Program provides a shallow rent subsidy of up to $500 a month for eligible low-income families.
Participation in the program is limited to low-income families and individuals. The HPHA determines eligibility based on annual gross income and whether an applicant qualifies as elderly, a person with a disability, or as a family; and U.S. citizenship or eligible immigration status.
The HPHA uses income limits developed by HUD. Low-income families are defined by HUD as earning 50% or less of the median income for a given county or metropolitan area. To view the latest HUD-established income limits, click here.
