On November 2, 2017, the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA) approved changes to the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program that will impact most participants. These changes are an effort to ensure that as federal funding decreases and rental prices increase, we continue to serve all families currently receiving HCV assistance.
What’s Changing?
HCV participants should expect the following changes to the program that will affect how we calculate their family share of rent:
- Work-able/Non Work-able: We will determine if your family is a “work-able” or a “non work-able” household. A “work-able” household is one where there is at least one member of your household who is 18 years or older; not elderly or disabled on a fixed income; and not enrolled in school or a job training program full time. A “non work-able” household is one in which all members of the household over the age of 18 are elderly or disabled and on a fixed income, or enrolled in school or job training fulltime.
- “Work-able” households will either pay $220 or 35 percent of their adjusted income for their family share of rent, whichever is higher.
- “Non work-able” households will increase their share of rent from 30 to 32 percent and will either pay $50 or 32 percent of their adjusted income for their family share of rent, whichever is higher.
- Utility Allowances:We are not eliminating utility allowances as previously proposed, but instead establishing a flat utility allowance by bedroom size. This applies to families that are responsible for paying utilities under their lease.
|
Number of Bedrooms |
Flat Utility Allowance |
|
0 |
50 |
|
1 |
50 |
|
2 |
70 |
|
3 |
100 |
|
4 |
140 |
|
5 |
170 |
|
6 |
190 |
- Housing Subsidy Standards:Housing subsidies will be calculated by assigning one bedroom for the head of household (and spouse or co-head) and two persons per bedroom for all other family members regardless of the relationship, sex, and age of your family members. This means, for example, if you have three people in your household, you will receive housing assistance for a two bedroom unit.
Please Note: While implementation of the approved changes will not start until March 2019, if you choose to move during the next year, this change will affect you immediately.
When will HCV changes be implemented?
Approved changes will not take effect until at least March 2019. An estimate of household-specific changes will be sent at least one year prior to a household’s recertification. We anticipate mailing the notices with household specific estimates beginning in January 2018 for families with recertification exams effective March 1, 2019 or later. Depending on a family’s recertification schedule, some may not see a change for another year or two. This gives families at least one year notice to prepare for changes to the program. It is anticipated that this process will be completed for all families in the HCV program by November 2021.
Want to learn more?
HCV participants can view our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), send questions by e-mail to dhcdchanges@fairfaxcounty.gov, call our information hotline at 703-279-7309, or contact their housing service specialist.
