Local housing authorities distribute federal housing vouchers, commonly called Section 8. Michael O’Neil with the Helena Housing Authority says those vouchers weren’t keeping up with Montana’s skyrocketing rental prices.
“We were, in many cases, hundreds of dollars below what the marketplace allowed,” O'Neil says.
Many families often wait years to get on the program. O’Neil says few found rentals the vouchers could cover.
The state health department funded a statewide rental study to demonstrate that federal rental assistance wasn’t keeping up. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved an increase that started July 1. The state received an additional $20 million for the voucher program.
O’Neil says his staff have housed about 50 families since.
Gwenyth Rafuse with the Missoula Housing Authority has also seen more families find rentals. A voucher for a one-bedroom rental increased from about $1,200 to $1,400 per month. Rafuse says that’s where most families are having success. But there are still barriers for families in need of larger units.
“It’s not only the price. It’s also the lack of availability of that size of a unit," Rafuse says.
She says two and three-bedroom units are still hard to find.
