Program Summary

Program Summary

The Housing Choice Voucher 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.

The participant is free to choose any housing that meets the requirements of the program and is not limited to units located in subsidized housing projects. The Housing Choice Voucher program is financed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide rent subsidies in the form of housing assistance payments (HAP) to private landlords on behalf of extremely low/very low-income individuals or families, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities.

For CY2015, DCA paid more than $200 Million to private Landlords on behalf of more than 20,000 participating families. The family then pays the difference between the actual rent charged by the Landlord, and the amount subsidized by the program.

A family that is issued a voucher is responsible for finding a suitable housing unit, of the family's choice, where the owner agrees to rent under the program. When a family selects a housing unit, and the DCA approves the unit and lease, the family signs a lease with the landlord for at least one year.

The role of the more than 10,000 private landlords in the DCA’s HCV program is to provide decent, safe, and sanitary housing to a tenant at a reasonable rent. The unit must pass the program's housing quality standards, and be maintained up to those standards as long as the owner receives housing assistance payments.

 

Am I eligible?
Eligibility for the Housing Choice Voucher program is determined by the PHA based on 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 I apply?
If you are interested in applying for a voucher, please contact the Division of Housing and Community Resources Customer Service:
phone: 609-292-4080 or 609-633-6157
email: customer.service@dca.nj.gov

 

Additional Information and other subsidy programs
Due to the high level of interest, there may be a long wait to participate in the HCV Program.  For additional information, contact either your local DCA office or local HUD office.

 

 

2017 - Payment Standards

Payment standards are used to calculate the housing assistance payment (HAP) that the DCA pays to the owner on behalf of the family leasing the unit. DCA has latitude in establishing its schedule of payment standard amounts by bedroom size. The range of possible payment standard amounts is based on HUD’s published fair market rent (FMR) schedule for the FMR areas in which DCA has jurisdiction. DCA may set its payment standard amounts between 90 percent to 110 percent of the published FMRs, and may set them higher or lower with HUD approval.

The level at which the payment standard amount is set directly affects the amount of subsidy a family will receive, and the amount of rent paid by program participants.  Payment standard amounts should be high enough to allow families a reasonable selection of modest, decent, safe, and sanitary housing in a range of neighborhoods

 

The chart below reflects the 2017 DCA Payment Standards:

       2017 NJDCA Payment Standard----Includes Utilities   
  BEDROOMS
METROPOLITAN FMR AREA   0  1  2  3  4  5  6 7 8
                   
Atlantic City-Hammonton                  
 DCA payment standard   821  912  1179  1599  1830  2104  2379  2653 2928
                   
BERGEN-PASSIAC                  
 DCA payment standard    1088  1228  1440   1859   2209  2540  2872 3203 3534
                   
JERSEY CITY, NJ                  
DCA payment standard   1076 1235 1460 1876 2032 2337 2642 2946 3251
                   
City Hoboken (Exception Rents)                  
DCA payment standard 1291 1482 1752 2251 2438 2804 3169 3535 3901
                   
Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ                  
DCA payment standard   1021 1254 1578 2025 2512 2889 3265 3642 4019
                   
MONMOUTH-OCEAN, NJ                  
DCA payment standard   917 1124 1417 1928 2245 2582 2918 3255 3592
                   
NEWARK, NJ                  
DCA payment standard   1044 1099 1324 1695 1922 2210 2499 2787 3075
                   
OCEAN CITY, NJ  (CAPE MAY)                  
DCA payment standard   671 854 1051 1464 1748 1924 2175 2426 2677
                   
PHILADELPHIA, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Includes:  Burlington, Camden,
Salem and Gloucester		                  
DCA payment standard   830 1003 1210 1502 1659 1908 2157 2405 2654
                   
TRENTON-EWING, NJ                  
DCA payment standard   863 1087 1328 1746 2023 2326 2630 2933 3237
                   
Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton NJ                  
DCA payment standard   753 896 1129 1442 1659 1908 2157 2406 2654
                   
WARREN COUNTY, NJ                  
DCA payment standard   812 1012 1223 1518 1825 2099 2372 2646 2920