Financial Assistance for Housing 

General Assistance is financial assistance offered through the town hall in your town of residence. General Assistance can help with paying rent, utility bills (water, heat, electricity), or helping with a security deposit to secure housing. More information available here.

Affordable Housing 

MaineHousing is the state housing agency that oversees all public housing programs in cooperation with city housing authorities. It is advised to sign up for MaineHousing’s programs well in advance, and that some housing programs have a long wait time for entering into each program.  

• Housing Choice Voucher
  • MaineHousing’s Housing Choice Voucher (commonly known as Section 8 Housing) program provides rental assistance to income-eligible tenants by paying a portion of their monthly rent and utilities and paying it directly to their landlords. Clients can apply to this program through their local housing authority. The wait lists for this program are between several months to years depending on which housing authority you apply to. More information from MaineHousing on the Housing Choice Voucher here. 
    
    
• Subsidized Housing 
  • Within Maine, many companies and municipalities have various forms of “subsidized housing”, which will put a maximum on the cost of rent for the apartment or house. To qualify, clients need to be below a certain income level. The state has compiled a list, accessible at the link below, that lists all the property companies offering affordable housing for rent. These companies are not guaranteed to have available apartments, and most have a wait list for these units. Please review the list and contact the property management companies to inquire about vacancies and wait list times. Subsidized housing can go by many different names because of different programs. Common names for subsidized housing are LIHTC (Low-Income Housing Tax Credit), public housing, income limited housing, or affordable housing. More information from MaineHousing on Subsidized Housing here.

School District Support for Families

If you have children enrolled in schools, school districts may be able to assist you by helping pay for missed rental payments, pay security deposits, or help pay utility bills through the State Pilot for Preventing Homelessness. Each district varies, so to understand the level of support they are able to offer, you will need to contact their McKinney-Vento Coordinator. Please use the McKinney-Vento Coordinator Contact Look-Up tool  to find the contact information for your coordinator in your child’s school district. 

Homelessness Assistance 

If you find yourself without housing, please consult the list below from MaineHousing of all the emergency shelters located around Maine. You can also contact your resettlement agency for assistance. Current list of emergency shelters in the state.  

Housing Navigator Support 

For additional one-on-one housing assistance, you can look at applying for assistance with a housing navigator program. Housing Navigators can work with you to help you find and keep housing long term based on your goals and need. Please refer to the current list of organizations providing housing navigation.