The Hialeah Housing Authority activated this Wednesday the registration period for its waiting list for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, commonly known as Section 8 or Plan 8, allowing eligible residents just a seven-day window to submit their pre-registration online.
The deadline started at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, July 22, and will extend until 4:59 p.m. on Tuesday, July 28, according to the official notice from the HHA (Hialeah Housing Authority).
Applications are received exclusively through the portal www.hialeahhousing.org.
Paper applications or in-person submissions are not accepted.
What is Plan 8 and who does it help?
The program -funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and locally administered by the HHA- subsidizes a portion of the monthly rent for low-income families, seniors, and individuals with disabilities in the private rental market.
The call comes at a time of severe housing pressure in South Florida.
According to an analysis by RentCafe cited by the Miami Herald, “$1,500 in monthly rent in Hialeah is only enough for about 576 square feet, the size of a studio or a small one-bedroom apartment.”
Who can apply and what are the income limits?
To participate, applicants must be U.S. citizens, be at least 18 years old, and reside in Miami-Dade County.
This year, the call introduces a significant change: for the first time, the HHA will not accept applications from legal permanent residents, that is, holders of the Green Card.
Julio Ponce, executive director of the HHA, explained to the Miami Herald that the change is due to federal guidelines issued after President Donald Trump's return to the White House, with HUD "enforcing that one must be a citizen."
The annual income limits to participate are as follows:
- 1 person: $47,700.
- 2 people: $54,500.
- 3 people: $61,300.
- 4 people: $68,100.
- 5 people: $73,550.
- 6 people: $79,000.
- 7 people: $84,450.
- 8 people: $89,900.
To complete the application, applicants must have their full name, Social Security number, date of birth, citizenship status, veteran status, and disability status on hand.
How does the lottery work and who has priority?
Given the massive volume of applications anticipated, the HHA will not allocate slots on a first-come, first-served basis, but rather through a computer-generated random lottery managed by an external provider.
The authority will select 2,500 applicants to be included on the waiting list.
A key point that HHA emphasizes: “submitting the application early does not increase the chances of being selected.”
Among those selected, preference will be given to older individuals or those with disabilities, those in situations of vulnerability, residents of Hialeah, and those who have been displaced by federally recognized natural disasters.
Only one application is permitted per household.
Those who submit more than one on behalf of their family will be automatically disqualified.
The wait can be long: The context of the housing crisis
Being on the waiting list does not guarantee immediate assistance.
Ponce revealed to the Miami Herald that more than 400 families selected in the previous lottery, held in April 2024, have still not received their vouchers.
Those selected in this year's call could begin receiving assistance in early 2027, depending on availability.
The HHA administers approximately 6,000 active vouchers, and each year, on average, only 300 are reallocated to new families when current participants leave the program or become ineligible.
The extent of the demand is evident from a statistic from the previous call: in the lottery of April 2024, more than 51,000 people applied for just 1,000 spots on the waiting list.
In addition, although the vouchers can be used anywhere they are accepted, during the first year, beneficiaries must lease a home within a 10-mile radius of Hialeah.
Those with questions about the process can visit the official portal or call the HHA at 305-888-9744.
Related videos:
Filed under: