Rent Assistance

This Section 8 Program is a federally funded program administered by the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee. The Section 8 Program often referred to as the Rent Assistance Program (RAP) is designed to help low and moderate income families rent privately owned housing. The rental subsidy known as a housing assistance payment is paid directly to the property owner or designated payee each month. This program is available to a limited number of families and allows them to pay approximately 30% to 40% of their income towards their monthly rent. The program pays the balance of the rent directly to the landlord in the form of a monthly check.

Regulations require that the Rent Assistance Program must determine that the requested rent for each unit be reasonable . The regulation further requires the program to compare the requested rent to private sector units which are similar in size, type, quality, and amenities which are located in the approximate vicinity. The Rent Assistance Program also compares the unit's assessed value when making rent reasonableness determination. If the requested rent appears to be unreasonable, program staff will contact the owner and enter into rent negotiations. If staff is unable to amicably negotiate the rent with the owner and the tenant wishes to remain in the program, the tenant must seek suitable housing elsewhere.

How the participant's portion of rent is calculated:
The gross rent is not limited by the Fair Market Rent (FMR), which is defined as rent including utilities and all maintenance, management and other services which are determined annually.

Federal regulations do not allow participants to spend more than 40% of their income on rent and utilities.

Contact Information
General Inquires: (414) 286-5650
Mailing Address: 5011 W. Lisbon Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53210

Program Manager (414) 286-5630

Debra LaRosa (414) 286-5647
Leases and Contract, Unit Inspections

Gerald Hobson (414) 286-5660
Applicant Eligibility, Partcipant Re-certification

Assefa Damte, Ph.D (414) 286-5636
Background Screenings, Managing High TTP, Move Requests, Client Hearing Requests, Landlord and Tenant Disputes

Pooja Dhaliwal (414) 286-5640
Waiting List, Portability, Statistics and Website Content