Housing & Rent
Housing assistance programs help renters and homeowners with low incomes keep a safe, stable place to live. The best known is the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher, which pays part of your rent directly to a private landlord through your local public housing agency. Public housing offers apartments owned by housing agencies, with rent based on your income. Many states and cities also run rental assistance programs for people behind on rent or facing eviction, and some offer help for homeowners struggling with mortgage or repair costs. Income limits for housing programs depend on where you live, and waiting lists are common, so it helps to apply early and to more than one program. Our guides explain who qualifies for each housing and rent program, how to apply through the right agency, and what to expect while you wait.
- Home Repair Help 2026: Rebuilding Together & Who Qualifies
More than 100 local affiliates repair homes for low-income owners — many at no cost
- Habitat for Humanity 2026: Who Qualifies & How to Apply
Affordable-mortgage homeownership and home repairs through local Habitat affiliates
- Salvation Army Rent & Utility Bill Help 2026: How to Apply
Emergency rent, mortgage, and utility bill help at 6,400 local Salvation Army service centers
- Can You Get Section 8 With an Eviction? 2026 HUD Rules
HUD's 5-year eviction rule only covers evictions from federally assisted housing — and Chicago and Philadelphia both cut that look-back to 3 years
- Aging in Place Villages 2026: Find One Near You by State
The national Village Map lists 270 U.S. villages in 37 states and DC — none in 13 states — and the dues we found ran from $30 to $925 a year, with income-based discounts at some
- Public Housing 2026: Income Limits & How to Apply
Rent is based on your income — and the income limit is higher than most people expect
- Low-Income Senior Apartments 2026: Section 202 Who Qualifies
One person aged 62 qualifies the whole household. Rent is 30% of adjusted income — the middle HUD elderly property reports $392 a month
- Can You Get Section 8 With a Felony? 2026 HUD Rules
The word "felony" never appears in the federal Section 8 admission rules — only a short list of offenses forces a denial; everything else is your local agency's call
- Home Sharing for Seniors 2026: Find a Program by State
54 listings in 19 states on the national home sharing list — none in the other 31 states or D.C. — and help around the house in exchange for a room counts as rental income to the IRS
- Section 8 Voucher Expiring? Extensions & What to Do (2026)
Federal rules guarantee at least 60 days to search, stop the clock while your landlord paperwork is reviewed, and force an extension when a disability makes the search harder
- Furniture Bank Near Me: How to Get Furniture Help in 2026
154 U.S. furniture banks in the national directory — but every one we checked serves you only through a caseworker's referral
- Section 8 for Veterans (HUD-VASH): Who Qualifies in 2026
A rent voucher plus a VA case manager for veterans who are homeless — no housing-agency waiting list, a 120-day search window, and VA disability pay left out of the income test
- Section 8 Vouchers 2026: Help Paying Rent & How to Apply
Pay about 30% of your income in rent — the voucher covers the rest
- Charities That Help With Rent: Catholic Charities USA (2026)
Emergency rent help, housing, and food through 170 local Catholic Charities agencies
- Rent Assistance for Military Families 2026: AER, NMCRS, AFAS
Each branch has a nonprofit relief society that can cover rent or utilities with an interest-free loan or grant — Army Emergency Relief says help is "always provided within 48 hours"
- Home Repair Grants for Seniors 2026: USDA Section 504
A $10,000 USDA grant to fix hazards in your home — for owners 62 and older, with nothing to pay back if you keep the home 3 years
- Help for Families Facing Homelessness 2026: Family Promise
173 affiliates, none in 12 states or DC — but every school district must have a homeless liaison, even if you are staying with friends
- Red Cross Help After a House Fire 2026: What You Get
Shelter, meals and replacement medicine are free and need no ID — cash help after a big disaster needs an ID and a home you cannot live in
- Places to Stay Near the Hospital 2026: Lodging Checklist
Hope Lodge and Fisher House rooms cost nothing — but Hope Lodge is only for outpatient care, and the Spanish page lists two cities the English page does not
- Free Legal Help for Eviction 2026: Legal Aid Income Limits
The 125% cutoff is not the whole rule. 45 CFR 1611.5 lets a legal aid program accept you at up to 200% of the poverty guidelines
- Rent Help 2026: Salvation Army vs. St. Vincent de Paul
Both pay rent — but one has a ZIP-code finder and the other has no national help directory at all
- St. Vincent de Paul Rent & Utility Help 2026: How to Apply
Emergency rent, utility, and food help through 4,000+ local conferences — but the national office cannot take your request