How to Rent Income Based Apartments

If you are short on money and need housing, you might find yourself looking to rent income based apartments. Just like any other renting situation, you will still need to apply and follow a certain process, but there are a few extra requirements and things you need to do in order to rent income based apartments. This article will walk you through the process and provide some necessary tips and instructions to ensure that you find the best apartment with the least amount of stress.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Get in touch with your local county and government human services department and find out exactly what they require you to do to apply for income based apartments. The best way to do this is by telephone speaking to a real person, and you can either look their phone number up in the phone book or get it off of their website. If you use the phone book it will be in the government section usually in the front of the white pages. If you use the internet, Google "your state" + "human services" and follow the appropriate link appearing in the search results to their website, then navigate to the contact us section where you should find their phone number. The reason you need to contact human services first is because they are the department that usually subsidizes housing at the state level, and they will have the lowest rental rates out of all the income based apartments. They receive federal funding to subsidize housing which is why they are able to offer such low prices for rent. You will most likely be assigned a case worker that will give you paperwork to fill out and return.

2. Carefully read and complete your application for income based apartments. Don't leave any boxes blank on your application because leaving out any kind of information will delay your approval. Make sure that you supply proof of income if that is requested, and that it is legible, legitimate proof. County agencies are very cautious of people attempting to scam them so it is imperative that your application lacks nothing that they request and that all of your information is genuine.

3. Return your paperwork to human services in the shortest possible amount of time. Income based apartments often have long waiting lists, so the sooner you complete your application and get it back to the county the sooner you will get on the list. Another thing to remember when you return your application is that you should drop it off in person, or at least send it with some type of additional tracking so you are sure that they received it. You don't want to be sitting around waiting for an answer that won't come.

4. Stay in touch and communicate as effectively as possible with your case worker before and after the application process. This person will be your liason to the county and it's important to develop a good and professional relationship with them. Ask them when you can expect to hear about the results of your application. If you don't hear in that time frame, be proactive and keep on top of things by staying in contact with them. Acting like this maximizes your chances and helps to show your case worker that you are a determined and quality individual.

5. Be selective but realistic about choosing an income based apartment once you are finally approved. Your case worker will usually give you a few choices for housing options and it is ok to go see each one and then decide. You have to realize that since you are going to be renting an income based apartment your options are not as many as they would be if you were paying straight out, but remember that you can still find a very nice clean place to live, in a safe neighborhood, so don't immediately jump into the first apartment that you see.

Tips & Warnings

• If the waiting list is too long at the county or state level for income based apartments, you can sometimes find private apartments that also have income restrictions. The rent may be slightly higher, but it is worth a shot if you will have to wait too long for county housing. The process is exactly the same except you will apply with an agency or company instead of through a case worker, and you will have to search for them much like you would a standard apartment, since you won't have a case worker giving you specific options.