LTRAP to Re-open Applications Intake After 11Years; Applications to be Accepted Online Only for 2 Weeks

applicationThe Lakewood Township Residential Assistance Program (LTRAP) has announced that new applications will be accepted online only for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program, from very low income and extremely low income households and individuals (including single persons, disabled persons, and elderly persons). Applications intake was last opened from July, 2002 until December, 2004. The current applications intake will be open only from November 9th until November 23rd, 2015.

In accordance with LTRAP’s Administrative and Annual Plans, preference is given to applicants who reside, work, or have been hired to work, in Lakewood Township, NJ.

LTRAP also assigns preferences based on total household assets. In each preference group, preference will be given first to households with assets of less than $20,000, plus $5,000 for each child, next preference will be given to households with assets of less than $40,000, plus $5,000 for each child, next preference will be given to households with assets of less than $60,000, plus $5,000 for each child, next preference will be given to households with assets of less than $80,000, plus $5,000 for each child, next preference will be given to households with assets of less than $100,000, plus $5,000 for each child.

Additionally, disabled, handicapped or elderly single-person households and families will be given preference over other single-person households.

A public meeting will be held on Monday, October 26, 2015 at 8:00 PM in the Lakewood Municipal Building Auditorium, 231 Third Street, Lakewood, New Jersey 08701, to explain the application intake process in detail and to answer questions relating to this application process. All are invited to attend.

The following is an overview of the application intake process. Applications will be accepted online only, at https://http://www.waitlistcheck.com/NJ2781 This link will also appear on our website at http://www.ltrap.org/ Inasmuch as applications will only be accepted online, no applications will be accepted at the LTRAP office, nor will application forms be available.

 

Applications may be submitted from 9:00 AM on November 9, 2015 to 5:00 PM on November 23, 2015. A total of 3,000 applications will be selected by a lottery from all the applications that are submitted online. All applicants have an equal chance to be randomly selected for the 3,000 waitlist slots in the lottery. The lottery will be conducted by the end of December 2015, by the software company contracted for this purpose. Applications selected in this lottery will be placed on the Waiting List in the order that they are selected by the lottery, and ranked with all selection preferences detailed above. All applications not selected in the lottery will be discarded. Results of the application selection will be available online at that time. The software will not accept duplicate applications. All applicants must be at least 18 years or older to apply.

This program is a federally-funded rent subsidy program designed to help lower-income persons afford decent housing on the private market by allowing them to pay rent based on a portion of their gross income. Eligibility is based upon income limits established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). 75% of all new admissions to the program must be from a targeted group of extremely low income families. If your income is not extremely low you may not be helped as soon as someone whose income is extremely low.

 

INCOME LIMITS FOR OCEAN COUNTY BY FAMILY SIZE:

Size Very Low Income Extremely Low Income
1 $32,100 $19,250
2 $36,700 $22,000
3 $41,300 $24,750
4 $45,850 $27,500
5 $49,550 $29,700
6 $53,200 $32,570
7 $56,900 $36,730
8 $60,550 $40,890

 

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. This program is independent of any other similar Housing Assistance Program. Persons who have previously applied for Section 8 Rental Assistance with another agency must file a new application to be considered for eligibility in this program. If you are currently on a waiting list for rental assistance or for public housing with another agency, you may remain on that waiting list while applying to LTRAP. Persons with disabilities who need a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in the application process should contact the LTRAP office at (732) 367-0660.

It is the stated policy of LTRAP that the program will be administered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, and familial status. Federal Section 8 program funds are limited; not all applicants will be assisted.

The Section 8 Housing Assistance Program is the federal government’s major program for assisting very low- income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) operates the Section 8 programs. The largest part of the Section 8 program is the Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP), funded by HUD and administered by 2,268 housing agencies throughout the nation, paying a large portion of the rents and utilities of about 2.1 million assisted households. The Housing Choice Voucher Program provides “tenant- based” rental assistance, so a participating tenant can move from one qualifying unit to another. HUD provides funds in the form of vouchers so that very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled can afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market.

The Lakewood Township Residential Assistance Program (LTRAP) is the name of the local Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP), funded by HUD, sponsored by the Township, and operated by LTO on behalf of the Township of Lakewood. The Lakewood Tenants Organization (LTO) is a New Jersey non-profit organization established in the early 1970s in response to a severe local affordable housing shortage, and the problems this created. In 1977 LTO was publicly chosen to administer the Township’s Section 8 program, over two other contenders, on the strength of its years-long track record of effectively serving and representing the affordable housing needs of Lakewood’s lower-income residents. For years before undertaking administration of Lakewood’s HCVP program – LTRAP – LTO proved its commitment to, and expertise in, the cause of affordable housing, in such areas as: tenant organizing, rent control, enforcement of fair housing laws, tenants’ rights and eviction for cause laws, ensuring compliance with housing quality inspection regulations, and involvement in resolution of tenant-landlord disputes.

From the inception of the program, LTO has expanded LTRAP nearly fourteen-fold, from an initial allocation of 80 authorized units in 1977, to over 1,100 currently assisted households, comprised of more than 8,400 lower-income persons, mostly elderly, disabled and children. Ninety-Eight (98%) Percent of these households are Lakewood residents. This, despite the fact that there has been no new (incremental) HCV funding from HUD in 21 years. Since the inception of the program in 1977, the LTO has assisted approximately 7,000 families, covering over 40,000 individuals, thus providing a very valuable, ongoing service to Lakewood’s low- income families.

Since the inception of the program in 1977, no local funding was ever used for LTRAP. LTRAP is not a burden on the local taxpayers. On the contrary, LTRAP pumps $16 Million annually into the local economy, and has been a catalyst for Lakewood’s neighborhood revitalization and core area renaissance.

Moreover, LTO operates one of New Jersey’s largest and most highly successful HCVP Homeownership Programs, enabling qualifying participants to use their Vouchers to pay for a mortgage on their own home. This enables them to realize the American Dream of homeownership by transitioning from renters to homeowners. In addition, LTO has implemented the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program, which enables participants to gain economic independence and bootstrap themselves out of economic dependency. The LTO’s Homeownership and FSS Programs are among the best and largest in the State. LTRAP performance is further distinguished by its ongoing full annual utilization of 100% of authorized budget authority, and its development and implementation of a comprehensive quality control program that routinely reviews 100% of all new contracts, as well as 100% of all participants’ annual re-certifications.

Over the course of the past 38 years LTRAP has gained wide recognition as a very high performing Section 8 HCV Program in New Jersey. By HUD’s own industry-standard rating and ranking – the Section Eight Management Assessment Program (SEMAP) – LTRAP has consistently achieved HUD’s top Section 8 performance scores. SEMAP, based on 14 different benchmark criteria, is HUD’s most reliable tool for annually measuring the performance of Section 8 providers throughout the country. SEMAP reflects how well the housing agency manages the Section 8 waiting list, the physical quality of its assisted housing units, and the financial management of the program. For example, the average SEMAP score for housing authorities in New Jersey is 77.39%. In comparison, LTRAP’s average SEMAP score for the most recent 5-year period is 99.34%; one of the highest in the nation. Additionally, for the past 38 years, with only two minor exceptions, LTRAP achieved an unblemished “no-finding” IPA Audit record.

Since the inception of the program in 1977, LTO has served as the Township’s independent, third-party contract administrator. This contractual administrative arrangement for Lakewood Township’s Section 8 HCV Program is neither unique nor novel. This model arrangement is prevalent throughout the country. Many of the 2,268 Public Housing Agencies (“PHAs”), which operate a Housing Choice Voucher Program, (“HCVP”), successfully outsource the administration to third-party contract administrators, just like Lakewood Township does. Of the nation’s approximately 3,400 PHAs, about an additional 1,150 PHAs operate public housing projects, but no Section 8 housing assistance programs. Currently, there are hundreds of Section 8 HCV Programs in the nation – assisting many thousands of HCVP-assisted households, operated by contract administrators – both public and private, for-profit and not-for-profit, like LTRAP. These providers contract either directly with HUD, or indirectly, as sub-contractors for a Housing Authority (HA), a Public Housing Agency (PHA), a municipality, County, State, or another unit of government.

[TLS]

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6 COMMENTS

  1. I’m a bit confused. Could someone please explain why are there different preferences groups, if only low income and extrememly low income are eligible for this program?

  2. I’m a security oficcer I just lost my job and I find a place that I can pay because mw sleeping in my machine because no place for me to go and my homeland during the 4 mw just need a chance plzzz

Comments are closed.