More Housing Choices

The Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP) is the federal government's primary program for assisting very low-income individuals and families find housing in the private market. With funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the CHP Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program offers participants maximum mobility and broader range of housing choice in selecting where they live. Using a HCV, elderly, persons with disabilities, military veterans and working families can identify quality housing anywhere in the city of Rock Island with the assurance that they will not have to pay more than 30 percent of their adjusted income toward rent.  Housing options typically belong to private owners and landlords and include single-family homes, townhouses and/or apartments.                                      

To be eligible for rental assistance, participants must qualify under HUD income limits and other eligibility criteria. Generally, a family interested in participating in the HCV program must apply to CHP when the waiting list is open, and applications are being accepted. CHP must give public notice in multiple media outlets detailing when the waiting list will open and where applications will be taken.

Eligible applicants, who are accepted for the program, are issued a HCV and are responsible for finding a suitable rental unit of their choosing. The landlord must be willing to lease the unit to the HCV holder. The unit must be of appropriate size and rent and must meet a Housing Quality Standards (HQS) inspection.

Once CHP approves an eligible individual's or family's housing unit, the participant and the landlord sign a lease and at the same time, the landlord and CHP sign a Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) contract that runs the same term as the lease. This means that everyone — program participant, landlord and CHP — has obligations and responsibilities under the voucher program.