Eligibility / Waiting List

How Our Agency Is Funded

FMHA receives funding from HUD (U.S. Depart of Housing and Urban Development) to help assist low-income families with long-term rental assistance.

Housing Choice Voucher Program

The Housing Choice Voucher Program is a long-term rental assistance program. A family that receives a Voucher rents a home on the private market (owned by someone other than the Housing Authority). On this program you are responsible to locate your own rental unit. The rent that the household is responsible for is based on a percentage of the income for the entire household. The Housing Authority will pay the remainder of the rent directly to the landlord.

Public Housing Program

The Public Housing Program consists of 96 three bedroom family units owned by the Housing Authority. These homes are located within the city of Lancaster in six scattered site neighborhoods. The rent is based on a percentage of the household income. The Housing Authority receives money from HUD to cover the rest of the cost of maintaining the property. On this Program, the Housing Authority is your landlord.

Application Process

To be placed on the waiting list for assistance you must complete a pre-application card. You can receive a pre-application by any of the following:

1. You may call our office and one will be mailed to you
2. Stop in our office during office hours and they are in the lobby
3. E-mail our office and request one be mailed to you

Once our office has received the COMPLETED pre-application card, your information will be entered into a computerized waiting list according to the preference information you give on your pre-application card.

When you have a change in your family (income, address, family members, etc) you are to report it to the FMHA. The change will be entered in the computer and may, or may not, affect your place on the waiting list.

When funding is available, names will be taken off of the waiting list according to preferences. Then the process of receiving a voucher will begin.

Frequent Questions And Answers About The Waiting List

1. What number am I on the waiting list?
   
   Each pre-application is given a reference number. However, the number doesn't indicate when a family will get help. This depends on the family's local preference status and if the Authority has assistance available. We DO NOT and CAN NOT tell a person where they are on the waiting list. That information doesn't mean anything because the lists change all the time. (See Question 2. for more explanation.)
   
   
2. How long does it take to get assistance from the Housing Authority after I put my name on the waiting list?
   
   It is impossible for the Housing Authority to tell a person when they will receive assistance. This is because of the following: A person's (family's) preference can change many times while they are on the waiting list. Each time the family reports a change in a preference we move the family's name to the correct list. Many families change preferences every month. So, one day a family's name could be at the top of the preference list to be called in and the next day five families with lower pre-application numbers could report a change in their preference status and be ahead of that family. Family Size: The FMHA owns PUBLIC HOUSING rental units that have three bedrooms. We must rent these to families who need that many bedrooms. Once these rentals are filled we cannot house anyone else on the waiting list until someone moves out.
   
   
3. Do you have to be a family to get help from the Housing Authority?
   
   The Housing Authority refers to “family” when talking about an applicant or a program participant. This doesn’t mean that there has to be more than one person in a household for them to be eligible. Elderly, disabled, or handicapped individuals are called families by the Housing Authority. A single person is a family. However, single persons cannot receive assistance until all elderly, disable or handicapped individuals on the waiting list receive assistance first.
   
   
4. What can I do to be sure I get assistance as soon as possible?
   
   You cannot change when we will get to your name since that is controlled by preferences. But you CAN prevent delays in processing your application and make sure you don't lose your chance to get assistance by doing the following:
   
   A. Report ALL changes in your family income, size or address changes to the FMHA within 10 days of the change. If we try to contact you and we can't get you because we don't have the right address then we will remove your name from the list and go to the next name. Also, if you come for your interview and the information about your family's preference status and income is different from what you had reported to us it will delay processing your application. This can cause a great deal of disappointment to you and your family.
   B. Respond to all letters from the Housing Authority. Everything we send you will be for a reason. Please do whatever the letter says by the deadline date given in the letter. If you miss deadlines we will remove your name and go to the next person.
   
   
5. Why has my name has been withdrawn?
   
   If our agency has attempted to contact you and we did not receive a response, the process of removing your name from our waiting list will begin. It is your responsibility to keep FMHA updated on your current information.
   
   
6. Can I get help right away if I find a place that is HUD approved?
   
   No. Rental assistance is given to a family - not to a rental unit. You have to wait until your name reaches the top of the list. Just because a Housing Choice Voucher family lived in a unit does not make it "HUD approved". Each time a Voucher participant moves into a unit the unit must be re-inspected by our office.
   
   
7. I owe a debt to FMHA; can I still be on the waiting list?
   
   You may be placed on the waiting list after you have made payment arrangements for your debt and have made one payment. You MUST have the debt paid in full by the time your name is pulled from the waiting list.
   
   

Please contact our office for more information if you owe a debt.

Possibilities For Denial Of A Voucher

Every adult member of the family will be required to bring in a Police/Sheriff’s reports. If any of the reports show any of the following, the family will be denied:

1. One conviction for drug related criminal activity during the prior year
2. One conviction for violent criminal behavior in the prior year
3. Two or more verified incidents or disturbances caused by alcohol use or other criminal activity, during the prior year that may threaten the health, safety or right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other residents or persons in the immediate vicinity.
4. One conviction for manufacturing or producing methamphetamine on the premises (house and grounds) of a federally assisted unit. (PERMANENT/FUTURE EXCLUSION FROM ANY FUTURE FEDERALLY ASSISTED HOUSING)
5. One conviction for any other drug activity that resulted in eviction from federally assisted housing less than 3 years ago, unless they have successfully completed a rehabilitation program approved by the Public Housing Authority for the Housing Authority where the eviction took place or the circumstances for the eviction no longer exist.
6. Verified documentation that a participant is a permanent/lifetime registered sex offender. (PERMANANET EXCLUSION FROM ANY PRESENT/FUTURE FEDERALLY ASSISTED HOUSING)
7. Verified documentation that the applicant is a fugitive felon, parole violator or a person fleeing to avoid prosecution, or custody or confinement after conviction of a crime, or attempt to commit a crime, that is a felony under the laws of the place from which the individual may be fleeing.

FMHA's Preferences And Definitions

Applicants for the FMHA’S assisted housing programs will be entered on the waiting list according to their pre-application card number and their preference(s), if any. The waiting list is maintained through a computer program that weights preferences according to pre-assigned values. This way, recorded changes in an applicant’s preference status will automatically change their place on the computerized waiting list.

RANKING ORDER FOR PREFERENCES: The ranking order for preferences (in order of importance) is: Federal Requirement; Terminally Ill; Homeless; Veteran; Working Family (PH)/Disabled Family (HCV). Each of the ranking preferences has a different value. Families with more than one preference could be housed before a family with only one preference – depending on the value of the ranking of the preference(s).

DEFINITIONS OF PREFERENCES:

1. FEDERAL REQUIREMENT: Head or Spouse is a citizen of the Republic of Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia or the Republic of Palau.
2. TERMINALLY ILL: Any family member has a “disability that, in a doctor’s opinion, will result in the person’s premature death within five years”.
3. HOMELESS: The applicant must have been accepted into the Fairfield County Transitional Housing Program or be a resident of a local Emergency Shelter.
4. VETERAN: Veteran status will be given to the families (individual, spouse and/or minor children) of Veterans and Servicemen.
   • “Veteran” means a person who is an honorably discharged member of the armed forces of the United States who served on active duty for reasons other than training.
   • “Serviceman” means a man or woman serving in the active military or naval service of the United States.
5. WORKING FAMILY: (Public Housing Program only) A family will receive the working local preference if one adult member is employed or if the head or spouse is age 62 or older or are disabled under social security guidelines.
6. DISABLED: (Housing Choice Voucher Program only) A family will receive the disabled preference if it includes a person who is disabled or handicapped as defined under social security guidelines, or whose head, spouse or sole member is 62 years of age or older.

Required Documentation For A Preference

The following verifications must be provided to FMHA to receive a voucher for the preference that you indicated on your pre-application.

1. Veteran preference – A copy of your DD214. If you do you have a copy of your DD214, please request a copy from the Veterans Affairs Administration at the time you turn in your pre-application. It may take up to 6 months before you receive a copy from the VA.
2. Homeless preference – To receive a voucher for the homeless preference you must be in the shelter at the time your name is pulled from the waiting list AND at the time you receive your voucher.