Hardship Policy

If you experience a financial emergency or crisis not supported by KCHA’s regular rent policies, you can make a hardship request that asks KCHA to review your situation. If you qualify, KCHA may approve a new rent outside of the normal review process.

To be considered for a hardship rent, you must first apply for all available benefits, such as SNAP, unemployment, and social security. In most cases, your cost of living expenses must also be more than 50 percent of your household income.

Types of Hardships

Reasons for a hardship request include:

• Extraordinary cost of living. This happens when your monthly cost of living expenses is more than 50 percent of household income. Cost of living expenses include rent, energy assistance supplement, childcare, and medical expenses.
• Waiver of minimum rent beyond 6 months. You may ask for this waiver if you are at risk of losing your housing due to continued lack of income through no fault of your own. You must also have previously received a 6-month waiver from paying the minimum rent.
• Additional interim review. If you have already had two reviews, you may ask for another review if a drop in household income would lower your rent. This only applies to WIN Rent households.
• Deduction for high medical or childcare expenses. KCHA has a $10,000 deduction cap on medical and childcare expenses. You can ask for a greater deduction if your household’s expenses are more than the cap and are not covered by an outside source. (Note: We compare childcare expenses to the average rates in your area.)

Processing Your Request

Download the Hardship Review Request Form (PDF). You may also ask for a form at the Section 8 office in Tukwila or your management office. Fill out the form, attach any required information, and return your paperwork to KCHA. You can return it to the Section 8 office or your property management office.

KCHA will send your paperwork to its Hardship Committee for review. The committee will either approve or deny your request. This process can take 10 to 30 days, then you will receive written notice of the decision. If KCHA approves your request, then we will calculate your new rent amount.

If you do not agree with the decision about your hardship request, you can ask for an appeal through an informal hearing.