Affordable Housing
In general, housing for which the occupant(s) is/are paying no more than 30 percent of their income for gross housing costs, including utilities

Area Median Income (AMI)
The midpoint of a region’s income distribution as calculated by HUD. Half the households in a region earn more than the median and half earn less than the median.

Fair Market Rent (FMR)
The rent, including the cost of utilities (except telephone) that would be required to obtain privately owned, existing, decent, safe, and sanitary rental housing of a modest nature with suitable amenities in a given area.

Housing Assistance Payment (HAP)
The monthly assistance payment by a PHA to an owner.

Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Contact
A written contract between a PHA and an owner, in the form prescribed by HUD, in which the PHA agrees to make housing assistance payments to the owner on behalf of an eligible household.

Housing Choice Vouchers
Housing Choice Vouchers allow individuals or families earning below the area median income to choose and lease or purchase safe, decent, and affordable privately-owned rental housing. A Housing Assistance Payment is made to the landlord directly by the PHA on behalf of the participating family.

HUD
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Landlord
See Owner.

Owner
Any private person or entity, including a cooperative, an agency of the federal government, or a public housing agency, having the legal right to lease or sublease rental homes.

Portability
Portability in the HCV program refers to the process through which the family can transfer or “port” their rental subsidy when they move to a location outside the jurisdiction of the public housing agency (PHA) that first gave them the voucher when they were selected for the program.

Project-Based
Rental assistance that is attached to a structure or unit.

Public Housing Agency (PHA)
Any state, county, municipality, or other governmental entity or public body, or agency or instrumentality of these entities, that is authorized to engage or assist in the development or operation of low-income housing under the 1937 Act.

Recertification
Sometimes called reexamination. The process of securing documentation of total family income used to determine the rent the tenant will pay for the next 12 months if there are no additional changes to be reported.

Section 8 Programs
All HUD programs which assist housing under Section 8 of the 1937 Act, including Section 8 assisted housing for which loans are made under Section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959.

Subsidy
A portion of the tenant’s rent paid directly to the landlord. The PHA calculates the maximum amount of housing assistance allowable. The maximum housing assistance is generally the lesser of the payment standard minus 30% of the family’s monthly adjusted income or the gross rent for the unit minus 30% of monthly adjusted income.

Tenant
The person or people (other than a live-in aide) who execute the lease as lessee of the dwelling unit.

Tenant-Based
Rental assistance that is not attached to a specific structure.