For the first time, the Housing Authority of New Haven is providing site-based housing vouchers outside of the Elm City itself, covering 40 low-income apartments in the town of Branford.

As housing advocates continue to push for a state bill that would allow local public housing agencies to build apartments in nearby towns, the Housing Authority of New Haven (HANH) is testing an alternative approach to funding affordable housing out of town: using the federal ​“Section 8” Housing Choice Voucher program, which the agency administers on a local level.

The authority Board of Commissioners Tuesday afternoon voted unanimously to allocate 40 Housing Choice Vouchers toward Parkside Village, a long-awaited apartment complex in Branford. The first phase of the complex has been built but is not yet occupied.

The vouchers cover a portion of rent so that tenants pay no more than 30 percent of their income on housing. They will be site-based, meaning that they will remain at Parkside Village available to future tenants after a tenant moves out.

Housing Authority Branches Out To Branford, Laura Glesby, New Haven Independent, Feb. 21, 2024, available here