Question 1

How does the Affordable Housing Program work?

Accepted Answer

Burbank Housing Corporation (BHC) operates our Affordable Housing Program in the organization’s 300+ rental units.  BHC is a HUD-recognized Community-Based Housing Development Organization (CHDO). Our Affordable Housing Program has fixed rent rates based on income level and tenants are responsible for paying their monthly rent in its entirety. BHC owns over 300 affordable apartment units in five focus neighborhoods and operates a waiting list system to fill all of its vacancies. Interested applicants must first apply for the BHC Waiting List to enter our Affordable Housing Program.

There are four waiting lists that are categorized by income level. The income and rent requirements for each income category are established by the State of California for Los Angeles County. All of BHC properties are mixed-income to accurately reflect the reality of our communities. Please keep in mind that our Affordable Housing Program is NOT a form of immediate or emergency housing.

Question 2

Is this Section 8?

Accepted Answer

No. Section 8 is a rent subsidy program that is operated by city governments. If you are interested in Section 8, you may call the City of Burbank’s Housing Authority at (818) 238-5160.

Question 3

Is this public housing?

Accepted Answer

No. Burbank Housing Corporation (BHC) is a private nonprofit organization. Our affordable housing is not a part of the government.

Question 4

How do I apply for the Affordable Housing Program?

Accepted Answer

First, determine the number of persons that will live in the household, including you, all children & any unborn children, if someone in your household is pregnant.

Second, calculate your total gross monthly income from every household member that have income and who are over 18 years of age. Income from financial aid & SNAP (or other food stamp programs) are NOT considered for our affordable housing program (Gross income means income before taxes or other deductions are made). You may  include:

Salary, wages, average overtime pay, SSI, Social Security, or disability benefits, pensions or annuities, and money provided on a regular basis by family members that are not included on the application.

Third, please visit our Waiting List Page to find out if the waiting list your household qualifies for is open at this time: Click Here
Lastly, please contact our office and provide BHC with your household size & gross annual income.

No additional documents are required when you apply for the waiting list; however, you may want to review your recent paychecks and tax documents before you fill out the application. Having the most exact and correct income information is very important.

Our office will send you a waiting list application via email, mail, or fax if your household qualifies for an open waiting list. If you qualify for a closed waiting list, you must wait until the waiting list reopens to request an application. To hear about upcoming waiting list openings, please contact our office or visit our website in January 2018.

Question 5

Does every BHC Property have its own waiting list?

Accepted Answer

No. BHC has one joint waiting list for all of its properties. Your household will only have to apply once to be offered any available unit in our portfolio.

The next eligible applicant on our waiting list will be offered the first available apartment that fits their household’s size and income level. No specific unit or building requests will be granted.

Question 6

My household qualifies for a closed waiting list. What do I do now?

Accepted Answer

You may contact our office or check our website in January 2022 to find out if a closed waiting list will reopen later in the year. BHC conducts an annual waiting list audit near the end of the calendar year to determine if a closed waiting list will reopen in the following year. Our office announces our waiting list update in January 2022 to inform interested applicants about upcoming waiting list openings. Our waiting lists may remain closed until further notice.

Question 7

How long will I be on the waiting list?

Accepted Answer

BHC’s program is permanent affordable housing. Because there is no time limit on how long a tenant can stay in our program, it is hard to estimate how long your household may wait. The average household waits 2-5 years to be placed in a unit. BHC’s affordable housing program is NOT a form of immediate or emergency housing.

BHC has just over 300 units in our program. We can only move new tenants off the waiting list & into our program when our current tenants vacate one of our units. Many of our tenants are on fixed incomes and stay in our apartments, which makes the wait times long for new applicants.

Question 8

Who comes up with the income levels & rents?

Accepted Answer

The income & rent requirements are established by the State Legislature. If you have questions on how they determine the rates, BHC recommends you contact your local state representative.

Question 9

Where are your rental units located?

Accepted Answer

BHC owns & manages 300+ rental units in 5 focus neighborhoods in Burbank, CA. Our affordable housing program only operates in BHC managed properties.
For tenant privacy, we do not disclose our addresses until the rental screening process with potential residents.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS