FAQs
LTRAP Voucher, Pre-application & Waiting List FAQs:
- What is the Housing Choice Voucher program?
The Housing Choice Voucher program is HUD’s largest rental assistance program; assisting more than five million people in 2.1 million low income households find affordable housing. Eligible households use vouchers (also called tenant-based Section 8 rental assistance) to help pay the rent on privately owned homes of their choosing. Additionally, program administrators can attach a portion of their vouchers to particular properties or help eligible households buy homes.
- How do vouchers work?
Federal rules require that at least 75 percent of households newly admitted to the voucher program be extremely low-income. The remainder of eligible households must have incomes at or below 80 percent of AMI. A household receiving a voucher must pay at least 30 percent of its monthly adjusted gross income for rent and utilities. The difference between the actual rent and what the tenant can afford is paid by LTRAP through the household’s voucher. If the unit rent is greater than the payment standard for the area, the household is required to pay the additional amount.
- Who administers the voucher program nationally, locally?
With oversight from HUD, approximately 2,300 state and local public housing agencies (PHAs), administer voucher programs. Funding provided by Congress is distributed to these agencies by HUD based on the number of vouchers in use in the last year, the cost of vouchers, an increase for inflation, as well as other adjustments. PHAs solicit pre-applications, determine recipient eligibility, establish allowable rent levels, review recipients’ income, and determine whether homes for rent comply with the voucher program’s housing quality standards. Lakewood Township, as a local PHA, contracted directly with HUD and established its Housing Choice Voucher Program ̶ the Lakewood Township Residential Assistance Program (LTRAP) ̶ in 1977; sub-contracting with the Lakewood Tenants Organization (LTO) to administer the program.
- When is LTRAP re-opening its Housing Choice Voucher Program Waiting List?
LTRAP has made significant progress on its Housing Choice Voucher Program Waiting List. LTRAP’s Waiting List was last opened on March 29, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. EST through Tuesday, April 12, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. EST, (Eastern Standard Time). Approximately 6,000 applications were received and a computerized lottery randomly selected 3,000 applications and placed them on a Waiting List, with all selection preferences detailed below. All pre-applications not selected in the lottery were discarded. Results of the pre-application selection are available online. Significant progress has been made on the Waiting List in the past two years.
- How can I apply for LTRAP’s waiting list?
Applications intake is now closed.
6. How do I make sure my name stays on the Waiting List? How do I change my address on the waiting list if I have moved?
During the time you are on the waiting list, LTRAP, like other housing agencies, will from time to time send you a notice asking whether you are still interested in being on the waiting list. You will be given only a short time to respond to this notice, usually 10 days. If you do not respond by the deadline, you will be taken off the waiting list. For this reason, you should check your mail regularly and respond quickly to any request. If you move, you must send written notification of your new address. Please make sure LTRAP received your letter, and has acknowledged the change. Keep a copy of your letter to LTRAP and LTRAP’s acknowledgement letter, so you can prove that you notified LTRAP of your change in address.
Make sure to update our office with any changes to your household when they occur; including, address, household size, as well as income and assets. You can do this in writing or by email. A written confirmation of the change will be sent to you. If you do not receive written confirmation, your change has not been recorded. Remember, if LTRAP is unable to reach you when assistance is available, your name will be removed from the Waiting List.
7. What happens if my situation changes after I apply?
If, after you have been accepted on a waiting list, your situation changes and you become eligible for a preference or a priority, you should notify LTRAP right away. Qualifying for a preference can move your place on the waiting list closer to the top. This also explains why sometimes you move further from the top of the list when people who apply after you later qualify for a preference or priority and move ahead of other applicants. Other changes which may affect your placement on the waiting list include changes in household size, becoming elderly or disabled, or losing a preference or priority.
8. Once I am selected from the waiting list, when will I receive my voucher?
Being added to the waiting list does not mean that you will receive a voucher right away or that housing assistance is immediately available. As housing assistance becomes available, LTRAP will draw applicants from the waiting list on a periodic basis. Once your name is reached on the waiting list, LTRAP will contact you via mail to attend an eligibility interview. LTRAP will conduct a criminal background check on all household members aged 18 years or older. LTRAP will collect information on family income, assets, and family composition. LTRAP will verify this information with other local agencies, your employer and bank, and will use the information to determine program eligibility and the amount of the housing assistance payment.
If LTRAP determines that your family is eligible, you will be assigned a caseworker who will give you a briefing about the Housing Choice Voucher Program and you will be issued a voucher, if all information/documentation has been obtained to determine and approve eligibility for the program.
9. Am I required to live in Lakewood to participate in LTRAP’s Housing Choice Voucher Program?
You do not have to live in Lakewood to submit a pre-application for LTRAP’s Housing Choice Voucher Program Waiting List. However, if you live in, work, or have been hired to work, in Lakewood you will be given a preference over those applicants who do not live, work or have been hired to work in Lakewood.
10. What are the income limit requirements for the Housing Choice Voucher Program?
INCOME LIMITS FOR OCEAN COUNTY BY FAMILY COMPOSITION 4/4/24
Size Very Low Income Extremely Low Income .
1 $45,750 $27,450
2 $52,250 $31,400
3 $58,800 $35,300
4 $65,300 $39,200
5 $70,550 $42,350
6 $75,750 $45,500
7 $81,000 $48,650
8 $86,200 $52,720
9 $91,450 $58,100
10 $96,650 $63,480
11 $101,900 $68,860
12 $107,100 $74,240
13 $112,350 $79,620
14 $117,550 $85,000
15 $122,800 $90,380
16 $128,000 $95,760
Your household is eligible to apply for this program if your income is below the very low income limit; however, you may not be helped as soon as a household whose income is below the extremely low limit.
