Once you have submitted an application to the CDA, you may create an on-line account to help you manage your CDA application(s). Applicant Portal allows you to:

 

Federal Income Limits (effective 5/15/23)
Number of Occupants	Public and Multifamily Housing	Section 8 Programs
1 Person	$66,300	$42,750
2 Persons	$75,750	$48,850
3 Persons	$85,200	$54,950
4 Persons	$94,650	$61,050
5 Persons	$102,250	$65,950
6 Persons	$109,800	$70,850
7 Persons	$117,400	$75,750
8 Persons	$124,950	$80,600

 

Answer:  The CDA will review your application before placing you on a wait list, and you may be asked to submit verification (e.g. proof of disability income.) Your date and time of application may be based on receipt of required verification. A receipt letter will be mailed to you about two weeks after submission of application. Section 8 applicants are notified after random lottery selection.

 

Answer:  You will be notified by mail when your name comes to the top of a wait list or if the CDA is updating your file. Therefore, you must provide a valid mailing address. The U.S. Postal Service will not forward CDA mail. If any CDA mail is returned as undeliverable, you will be canceled from the wait list. If you are canceled from a wait list and you wish to reapply, you will have to wait 3 months before doing so and only if the wait list is open at that time. You must also report changes to the CDA via Applicant Portal or in writing.

 

 

Answer:  Wait lists will generally remain open, until the CDA has a sufficient number of applicants to fill vacancies over the next 12 – 24 months. The CDA will open the Section 8 wait list as needed when vouchers are available.

 

Answer: The CDA does not provide emergency or immediate housing. Wait times vary. Vacancies and HUD funding may also affect the wait time. You will be notified by mail when the CDA is ready to screen your application:

 

Public Housing Estimated Wait Times
Bedroom Size	With City of Madison Residency Preference	Without City of Madison Residency Preference
1-Bedroom     with Disabled/Elderly Preference	6 - 12 Months	* indefinitely
2-Bedroom     with Family Preference	1 - 2 Years	* indefinitely
3-, 4-, 5-Bedroom     with Family Preference	2 - 3 Years	4 - 5 Years

 

* There is no requirement to live in the City of Madison. However, the CDA will serve applicants who are awarded a City of Madison Residency Preference first. Verification is required to receive a City of Madison Residency Preference. CDA Wait List Preferences

 

Answer:  For Public and Multifamily Housing, applicants are assigned a place on the wait list, based on preferences and the date and time the CDA receives a completed pre-application. Section 8 applicants are placed on the waiting list based on a computerized random sort through a lottery process. 

 

Answer:   Preferences help to ensure that people with certain needs or circumstances have first priority for housing assistance. Applicants with preference have their applications considered before those without preference. Preferences may be claimed at the time of application or at any time you are on a wait list. The CDA must receive certain verification in order to award a preference. Preferences are also re-verified prior to receiving housing assistance. Please refer to the CDA Wait List Preferences  reference sheet for details on the required verification documents to turn in to receive a preference.The CDA uses the following wait list preferences:

Head-of-household, spouse, or co-head lives, works, or attends school or participates in a training program in the City of Madison. If the applicant does not live in the City of Madison, but does live within the County of Dane, a Dane County preference may apply. If you are homeless, and living in the City of Madison, you may be able to verify City Preference, by having a social worker complete and submit a Social Service Agency Residency Verification Affidavit. 

Applicants who have a minor child in the applicant household; or the head-of-household, spouse, or co-head is 62 years of age or older; or the head-of-household, spouse, or co-head qualifies as a person with a disability.

Answer:  For preliminary eligibility, the applicant family must:

• Have a head-of-household, spouse, or co-head who is at least 18 years of age.
• Qualify as a family as defined by HUD and the CDA.
• Have income at or below HUD-specified income limits.
• Have at least one family member who is a citizen, national, or noncitizen with eligible immigration status. Families that include eligible and ineligible citizenship are considered mixed families, and the amount of housing assistance will be prorated.
• Provide social security number information for family members as required.
• Consent to the CDA's collection and use of information as provided for in CDA-provided consent forms.

• State sex offender registration requirement
• Illegal use of drugs
• Drug-related criminal activity
• Criminal Activity
• Alcohol abuse that interferes with the right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises by others
• Lease violations, eviction filings, or judgments
• Owing money to a landlord
• Negative behavior and disturbances to neighbors
• Not meeting financial obligations, including rent
• Poor housekeeping habits
• Debts owed to any federal housing authority

Answer:  Public Housing is owned and managed by the CDA. If you are found eligible for Public Housing, you will move into a CDA Public Housing rental unit and your rent will be reduced based on your income. Under the Section 8 program, the CDA provides rental subsidy on behalf of eligible individuals and families, allowing them to rent with a private landlord in the City of Madison.

 

Answer:  Rent is based on your family's anticipated gross annual income. CDA program participants generally pay 30% of their income toward rent, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) pays the rest. Payment Standards for the Section 8 program are based on the apartment bedroom size.

 

Answer:  Free access to computers is available at City of Madison library branches:  http://www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/locations The following agencies provide assistance with CDA applications, or other housing applications:

The Beacon 615 E. Washington Avenue Madison WI  53703 (608) 826-8040 Monday - Friday, 9 am – 2 pm * Hours may vary	Joining Forces for Families 1125 W. Badger Road, #6 Madison WI  53713 (608) 261-9764 Monday - Thursday, 8:30 am – 4 pm Friday, 8 am – 11:30 am
Madison Senior Center 330 W. Mifflin Street, Computer Lab Madison WI  53703 (608) 266-6581 Monday, 11 am – 12 noon Services for Seniors	Newbridge Initial intake by phone only Madison WI 53711 (608) 512-0000 Monday – Friday, 9 am –4 pm Services for Seniors
Domestic Abuse Intervention Services (DAIS) 2102 Fordem Avenue Madison WI  53704 (608) 251-4445 Monday – Friday, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm Services for victims of domestic abuse