With rents rising faster than incomes, rental housing costs are increasingly out of reach for many lower income Maine people. Rental assistance, either in the form of housing choice vouchers or subsidized apartments, can help. Vouchers can help pay your rent in the apartment of your choice. Subsidized apartments provide qualified tenants affordable (usually below market) rents. Waiting lists can be long, so you may want to apply for both kinds of help.
Programs
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Housing Choice Vouchers
MaineHousing’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program provides rental assistance to income eligible tenants by subsidizing a portion of their monthly rents and paying it directly to their landlords.
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RESTART - A HUD Family Self Sufficiency Program
The FSS Program helps families that have Housing Choice Vouchers to start savings accounts and find jobs. Having a job and savings will help you to become independent. It is way to invest in your future. With FSS, you can finish school, find a better job, or start a business. You can get care for your children or transportation that you need to keep your job.
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Stability through Engagement Program
STEP is designed to provide short term rental assistance for 6-12 months to help individuals and families achieve housing stability. The focus is on rapidly re-housing people who are homeless and referred by a shelter in one of the ten counties where the program is offered.
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Section 811 PRA Program
The Section 811 Project Rental Assistance (PRA) Program authorized by the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2010, is a HUD Program designed to expand the supply of permanent supportive housing for extremely low-income people with disabilities.
Subsidized Housing
With financing from MaineHousing and other government sources, affordable apartments have been developed across the State. In most cases, the rents for these apartments are pre-set. In some cases, the tenant pays a portion of their income towards rent.
- Subsidized Apartment Listings - These listings include contact information for affordable apartments throughout Maine that were developed with government financing. To apply for these apartments, contact the property managers and request applications. Eligibility requirements and income limits vary by property.
- Other Affordable Apartments - "Mod-Rehab" apartments are private apartments that were rehabilitated with MaineHousing funds in return for the owners’ commitment to affordable rents. To apply for these affordable apartments, contact one of the Mod Rehab Program Agents.
- Local Housing Authorities - You may also want to contact your local housing authority to see if they have other public housing available.
General Rental Info
Tenants' Rights and Obligations
For information on tenants’ rights and obligation under Maine law, see The Rights of Tenants in Maine , an easy-to read handbook published by Pine Tree Legal Assistance or The Maine Attorney General’s Consumer Law Guide, which includes chapters on consumer rights when renting an apartment (Chapter 14), consumer rights when living in a mobile home (Chapter 15), and a model landlord-tenant lease (Chapter 16).
For more information on Subsidized or Affordable Apartments please contact a Housing Referral Specialist in MaineHousing's Housing Choice Voucher Department.
Housing Referrals & General Housing Info
(866) 357-4853 Toll-Free (in-state only)
(207) 624-5789