Subsidized and low-cost housing provided by the DeKalb County Housing Authority is available for NIU students with families.

“Married students or single parents with dependent children are eligible for some of our programs,” said Chuck Kittleson, executive director of the housing authority.

Students can sign up on a waiting list for low-income apartments or rent-subsidized apartments, he said. However, the length of waiting time is three months to a year.

The housing authority provides 224 apartments for the elderly and disabled, which includes two high-rises located at 507 E. Taylor, DeKalb, and at 350 Grant St., Sycamore, Kittleson said.

The DeKalb County Housing Authority also has 56 apartments in DeKalb and Sycamore for families with incomes of less than $20,000 per year. Presently, the average income of these families is about $8,000 to $9,000.

Families earning less than $12,000 can participate in a rent-subsidy program, Kittleson said.

In each of these programs, participants pay 30 percent of their incomes for rent and utilities. In the rent-subsidy program, HUD pays the remainder of the rent to the landlords.

Don Buckner, director of NIU’s Housing Service, said making low-income housing available to NIU students will not have much of an impact on NIU’s married student housing residents.

For all programs, rents range from $20 to $400 per month, with $140 being the average amount paid, Kittleson said.