When money problems appear, you start to look for where you can trim the fat in your budget. Unnecessary expenses like eating out, entertainment, travel, buying new clothes, and other luxuries can be cut rather easily. What’s a cost that can’t be cut? Your rent, because if you do get rid of it, you’ll be sleeping on the street.

While you can’t remove rent from the monthly expense equation, you can lower it. And you don’t necessarily have to downgrade your living situation to do so, either. Instead, you can get a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher from the government to make your rent more affordable.

A Housing Choice Voucher pays a portion of your rent, making you responsible for the rest. This rent subsidy isn’t available to everyone, however, as you’ll have to meet specific requirements to be eligible. Here are the four primary factors that can affect your eligibility.

1. Do you meet the income requirements for households?

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development instituted Section 8 to give low-income families, the disabled, and elderly help with meeting their monthly rent payments. As such, you cannot make above a certain amount and qualify for the program.

The HUD creates income limits on an annual basis. They vary according to location, as well as the size of your household or how many people are living in your home. The more household members, the more income you can make and still be eligible for Section 8.

You’ll be categorized according to your income: low, very low, or extremely low. As you may expect, the extremely low income category (earning 30 percent of the median income) gets priority over others. A majority of vouchers will go to households in this category, so if it applies to your situation, you may be in luck.

To see income limits to get an idea of where the cutoff is, go here. You can also contact your local public housing agency (PHA) for further assistance.

2. Do you meet the age and citizenship requirements?

To apply for Section 8 housing assistance, you will have to be at least 18 years old. You will also have to be either a U.S. citizen or have eligible immigration status, which includes being a lawful permanent resident, refugee, asylee, etc.

3. Do you have qualifying preferences?

It’s no secret that Section 8 waiting lists can be extended. Even though you may qualify for housing assistance, vouchers’ demand may be much higher than the supply.

If you have any qualifying preferences like the following, however, you can move quickly up the list:

• You live locally.
• You’re homeless.
• You live in substandard housing.
• A member of your household has disabilities or is elderly.

4. Do you have past issues with the HUD or the law?

If you were evicted from HUD housing in the last five years, owe the housing authority any money, or lost assistance for any reason, you could be disqualified from Section 8. Felony criminal convictions for alcohol abuse, drugs, or violence can disqualify you too.

Please note that these four factors are just meant to give you an idea of what a PHA looks for in an applicant. To be sure about your status, contact your PHA and apply for Section 8 rental assistance now.