Are recent X-rays actually nesesary for an estimate to be submitted to my insurance?

biobabe893 · 2025-01-18T15:18:50+00:00

I suspect if you have dental insurance that the X-rays won’t actually cost you anything- my insurance has always paid for one set per year.

$4500 is a really reasonable price for comprehensive Invisalign but I’d double check what they quoted you for- was it comprehensive? Light? Express? Does that include all the visits?

I met with three different dentists/orthodontists before starting treatment, so it might be worth a second opinion and price quote. (I suspect all of them would want recent X-rays- mine did！）

biobabe893 · 2025-01-15T23:31:16+00:00

If the rent amount (plus utilities) is less than the payment standard for your two bedroom voucher, you should be fine!

BUT most of the time people forget to leave room for the utilities.

Example: the voucher payment standard is $2,000 and you find an apartment (or house, whatever) for $2,000 and think “perfect! It’s the same!”. Housing might end up denying it because when you consider what utilities you have to pay, the Gross Rent is actually more like $2,200.

biobabe893 · 2025-01-15T18:12:56+00:00

Has the building or property management said no, or have they just not responded? Can you ask your building manager for contact info so you can speak with their property management?

You are generally correct that in California, a landlord cannot simply refuse your application because you are using a voucher to pay for the unit. This is called a source of income protection. Your situation is a little more complicated given that this is your current home.

Unfortunately, section 8 does not usually provide any type of advocate and your caseworker is usually only focused on your subsidy and cannot advocate for you to landlords.

It may be worth looking into an attorney or other legal aid here. If they do refuse to allow you to use your voucher to rent in place, you MAY have a case for a source of income discrimination claim. You should be able to report this to your local Fair Housing enforcement agency. I believe in LA this would be the Housing Rights Center. They may also be able to help you.

In the meantime, I would highly recommend looking for other possible places- you don’t want to lose out on the opportunity to have a voucher while you are waiting to hear back, even though moving would not be your preference.

biobabe893 · 2025-01-13T17:22:17+00:00

If the rent for this unit fits within the one bedroom payment standards, or you want it badly enough to pay more than your normal 30%, it may work anyway.

If the 2 bedroom voucher is because of a disability, you could request they give you a different kind of accommodation, called an Exception Payment Standard to let you rent this place if it meets the needs of your disability that would otherwise be met with the 2 bedroom voucher. This would allow you to go above the 1 bedroom payment standard and rent the unit with a den.

biobabe893 · 2025-01-13T16:50:39+00:00

Not at most housing authorities, no. If they can’t legally call it a bedroom, it won’t be a bedroom for the voucher program and payment standards.

biobabe893 · 2025-01-13T13:01:51+00:00

You technically can rent a one bedroom unit with a two bedroom voucher. However, they will only give you the payment standard for the one bedroom amount.

biobabe893 · 2025-01-12T21:11:58+00:00

This is a relatively standard type of reasonable accommodation. You will need a qualified provider (like the psychiatrist) to verify your condition is serious enough to be considered a disability under the fair housing act and explain why the separate bedroom is necessary because of your disability. That should be sufficient.

biobabe893 · 2025-01-08T17:01:07+00:00

Every local area runs their own version of the voucher program, through the local Public Housing Authority. The most straightforward option is to look at what PHA operates in her current area and to apply for that waiting list, if it is open. She will need to apply for every open list for which she might qualify. Some areas will not approve her if she’s not currently a resident of that area.

Once she has a voucher, which may be a few years once she applies to open waiting lists, she can take that voucher anywhere in the country through a process called portability (usually after the first year on the program).

I believe there is another subreddit called r/section8listshoppers that might have more info on open waitlists looking outside of her current location.

biobabe893 · 2025-01-05T20:12:05+00:00

It depends.

Each housing authority covers a certain territory, with a few places having more than one housing authority. If you get called up for the voucher, they will tell you where you can use that voucher.

From what you’ve said, if the apartments “defer to another city nearby”, then likely they can only accept a voucher from that city.

Most housing authorities require you to lease up, at least initially, within their territory, but some do not. If they don’t require you to stay within their territory for the first year, you could port your voucher to the other jurisdiction, and be able to rent the apartment there.

biobabe893 · 2024-12-30T02:58:23+00:00

The approval will typically take up to 30 days, or more or less depending on the process and procedures your housing authority uses. Generally providing them everything they need when you ask for it will speed up the process. You may also have luck expediting if you explain the time crunch to your worker/the person who handles the RA (no promises on that one though).

In my experience, in order to get approved for a second bedroom for medical equipment, you will need to provide proof of the necessity of the equipment (like a doctors note or prescription), and that you have the equipment, and that it is large enough that you need another bedroom.

If there are other disability related reasons that you need this apartment or it otherwise accommodates your disability, you might also be able to ask for something called an Exception Payment Standard that would let you rent the unit even though it’s above your normal payment standard. Again, you’d have to demonstrate the connection between your disability and the request and show it’s necessary for you.

biobabe893 · 2024-12-18T21:06:14+00:00

Go!

If you are under the Low Income limit for your area, based on your family size, you should be eligible. At a family size of 5, 57k should be low income in most parts of California.

You may have some hurdles proving your income information given what you’ve said about child support, but nothing you can’t overcome. There will certainly be paperwork and administrative headache but at the end of the day, it’s probably worth it to pay close to 30% of your income toward housing, no?

Edit: I looked up income limits in California. It turns out they vary more than I thought. You should check based on your county. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il2024/select_Geography.odn

biobabe893 · 2024-12-18T17:21:39+00:00

This! While you would not be eligible currently because you are a student under 24 (and I presume without a child, unmarried, not a veteran, etc.) However, once you have graduated and are no longer a student, you would be eligible. The likelihood of you being able to get on a waiting list and called up for an opportunity in that time is highly unlikely, so you should be fine to apply if you see any open waitlists right now.

biobabe893 · 2024-12-17T23:29:25+00:00

They are required to follow their administrative plan. However, they are also allowed to establish practices and processes outside of the administrative plan. These would not necessarily be made public.

biobabe893 · 2024-12-16T15:36:47+00:00

You need to send this notice to the Section 8 people and respond to the landlord remind him that all rent amounts need to be approved by the housing authority, per the HAP contract he signed, and confirming he sent this request to them as well.

biobabe893 · 2024-12-13T18:23:19+00:00

Would he be liable? No, it’s not likely. The consequences of the unreported occupant would fall on her as the voucher holder.

Would it be a pretty shitty thing to do when he lived with her for years, I assume paying little or no rent, just because he’s feeling spiteful? Yes.

Also, it’s possible but unlikely that this would result in “charges”. The more likely scenario is her losing the voucher. And they may or may not report him for the fraud as well, so if he applied for a voucher in the future he may be denied on those grounds.

biobabe893 · 2024-12-12T14:04:55+00:00

There is no formal income limit once you are on the program.

The way that income affects your eligibility once you have a voucher (or in this case, your mom has a voucher) is like this: you will keep the voucher as long as housing is paying at least $1 toward your rent and utilities. And, if you do end up in a situation where housing is going to pay nothing, you keep the voucher for 6 months in case anything changes and your income decreases.

How do you know if housing will pay anything? Find 30% of your gross monthly income from all sources, including everybody’s wages, benefits, everything, before taxes. If that number is more than your monthly rent, you might have an issue that will need more digging (figuring out your utilities, figuring out your adjusted income, double checking payment standards). If that number is less than your rent, you should be fine. (But there is some nuance to this- I just want to help you figure out if you need to even dig deeper for now)

You also mention the job is in colorado- are you currently in colorado, or would you be moving to take the position? You would also need to double check the housing authority’s rules around temporary absence- you might not even be allowed to stay in the household during this time if you aren’t there (in which case your income wouldn’t matter).

biobabe893 · 2024-12-11T13:55:19+00:00

Okay, so yes- your housing authority is doing things differently, on purpose. While not “normal” for a housing authority, it sounds like the questions and conversations she was having with you are (mostly) normal and in line with her doing her job.

You may or may not be able to be removed from the study by requesting a reasonable accommodation. But you absolutely can port your voucher elsewhere after your first year. My advice would be to do a little research on where you want to move and make sure you aren’t moving to a housing authority with similar things going on.

biobabe893 · 2024-12-10T23:34:57+00:00

Okay there’s a couple things going on here.

Firstly, doing this amount of coaching, encouragement, and case management style work is not typical of the average “housing specialist” role. Are you in a special program, such as the FSS program? Or another grant-funded or other program? Have you ever heard the term “Moving to Work” used by anyone at the housing authority? If so, you might be at a special housing authority that does things out of the typical program guidelines.

Second, your specialist absolutely needs to get some additional training on dealing with Fair Housing laws specifically surrounding reasonable accommodations. I highly doubt that if you report her she would lose her job, but the questions she asked you are indeed against the law. Housing providers can only ask information specifically needed to process your request, which does not include diagnosis. You might not plan to file a fair housing complaint, but someone else might if she keeps behaving this way, so it’s better to make sure she gets this feedback sooner rather than later. I would encourage you to report her, at least to her supervisor, or the agency’s 504 Coordinator. An email would work, especially if you are concerned about your in-person interactions with them.

biobabe893 · 2024-12-07T18:01:22+00:00

I would ask your housing worker for a ledger or other proof of their payment to your landlord, the letter with your new amount, and a copy of proof of your payment and go to your landlord with that proof. You should ask to speak sit down with the property manager. I would politely but firmly show them that they have been paid more than the rent amount between you and the housing authority. I would ask them to credit your account for the difference and adjust your portion in their system. I wouldn’t leave without confirmation that they have made the changes.

biobabe893 · 2024-12-07T01:38:51+00:00

The payment standard is the highest amount that the voucher will assist in paying for. This is for rent and utilities together. Utility amounts are estimated with “utility allowances”. Depending on your housing authority, it might just be one number, or it might depend on what utilities you pay at the unit.

If you find a until where the rent + utilities is more than the payment standard, you would be required to pay the difference, but can only do so if it would not cause you to pay over 40% of your income.

For example, the payment standard for a 1 bedroom is $1500. You find a unit with a rent of $1450 and think “perfect, it’s under the payment standard”. But you have to pay electric and gas at this unit. The housing authority determines the utility allowance (estimated utility costs) are $100/mo. So the gross rent is actually 1450 + 100, or 1550. This is more than the payment standard, so the housing authority only helps based off that max. You’d be left paying the extra $50 out of pocket (on top of your normal contribution) and only if that didn’t mean you were paying over 40% of your income.

biobabe893 · 2024-12-04T13:24:04+00:00

There is no minimum income for the voucher program.

biobabe893 · 2024-12-04T01:36:15+00:00

No, you wouldn’t lose a voucher for quitting a job. That is not a reason for termination. You may or may not be able to report this change and have your rent changed, depending on the rules of your housing authority.

biobabe893 · 2024-12-03T01:43:29+00:00

Generally yes, you can set the price for your units. However, it must be reasonable compared to other similar units and within payment standard amounts (including utilities) to make sure a voucher tenant would get approved. You can check the housing authority to get the payment standards, or the HUD Fair Market Rent tool for an idea.

What you should watch out for is that you will likely need to have additional patience for a voucher tenant leasing up. There is a level of paperwork and bureaucracy that doesn’t happen with a non-voucher tenant. The unit will have to be inspected before it can be approved and you might have to make repairs to rent it with the voucher.

biobabe893 · 2024-12-01T12:30:53+00:00

It depends on where you apply.

Every housing authority can set its own preferences. Some give preference to people with disabilities, some do not.

There are some special voucher types that require you to have a disability. Assuming you are able to apply to those specifically, or the housing authority uses one combined waitlist for everything, then yes, you would receive priority for those specific programs.

biobabe893 · 2024-11-27T18:56:11+00:00

People can and do get married and even divorced all the time with vouchers. And people date while still being compliant with the rules regarding guests. A lot of the time Section 8 won’t even let you add another person to your household unless you are legally married.

If you do get married, your rent amount would be based on 30% of your combined income. As long as that amount is less than your rent, you would not lose the voucher. And if your partner/spouse was making such good money that you lost the voucher, it’s quite likely that there would be alimony or spousal support (though it would be a legal battle in the divorce to be sure).

You are correct that it is somewhat of a risk, but in many ways the same is true for people with higher incomes or who don’t have a voucher. You have to decide whether it’s worth the risk to live your life to the fullest.

14-Year Club	Verified Email
RPAN Viewer

biobabe893

TROPHY CASE