Alexander City Housing Authority

Public Housing Programs:

Rental Apartments
The ACHA manages 477 public housing apartments in 4 different locations.  These apartments are for the family, individuals, senior citizens, handicapped and/or disabled.  Applications for housing can be picked up at 2110 County Road, Alexander City, AL Monday through Friday between the hours of 9 am to 12 pm and 1 pm to 4:30 pm, or downloaded from our website.  Applications will only be accepted by appointment.  Appointments can be set up at the time the application is picked up or by calling the Alexander City Housing Authority office at (256) 329-2201.  All applications must be completely filled out and the applicant must have all necessary documents in order for application to be accepted and processed.  Applications will not be accepted by mail.
 
Security Services
Creating and providing safe communities is an important focus of the ACHA. Our highly trained investigative/security unit is on the job seven days a week, 12 hours a day, patrolling the neighborhoods and working to provide each resident with the safest communities possible. In close cooperation with the City Police Department and the County Sheriff's Department, the ACHA Investigative Unit is here for the residents protection and to assist residents whenever necessary. They are also here to rid our neighborhoods of undesirables who cause trouble and destroy the peaceful atmosphere that exist without them. If you want to live in a safe community, these are your friends.

Property Information:

Springhill Community

160 apartments, built 1969, one and two story, one, two, three, four bedroom, four fully handicapped accessible units, youth and adult services facility, playground, central heat and air conditioning, all electric.

    Gunter Circle
    50 apartments, senior citizens only, built 1969, one story, one and two bedrooms, senior citizen community center, laundromat, central heat and air conditioning, all electric.

    Jefferson Heights Community
    77 apartments, built 1983, all but 10 for senior citizens, one, two, three and four bedroom, one story, six fully handicapped accessible units, community center, central maintenance facility, playground, laundromat, central heat and air conditioning, all electric.

    Laurel Heights Community
    190 senior and family apartments, one and two story, built 1969, youth and adult services center, playground, three fully handicapped accessible units, central heat and air conditioning, all electric.

Housing Voucher Program

Information for the Applicant and Resident

Housing Choice Voucher Program:
The Housing Choice Voucher Program provides housing assistance for low-income families in the private rental market. Rental voucher holders select a unit from the private rental market. Rental assistance makes market-rate housing affordable. Program participants pay no more than 30% of their monthly adjusted income towards rent and utilities. The housing assistance payment subsidizes the balance of the rent to the property owner.

Eligibility:
Eligibility for a rental voucher is determined by the Alexander City Housing Authority (ACHA) based on the total annual gross income and family size and is limited to U.S. citizens and specified categories of non-citizens who have eligible immigration status. The family's income may not exceed 50% of the area median income. Median income levels are published by HUD and vary by location. The ACHA can provide you with the income limits for your area and family size. During the application process, the ACHA will collect information on family income, assets and family composition. The ACHA will verify this information with other local agencies, your employer and bank, and will use the information to determine program eligibility and the amount of the rental assistance payment.
If the ACHA determines that your family is eligible, the ACHA will put your name on a waiting list, unless it is able to assist you immediately. Once your name is reached, the ACHA will contact you and issue to you a rental voucher.

Find properties:
Once your family has been issued a rental voucher, you can search the private rental market in your community for a housing unit that is decent, safe and sanitary according to Housing Quality Standards (HQS) established by HUD and the ACHA. (Request a copy of the HUD booklet "A Good Place to Live!," to guide you in finding a unit that meets these standards.) When you have found a suitable unit and the owner agrees to lease the unit to your family under the housing choice voucher program, the ACHA will inspect the unit to assure that it is suitable. After the unit passes HQS inspection and the rent has been approved, the landlord and tenant enter into a lease for an initial term of one year. The ACHA and the landlord sign a Housing Assistance Payments Contract through which the rent is assisted on your behalf. You will be responsible for the monthly payment of the difference between the total rent and the housing assistance payment.

Move and continue to receive this assistance:
A family's housing needs change over time with changes in family size, job locations, and for other reasons. The Housing Choice Voucher Program is designed to allow families to move without the loss of rental assistance. Moves are permissible as long as the family notifies the housing authority ahead of time, terminates its existing lease within the appropriate provisions, and finds acceptable alternate housing. Under the voucher program, new voucher holders may choose a unit anywhere in the United States if the family has lived within the jurisdiction of the current housing authority for at least 12 months while receiving assistance. A family that wishes to move to another housing authority's jurisdiction must consult with the housing authority that currently administers its rental assistance to verify the procedures for moving.

Term of the lease:
The lease is for one year. After one year, the lease is renewed on a month-to-month basis. You may vacate with a notice after the term of the lease expires. If you remain in the unit, you are recertified for eligibility and the unit is inspected for Housing Quality Standards annually.

Apply for assistance:
If you are interested, apply at the ACHA main office. You may also download a copy of the application at the website listed above, fill it out and mail it or bring it by the main office.