Culver City : Rent Subsidy Funds OKd

The Redevelopment Agency on Monday approved $220,000 to augment its federally funded Section 8 program to assist an additional 40 low-income families with rent subsidies.

The money would be used to assist households that have an income of between 50% and 80% of median income for the area, calculated to be between $20,850 and $31,099 per year for a family of four, according to a staff report.

In 1983, the federal government restricted eligibility for the Section 8 program to include only those families with incomes up to 50% of the median, according to the report. The additional funding approved Monday would allow an additional 40 families to qualify for the program.

Families assisted by the Section 8 program pay participating landlords about 25% of their monthly income toward the monthly rent, and the program contributes the rest, according to the report.

The program is intended to be a temporary measure to help the working poor become more self-sufficient by allowing them to devote more of their income to food, health care, and job training and education, according to Redevelopment Director Jody Hall-Esser.

State community redevelopment law requires the agency to set aside funds for low- and moderate-income housing programs.