How to apply for public housing in Puerto Rico

Public housing means an apartment in one of the public developments managed by AVP, an entity attached to the Department of Housing. Unlike Section 8, where you receive a voucher and look for housing on the private market, here the unit belongs to AVP and is managed by the agency or a management agent. AVP maintains a map of developments, regional offices, an Applicant Portal, a Resident Services Portal and a Resident Payments Portal. The application is a document-heavy process: it is not filling out a form and waiting, but showing up with a complete file.

AVP evaluates each case individually, and says so on its own required-documents sheet: the documents required of you may vary according to each applicant’s particular circumstances. What is clear from that list is that the application contemplates different situations — unemancipated minor heads of household, who require a guardian at the time of filing; foreign nationals, who present a residency card; people with criminal records, who present a Certificate of Sentence Completion. If your case has a particularity, do not assume it disqualifies you: confirm with your regional office.

• Presenting every required document at the time of filing. AVP warns this on its own sheet: you are responsible for presenting all required documents at the time of filing, and if you do not present them the application will not be filed.Verified against the official source
• Completing the Personal Declaration to Apply for Public Housing: AVP states that everyone filing the application must complete that form.Verified against the official source
• If the head of household is an unemancipated minor, appearing with a guardian at the time of filing: AVP expressly requires it.Verified against the official source

• Personal Declaration; and a sworn statement in the case of minors accompanied by a guardian, or to verify marital status.
• Original and copy of the birth certificate for every family member; original and copy of the marriage certificate where legal emancipation must be verified; and original and copy of the divorce decree.
• Original and copy of the Social Security card for every family member; residency card if a foreign national; and original and copy of the photo ID for every household member over 18.
• Criminal Record Certificate. If you have a criminal record, you must also present the Certificate of Sentence Completion. AVP expressly warns that evidence of the request being in process — the receipt — will not be accepted.
• Proof of income: employer letter, Social Security, PSC or family assistance; a letter from the Nutrition Assistance Program (PAN) and Economic Assistance; a court child-support letter (ASUME, negative or positive); and Department of Labor (Unemployment) form W5, 07.
• One (1) credit reference by letter, and two (2) personal references.
• A photograph of all family members, all in a single photo, which AVP asks to be formal and representative.
• Evidence of the housing problem; a rent receipt; a receipt from the Electric Power Authority (AEE) and the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (AAA), or an agency certification; a certification from the administrator; and a certification from the Municipal Revenue Collection Center (CRIM).

1. 1

   Step 1: Start with the document list, not with the form

   AVP publishes a sheet titled “Required Documents to File a Public Housing Application” with 22 numbered items, and closes with a warning worth reading twice: you are responsible for presenting all required documents at the time of filing, and if you do not present them the application will not be filed. Which means arriving with the form completed but without the file gets you nowhere.

2. 2

   Step 2: Start with what takes longest: criminal record and birth certificates

   Two items on the list are complete procedures in their own right. The Criminal Record Certificate is issued by the Police, and AVP is blunt: if you have a record you must add the Certificate of Sentence Completion, and the receipt is not accepted as evidence that it is in process. Birth certificates are required in original and copy for every family member, so if you are four people that is four trips to the Demographic Registry. Start there and the rest falls into place.

3. 3

   Step 3: Gather income evidence from every source

   AVP does not ask for “proof of income” in general, but for specific pieces: an employer letter, Social Security, PSC or family assistance; a PAN and Economic Assistance letter; a court child-support letter, which may be negative or positive — meaning that if you receive no support, you still need the letter saying so; and Department of Labor form W5, 07. Each comes from a different agency, so this is the step that eats the most calendar time.

4. 4

   Step 4: Get the references and the family photo

   You need one credit reference by letter and two personal references. And a detail that is easy to miss: the photo must show all family members in a single picture, and AVP asks for it to be formal and representative. Not individual photos, and not a selfie.

5. 5

   Step 5: Complete the application and the Personal Declaration

   AVP publishes the Public Housing Application form in Spanish and English, and separately the Personal Declaration to Apply for Public Housing, which it states everyone filing must complete. They are two documents, not one.

6. 6

   Step 6: File online or at your regional office

   AVP announces that the form to submit the public housing application for available units in Puerto Rico’s developments is now available online, at prphaenlinea.avp.pr.gov. If you prefer to go in person, AVP publishes a directory of regional offices and a map of developments; the central office is at Ave. Barbosa #606, Edificio Juan C. Cordero, 9th floor, San Juan, Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

With the Public Housing Administration: online at prphaenlinea.avp.pr.gov, or in person at an AVP regional office. The central office is at Ave. Barbosa #606, Edificio Juan C. Cordero, 9th floor, San Juan, PR 00939-3188, with a mailing address at PO Box 363188, San Juan, PR 00936-3188. The switchboard is 787-759-9407, the toll-free number is 1-855-297-0139, and TTY is 711. Hours are Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• Showing up to file with the form completed but without the 22 documents: AVP does not file the application if something is missing.
• Bringing the criminal record certificate receipt instead of the issued certificate, which AVP expressly says it will not accept.
• Requesting a single birth certificate when original and copy are required for every family member.
• Not obtaining the ASUME letter because you receive no child support, when the letter is required either way, negative or positive.
• Bringing individual photos when AVP asks for one photograph with all family members in it.
• Confusing this application with Section 8: they are different programs, and filing one does not put you on the other’s list.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Administración de Vivienda Pública (AVP)

  AVP

  www.avp.pr.gov

• Required Documents to File a Public Housing Application (PDF)

  AVP

  docs.pr.gov

• Public Housing Administration — homepage and notices

  AVP

  www.avp.pr.gov