Santa Clara County Housing Authority

Our agency has the capacity to assist more than 17,000 households through the federal housing subsidies. We also develop, control and manage affordable rental housing properties. The majority of our program funding comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Our programs and properties are targeted to assist low, very low and extremely low-income households. The vast majority—more than 80%—of our client households are extremely low-income families, seniors, veterans, persons with disabilities and the formerly homeless. Working together with landlords, housing developers, charities and local governments, we strive to provide housing and support services to as many eligible families as possible.In all of our operations, SCCHA works toward being a model for the innovative use of federal funds in the Section 8 program and in leveraging funds and community partnerships to develop new affordable housing and to preserve existing affordable housing. We have lead national efforts to make housing assistance more cost-effective since 2008, by eliminating unnecessary documentation and procedures, thereby reducing the cost to administer the program and the burden on voucher holders. We pioneered the use of the federal Low Income Tax Credit program to develop more than 2,000 units of affordable housing (recognized by numerous awards), maximizing local use of federal dollars, and we are consistently considered a “high performer” that exceeds standards for quality in Section 8 voucher program administration. We were the first housing authority in the nation to earn a “Strong” ranking by Standard & Poor’s.