Portability Information

CDA Portability Brochure

HUD's How Portability Works

Frequently Asked Portability Questions

Answer: Effective July 1, 2024, the CDA is billing incoming portable program participants and applicants.

1. You must contact your Initial Housing Authority- IHA- (where you are currently subsidized) and request to port to the City of Madison.
2. If determined eligible by your IHA, your IHA will issue your voucher to you and send your voucher and other required documents to the Community Development Authority, CDA, which is the City of Madison's Housing Authority for Section 8 assistance.
3. The CDA will contact you when we receive your portability paperwork from your IHA. We will either call you (if your IHA provides a phone number) or e-mail our portability application to you at the e-mail address provided by your IHA. You may also contact us to update your phone number and mailing address.
4. Fill out and return our portability application, along with any additional documentation needed to process your application. Additional required documents will be listed in the cover letter attached to the portability application we mail to you.
5. Once we receive a completed portability application, and any required documents, the CDA will determine if you are eligible to port to the City of Madison.
6. If you are found eligible to port to the City of Madison, we will send your CDA voucher and other documents to you by email. If you prefer to schedule an in-person appointment to receive your documents, please let the CDA Specialist know.
7. DO NOT SIGN A LEASE BEFORE YOU HAVE ATTENDED YOUR ORIENTATION, RECEIVED YOUR VOUCHER AND MAX RENT LIMIT, AND RECEIVED CONFIRMATION THAT YOUR UNIT HAS PASSED HQS INSPECTION.

FAX: 608-266-4735 or 608-264-9291

Answer:  Your current housing authority should send your paperwork 6-8 weeks before you plan to move to the City of Madison. We will mail you a CDA portability application within one week of receiving your portability paperwork from your IHA. Once we receive your completed application and required documents, it will take about one week to process your application and contact you to make your voucher issuance appointment. The date we set for your appointment will depend on caseworker and client availability.

Answer:  If you will have zero $0 income when you arrive in the City of Madison, your max gross rent limit (rent plus tenant paid utilities) will be the payment standard for your voucher unit size (see chart below). If you will have income when you arrive, your max gross rent limit will be the payment standard plus 10% of your Adjusted Monthly Income. This will be determined at your voucher issuance appointment.

Answer:  Possibly. If your voucher expires less than 30 days from the date it was received by the CDA, we can provide one 30 day extension. Further extensions may be provided at our discretion, not to exceed 90 days from your original voucher expiration date. We will require you to request extensions from your IHA first. If your original voucher from your IHA expires, and the CDA provides an extension, that extension will only be valid in the City of Madison. You will not be able to return to your IHA, or move somewhere else, with an expired voucher.

• The CDA will assign one bedroom for each two persons within the household. Persons of different generations will be allotted separate bedrooms. Persons of the opposite sex (except spouses/partners), 6 years of age and older, will be allotted separate bedrooms. Two siblings under the age of 6, of any gender, will be allotted one bedroom.
• Foster children will be included in determining unit size only if they will be in the unit for more than six months.
• Live-in-aides will be allocated a separate bedroom. No additional bedrooms are provided for the attendant's family.
• Single person families will be allotted one bedroom.
• A family that consists of a pregnant woman, with no other persons, will be treated as a two person family.

• DCHA payment standards
• Dane County Housing Authority can be reached at (608) 224-3636.