5 Cities with Long Section 8 Housing Waiting Lists
Section 8 housing vouchers can provide you and your family with the opportunity to live in a comfortable, safe home. If you qualify to enroll in this program, you may think that you would be able to begin receiving your voucher and move into a new rental property within a few days or weeks. However, this isn’t always the case. In fact, many cities throughout the country have more applicants who qualify for Section 8 than they have benefits to distribute.
If you are put on a waitlist, the amount of time it takes until you can receive benefits varies. In some cities, the wait could be as short as a few weeks or months. In other communities, however, the wait could stretch up to one or two years. Wait times vary, but here is a list of cities that usually have long wait times for Section 8 applicants.
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore is in eastern Maryland, and it is the most populated city in the state. Often, cities with higher populations have longer wait times for Section 8 applicants. This is because these communities usually have a higher demand for housing assistance. The Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC) oversees this program and is responsible for managing its waitlist.
Chicago, Illinois
The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) distributes Section 8 vouchers to program applicants. However, this city has also been known to have a long waitlist for households. Recently, applicants have needed to wait a few years before they could begin receiving benefits through this city’s benefits program.
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles is a city in Southern California. It also has one of the highest populations of any U.S. city. As a result, wait times to receive Section 8 benefits are usually higher than normal. In fact, some applicants have been known to wait over a decade before they begin receiving Section 8 benefits from the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA).
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton, New Jersey’s capital, has had an abnormally long Section 8 waitlist in recent years. In fact, the list has gotten so long that as of June 2019, the city is no longer accepting program applications. The Trenton Housing Authority (THA) is responsible for maintaining Section 8 in this city.
Twin Cities, Minnesota
In terms of population, Minneapolis and Saint Paul are the largest cities in Minnesota. These cities also have Section 8 wait lists that often require applicants to wait several years before they can receive their vouchers. The Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA) and the Saint Paul Public Housing Authority (PHA) oversee these programs.