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2 <br />Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Program <br />Background <br />The Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Program, better known as the Section 8 <br />Program is a rent subsidy program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and <br />Urban Development. Specifically, the program provides funds for rental housing costs <br />of low income families and individuals. The subsidy is given to the family who is <br />responsible for finding standard rental housing in the community. The Orange County <br />Housing and Community Development Department administers this program for <br />Orange County. Orange County received its initial allocation of Section 8 subsidies in <br />1976 and the last new allocation in 1985. Presently, the County has budget authority <br />to serve approximately 600 families. <br />Since 1985, federal housing program budget cuts have hindered our ability to receive <br />new funding allocations. Thus, while the County makes application for funding when <br />invited, demand exceeds supply and everyone does not get new allocations. We <br />submitted applications for funding in 1990, 1992, 1994 and 1997 with no success. It <br />should be noted that the FY 1994 and 1997 applications were for program funds <br />targeted for the disabled population. It is my understanding that since most applicants <br />meet the minimum criteria, a lottery system is used to select agencies to receive new <br />Section 8 funding. <br />Present Challenges <br />In recent months, there has been some concern regarding the lack of affordable rental <br />housing and general reluctance of current landlords to participate in the program. <br />Following is a description of the general rental housing market in the County and the <br />impact of this situation on the low income community. <br />In 1997, HUD estimates that there are 41,722 households in the County. Of these <br />households, 58°r6 are homeowners, and 42°r6 are renters. Renters in this market face <br />primarily three challenges when searching for rental housing: <br />1. The lack of supply of adequate, affordable housing; <br />2. High cost burden <br />3. Competition with university students <br />The most commonly discussed challenge is housing costs. According to the U.S. <br />Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Fair Market Rent ,which includes <br />utility costs for this area are: <br />0 BR $434 <br />1 BR $539 <br />2 BR $633 <br />3 BR $845 <br />4 BR $1001 <br /> <br />>> <br />