Housing Vouchers: How They Work

Monroe County's rent allotment, which is set by the state, is too low for any apartment in Monroe County. Empire Justice Center recommends higher rental subsidies, per a recent report. ACT Rochester's study, "The Mechanics of Monroe County's Rental Housing Market" recommended gap coverage for tenants with lower incomes. Housing vouchers allow tenants to find livable apartments and find housing stability. Landlords may also be more willing to rent  to people with lower incomes and invest in their properties.

The federally-funded Section 8 program is a well-known example of a successful housing voucher program. Unfortunately, the number of Section 8 vouchers is severely limited.

We propose that Monroe County fund two types of housing voucher programs:

1. Shelter to Placement Housing Vouchers: This program would fully fund the gap between current rental assistance rates and market rates. People exiting emergency housing typically earn less than 30% of the area median income and need a fully-funded unit. 

2. Housing Stability Housing Vouchers: Monroe County would pilot a program for 400 families who earn no more than 50% of the area median income and are homeless or at risk of being homeless. These families would pay 30% of the cost of a rental unit, with the housing voucher paying for the gap. The county would engage a reearch partner to study the effectiveness of the pilot on reducing homelessness and family well-being. Based on cost estimates for the proposed Housing Access Voucher Program at the state level, the average voucher cost per household in our market would be about $10,000 a year.

We further propose Monroe County consider both tenant-based and project-based housing vouchers. Both subsidies would go to the landlord directly, but tenant-based subsidies would follow the tenant and project-based subsidies would stay with the apartment. Project-based rent gap subsidies allow nonprofits managing projects to better assist residents and to address poor housing stock conditions.