Public housing and Section 8 vouchers in Puerto Rico

In Puerto Rico, the public housing complexes (residenciales) and much of the Section 8 voucher program are run by the Public Housing Administration (AVP), an agency of the Department of Housing. This guide explains how to apply, which documents you will need, how the rent is figured and what happens if you want to move with your voucher. It is based on what AVP and HUD publish.

There are two different programs. Public housingpublic housingPublic housing is a program of rental homes for low-income families, older adults and people with disabilities. HUD funds local public housing agencies (PHAs), which manage the homes and charge rents those families can afford. It comes in all sizes and types, from scattered single-family houses to high-rise apartments. The PHA decides whether you qualify based on your annual gross income, whether you are elderly, have a disability or are a family, and your U.S. citizenship or eligible immigration status. To apply, you contact your local PHA. In general, you can stay as long as you comply with the lease.See the full definitionClose means apartments owned by the government, in the residenciales. The housing choice voucherHousing Choice Voucher (Section 8)The Housing Choice Voucher, the program almost everyone calls Section 8, is the country's largest federal rental assistance. HUD pays rental subsidies so eligible families can afford decent, safe and sanitary housing. Local public housing agencies administer it with HUD funds. The family finds its own home on the private market; if the agency approves the unit and the tenancy, it contracts with the owner to pay part of the rent, and the family pays the rest. Waiting lists are usually long and open for limited periods.See the full definitionClose, or Section 8, is help to rent in the private market: you choose an eligible home and a subsidy paid directly to the landlord covers part of the rent.⁸

Of monthly adjusted income, the basis for rent in public housing

30%⁷

The least time you have to search once you get a voucher

60 days⁸

How often, at least, the authority reviews income in public housing

12 months⁷

Public housing and Section 8, side by side

Two programs, two ways to help

Residenciales

Public housing

• The apartment belongs to the housing authority; you sign the lease with it⁷
• Online application for the available units¹
• The rent comes from your adjusted income⁷

Private market

Section 8 voucher

• You rent from a private landlord and the subsidy pays part of the rent⁸
• AVP is not taking new applications, with exceptions¹
• You can move with the voucher, with conditions¹⁰

In both, eligibility depends on your income and the limits HUD sets.

Who can apply

According to HUD, the housing authority decides your eligibility by your annual gross income, whether you qualify as elderly, a person with a disability or a family, and by your citizenship or eligible immigration status. HUD sets low-income limits at 80% and very low-income limits at 50% of the area median, so you may qualify in one place and not in another.⁷ The do I qualify by income? tool compares your income with HUD’s limits for your municipality.

For Section 8, AVP lists these basic requirements: being a family, even of one person; being a U.S. citizen or permanent resident; meeting the extremely low income limits HUD sets each year; being 18 or older; having no recent history of drug-related criminal activity or activity that threatens others; and not being registered as a sex offender.² The federal rules for households where not everyone has the same status are in the guide to Section 8 and mixed-status families.

The authority also checks your references and can deny admission to applicants expected to harm other residents.⁷ If you are found ineligible, it must tell you why in writing, and you can request an informal hearing.⁷

How to apply for public housing

AVP has the form to apply for public housing in the available units of the residenciales online, at prphaenlinea.avp.pr.gov.¹ Its page posts the form in Spanish and English, the document list and a Personal Statement every applicant must complete. Each case is evaluated individually, so you may be asked for different documents.⁴

AVP’s document list is long. Among other things, it asks for:⁵

• For everyone in the household: the birth certificate and Social Security card, original and copy, and a photo of everyone together.
• For those over 18: photo ID, original and copy.
• For income: income certification, such as a letter from the employer, Social Security or PAN, the economic assistance letter and the ASUME child support letter, positive or negative.
• About your situation: a criminal record certificate, or a certificate of sentence completion if you have a record; evidence of your housing problem; your rent receipt and your AEE (power) and AAA (water) bills; and a CRIM certification.
• References: one credit reference and two personal ones.
• If you are foreign-born: your residence card.

Afterward, HUD explains that the authority must notify you in writing. If you are eligible, you go on a waiting listwaiting list (public housing and Section 8)The waiting list is where a public housing agency (PHA) places families who qualify for public housing or a Section 8 voucher when it cannot help them right away. When your name comes up, the PHA contacts you. Because more families need help than there are resources, long waits are common and a PHA may close its list. Each PHA can give preference to certain groups under its written policies. In the voucher program, a PHA may remove you if you do not answer its requests for information, but if that was because of a family member's disability, it must put you back in your place.See the full definitionClose, unless it can help you right away, and it contacts you when your turn comes. Long waits are common, and an authority may close its list when it has more families than it can help soon.⁷

Section 8 in Puerto Rico: AVP’s list and other authorities

AVP notes that its Section 8 Program is not accepting new applications at this time. It only accepts applications for Project Based Vouchers, preferences and special programs.¹ Its own requirements sheet says the application is available only for the preferences.²

AVP’s preferences are, in this order:³

1. Families displaced through no fault of their own by government action or by a declared natural disaster, including those whose FEMA housing assistance is ending. They come before all other families. Note: a family evicted for not paying rent or a mortgage does not count as displaced.
2. Families referred by law enforcement agencies because they witnessed or reported a crime.
3. Families with a member with a disability aged 18 to 61 who is leaving an institution, is at serious risk of entering one, or was homeless and is now in a permanent supportive housing or rapid re-housing program.
4. Victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking, as HUD defines them.

Project Based Vouchers (PBV). With these, the assistance stays with the apartment, not the family.⁸ AVP publishes the list of PBV projects, with each project’s contact and that of its regional Section 8 office.⁶ If you are an older adult, the guide to Section 202 senior housing explains another option.

Other housing authorities. HUD publishes public housing authority contacts by state, and Puerto Rico is on its list.⁹ Your municipality’s page in Places shows the housing authorities HUD lists for that municipality. HUD recommends applying to more than one list, because demand is high.⁸

How much rent you pay in public housing

HUD explains that your rent, called the Total Tenant Payment, is based on your annual gross income minus allowed deductions. It is the highest of:⁷

• 30% of your monthly adjusted income;
• 10% of your monthly income;
• welfare rent, if applicable; or
• a $25 minimum rent, or the amount the authority sets, up to $50.

Example with real numbers

How a family's rent is figured in a residencial

An example in words, not a real case. The authority does the math with your documents.

Household income

Everyone's gross income, for the coming year

Minus the deductions HUD allows

The result is adjusted income

30% of monthly adjusted income

Compared with 10% of monthly income and with the minimum rent

The rent the family pays

The highest of those amounts⁷

When you accept the apartment you sign a lease with the authority, and you may pay a security deposit.

Run it with your numbersDo I qualify by income?

When you accept, you sign a leaseleaseA lease, or rental agreement, is the contract in which the owner or landlord gives you the right to live in and use a property for a set period of time in exchange for payment, usually rent. While the lease lasts you have possession, but the landlord still owns the property. The lease says how much you pay and when, who handles maintenance and how the agreement can end. Your rights as a tenant are usually spelled out in the lease and in your state and local laws. Before complaining to the landlord, it helps to read the lease and make sure you are also following the rules you agreed to.See the full definitionClose with the authority and may pay a security depositsecurity depositA security deposit is money you pay the landlord when you start renting as security that you will follow the lease: pay the rent and take care of the home. The money still belongs to you. The landlord holds it and, when you move out, must return it minus the charges the law allows, such as past-due rent or damage beyond normal wear and tear. You should not be charged for damage that was already there when you moved in. The maximum amount and the deadline to return it depend on your state's law and sometimes your city's.See the full definitionClose. The authority reviews your family’s income at least once every 12 months, and in general you may stay as long as you comply with the lease.⁷

If you already have a voucher

Searching for a home. When you get the voucher, you have at least 60 days to find a home, 60 to 120 depending on the authority. If you cannot find one, ask for an extension before it expires. The home must pass an inspection.⁸

Keeping the voucher. Only the family members listed on your voucher may live with you.⁸ AVP has a participant portal where you see your account, follow a move, complete your recertification and download documents.¹

Moving with the voucher. HUD’s rules let you lease anywhere in your authority’s jurisdiction, and give you the right to use the voucher outside it, anywhere in the United States where another authority has a voucher program. There are limits: it does not apply if you moved out in violation of the lease, except to protect a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking. And if neither you nor your spouse lived in the jurisdiction when you applied, you do not have that right during the first 12 months, although the authority may allow it.¹⁰ If you are thinking of moving to the states or back to the island, ask your authority before you sign anything. The guide from Puerto Rico to Florida covers what else changes.

Your rights within the program

Reasonable accommodation. If you or a family member need a reasonable accommodation for a disability, or feel your rights were violated, AVP answers at 787-759-9407, extension 3007.¹ The guide to reasonable accommodations for disabilities explains how to ask.

If they want to evict you. Subsidized homes, including HUD and Section 8 housing, have their own eviction rules, and some require an administrative process before the lawsuit.¹¹ The guide to renting in Puerto Rico explains the court process and where to get free legal help.

If you face violence. Victims of domestic violence have a Section 8 preference³ and can move with the voucher to protect themselves.¹⁰ The guide to VAWA protections explains more.

If this is your situation

What matters most in your situation

You need an apartment now

Apply for public housing online and ask at your municipality's housing office.¹⁹

You lost your home in a disaster

Families displaced by a declared disaster have the first preference in AVP's Section 8.³

Someone in your household has a disability

Ask for a reasonable accommodation at 787-759-9407, extension 3007.¹

You are an older adult

Ask about the Project Based Voucher projects on AVP's list.⁶

You want to move with your voucher

You can use it in another jurisdiction, unless you leave in violation of the lease or, in some cases, in your first year.¹⁰

Costly mistakes

The mistake and what to do instead

• Mistake: Going to file without all the documents.

  Instead: AVP does not file the application if one is missing; request the certifications first.⁵

• Mistake: Applying to only one list.

  Instead: HUD recommends applying to several waiting lists.⁸

• Mistake: Letting the voucher expire without asking for an extension.

  Instead: Ask your authority for an extension before your search time runs out.⁸

• Mistake: Letting someone who is not on the voucher move in.

  Instead: Only the members listed on the voucher may live with you.⁸

• Mistake: Moving before talking to your authority.

  Instead: If you leave in violation of the lease, you lose the right to take the voucher with you.¹⁰

What to do this week

1. Go to prphaenlinea.avp.pr.gov and review the public housing application.¹
2. Download AVP’s document list and start requesting the certifications.⁵
3. Find your municipality in Places and write down the housing authorities HUD lists.⁹
4. If you think you have a preference, call AVP at 787-759-9407 and ask how to apply.³
5. Check your budget with the rent calculator and read the other Puerto Rico topics.