The housing choice voucher program (HCV) is the federal government’s major program for assisting very low-income persons to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private housing market. When a family is issued a housing voucher, they are responsible for finding a suitable housing unit (apartments, single-family homes, townhouses, etc).  The owner of the unit will need to agree to rent the unit under the program and abide by the rules and regulations of the program. Rental units must meet minimum standards of health and safety, as determined by the housing authority.

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A housing subsidy is paid directly to the landlord by the housing authority on behalf of the participating family. The family pays the difference between the actual rent charged by the landlord and the amount subsidized by the program.

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The housing assistance is tied to the family rather than the unit specifically, like in public housing.  If a family chooses to moves out of one unit into another one, or even to another community or state, the assistance could be transferred with the family assuming the family has cooperated with the Housing Authority and has abided by all rules and regulations (including providing proper notification of requesting to move with assistance).

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Housing choice vouchers are administered locally by housing authorities. The housing authority receives federal funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to administer the voucher program. The Region XII Regional Housing Authority has authority through HUD to assist a maximum of 928 families throughout our nine county jurisdiction in West Central Iowa. The RGN XII RHA jurisdiction includes Ida (southern half), Sac, Crawford, Carroll, Greene, Harrison, Shelby, Audubon and Guthrie Counties. However due to continual funding constraints, RGN XII RHA may not be able to assist all 928 families at one time.