Housing Choice Vouchers

All Emergency Housing, Vouchers have been issued.

BCHA partnered with the Metro Denver Continuum of Care (CoC) lead – Metro Denver Homeless Initiative (MDHI), to allocate the 34 HUD awarded Emergency Housing Vouchers. BCHA gave preference to the identified groups:

BCHA is not prioritizing the following EHV-eligible.

About Housing Choice Vouchers

Boulder County Housing Authority (BCHA) administers programs that address specific needs of a cross-section of County residents. These programs, described below, serve low-income individuals and households, military veterans, homeless households, and families and children involved in the child welfare system. Each of these programs operates under the standard Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) guidelines, helping the participant to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private housing market. This division also administers housing vouchers through a Project-Based Voucher Program under which the housing assistance is attached to a specific unit, rather than the person.

Participants are able to choose any private or BCHA-owned unit in the County and Broomfield that meets eligibility requirements, including area of service, rent amount, number of bedrooms, and housing quality standards/acceptable level of health and safety. Rent payments are administered by the housing authority paying its portion/subsidy to the landlord directly on behalf of the tenant. The household pays the difference between the rent amount and the subsidy. The household’s portion equates to approx. 30% of their gross household income.

To be eligible for the program, households must earn below 50% of the Area Median Income (AMI) for Boulder County (some programs are capped at 30% AMI). Participants are required to submit income and asset documentation. Additionally, staff will obtain a background report from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for all household members over age 18.

Participants agree to pay rent on time, comply with lease agreements, report changes in income and household size, attend required annual recertifications, and adequately maintain their property.

Income Information

To be eligible, applicants may earn up to 50% of the HUD area median income at time of call-up with no minimum necessary. Some programs require applicants to be at or below 30% of the area median income limits at the time of call up.

Eligibility Criteria

According to program guidelines, Boulder County Housing Authority prioritizes applicants who are:

There are limited number of Housing Choice Vouchers available. If an applicant does not fall into one the above groups, the chances of receiving a voucher are limited.

Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program

The HCV Program, also known as “Section 8,” is a rent subsidy program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The program assists individuals and households with very-low income, including Seniors and people with disabilities. Assistance is provided on behalf of the participants, who secure their own housing within the community, with rent payments split in portions between the Housing Authority and the household.

The HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program

The VASH program combines HCV rental assistance for homeless Veterans with case management and clinical services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). VA provides these services for participating Veterans at VA medical centers and community-based outreach clinics. All participants are referred to BCHA by the VA. If you are a Veteran in need of housing assistance please call 303-294-5600 for more information about how to get into the HUD-VASH program.

Family Unification Program (FUP)

FUP is a supportive housing, early intervention program that provides housing with supportive case management services to both families with identified child welfare concerns and youth transitioning out of the foster care system within the County. The objective is to promote family reunification, with the end result being the prevention of the removal of children from their parents due to housing instability. FUP also addresses the needs of homeless youth that have spent considerable time in the foster care system by offering supportive services, enhancing their opportunity for self-sufficiency and transition into adulthood.

Project-Based Voucher (PBV) Program

Under the PBV program, the assistance is tied to the unit, rather than the person. Boulder County owns and manages properties throughout the County and offers these units to eligible residents at a cost that is affordable to them. Participants may come from Boulder County’s Family Self-Sufficiency Program, a 5-year a five-year academic, employment and savings initiative program designed to help the families gain job training and education to improve their family’s financial situation and move toward self-sufficiency.

Applicants/Current Waitlist Openings

At this time, there is no waitlist available. We encourage you to check back with us periodically for updates.

Prime Haven

Senior/Disabled Housing in Nederland, CO. Application

Prime Haven is a senior/disabled housing site, located at 170 E. Second Ave. in Nederland, Colorado and contains 6 one-bedroom apartment units.

Applicants must be disabled individuals aged 18 or older or over the age of 62 to qualify, and must also qualify as a very low, low, or moderate income household as specified by Rural Development. (A moderate income household has an adjusted income that is greater than the HUD-established low-income limit but does not exceed the low-income limit by more than $5,500.) Applicants will be prioritized by the date and time of their application and income level, income levels under 50% AMI will receive 15 preference points, income levels between 51%-80% will receive 10 preference points.

Walter Self Apartments

Senior/Disabled Housing in Lyons, CO Application

Walter Self is a senior/disabled housing site, located at 335 Railroad Avenue in Lyons, Colorado and contains 12 one-bedroom apartment units.

Applicants must be disabled individuals aged 18 or older or over the age of 62 to qualify, and must also qualify as a very low, low, or moderate income household as specified by Rural Development. (A moderate income household has an adjusted income that is greater than the HUD-established low-income limit but does not exceed the low-income limit by more than $5,500.) Applicants will be prioritized by the date and time of their application and income level, income levels under 50% AMI will receive 15 preference points, income levels between 51%-80% will receive 10 preference points.

For additional services and information for aging well, please contact Boulder County Area Agency on Aging

Casa de la Esperanza

Application

Casa de la Esperanza is located at 1520 South Emery Street in Longmont and is an agricultural living development. The site has 32 three and four-bedroom town-homes ranging from 900-1073 square feet.

We invite everyone to apply. Priority will be given to applicants that receive a substantial portion of income from farm labor employment or have worked at least 110 whole days in farm work, and must also qualify as a very low, or low income household as specified by Rural Development.

Applicants will be prioritized by the date and time of their application and income level, income levels under 50% AMI will receive 15 preference points, income levels between 51%-80% will receive 10 preference points. For additional resources for Casa FAQs

Porting in to Boulder County:

Participants and Applicants interested in porting their existing Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) to Boulder County Housing Authority must request that their initial Housing Authority send over the paperwork via fax or email. Please note if you are looking to lease up in Broomfield you will need to port your voucher over to Jefferson County Housing Authority.

Portability Contact Information
Fax: 720-564-2283
Phone: 303-441-1061
Email: portability@bouldercounty.gov

Boulder County Housing Authority: PO BOX 471, Boulder, CO 80306

BCHA will make contact with the family within 10 business days upon receipt of the paperwork and notify the initial Housing Authority regarding billing or absorbing the voucher.

After contact is made, families must choose a day to attend a Portability Orientation and Intake Appointment.

During this process, please see the following information for your reference:

• Voucher size is subject to change based on each PHA’s Policies and Procedures, for BCHA’s current subsidy standards please visit Chapter 5 Part 2 of our Administrative Plan.
• If information given to the Portability Specialist is incomplete or unclear, further processing will not be completed until all necessary documents are obtained.

ALL units intended for leasing under Section 8 must follow our current posted payment standards, and not create a Total Tenant Portion (TTP) of more than 40% of the adjusted household income upon initial move-in.

• An HQS Inspection must take place before a household is cleared for move in. If you have already located a unit please have the Property Manager or Landlord complete a Request for Tenancy Approval Form RFTA and W-9, and submit to our current Portability Specialist for review.
• It is the household’s responsibility to find housing within the jurisdiction of Boulder County Housing Authority and Security Deposits are not covered by BCHA. View a list of landlords that have worked with the program. This list does not include all work with the Boulder County Housing programs; these are only suggestions for tenants in search of rental units.

Porting out of Boulder County to another PHA:

If you are currently assisted by BCHA and would like to port to another jurisdiction out of Boulder County you must first you must first:

1. Notify your current case manager
2. Complete the Family Request for Portability form
3. Sign a new voucher
4. Provide the housing authority name, address, phone and fax numbers, and the person in charge of portability from the jurisdiction you wish to move to, if two different PHAs serve the same area and you do not select one, BCHA has the discretion to choose which PHA to send your file to
5. Notify current landlord with a 30-day written notice of move out and copy to BCHA

If you owe any money to BCHA or your current landlord, you will NOT be allowed to port out until the debt is paid in full. If any household members are not moving with the family, those changes must be completed before the port process.

BCHA’s Housing Assistance Programs partners with more than 250 landlords throughout the County. Landlords are important members of our program, as they provide housing opportunities for our participants and devote time to meeting our program requirements. Over the past few years, we have streamlined many of our documents and processes with our landlords to more efficiently manage our relationships, with the goal of reducing work time for all parties.

Forms:

Plans/Policies

What is Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8)?

Housing Assistance Programs Staff

Below is a list of Housing Assistance Programs staff. If you are a program participant and have questions, please contact your designated Occupancy Assistant/Case Manager. If you are a landlord and have questions, please contact your tenant’s Occupancy Assistant. If you are not a participant and have general questions about the programs, please call BCHA main phone number listed below.

To Boulder Office:
3460 Broadway
Boulder, CO 80304
BCHA Main Phone Number: 303-441-3929

To Longmont Office:
515 Coffman
Longmont, CO 80504