Houston Housing Authority Accepts Waiting List Applications For First Time Since 2018

Chavonne Herndon/Houston Public Media

For the first time in nearly five years, the Houston Housing Authority will accept applications to be placed on a public housing waitlist.

Applications were suspended in 2018 due to “the sheer number of individuals already on the waiting list,” according to David A. Northern Sr., president and CEO of the Houston Housing Authority. Each HHA hotel and voucher program had a long waiting list, and Northern said that after being able to have fewer people on waiting lists, they were able to open app backups.

But that doesn’t mean the units aren’t going fast.

“In total, we have about 6,000 units of hard housing under various programs,” he said. “And it depends on when people move in and out. We have about 25 or 30 that we are ready to turn in and borrow again.”

But the number of applicants, according to Northern, is already “dramatic”: more than 18,000 applicants as of last Thursday.

“We had long queues of people standing outside, although we have a number of systems in which they can appear in different places,” he said. “They can come to the main office. They can use our number of community stakeholders who deal with housing and homelessness. They can do it online, they can do it on their mobile phones.”

The HHA also runs a lottery to select candidates.

“That doesn’t mean you have to queue at 8 a.m. to be first on the list,” he said. “We’re taking everyone and the lottery will randomly select a person’s rank, so give everyone an equal chance and opportunity.”

He said that sometimes it can take years to get through the waiting list, during which time the situation of many applicants can change.

“In two years they may not need housing, or in two years they may not be interested in housing in Houston,” he said.

For now, according to Norten, applicants should expect at least a year of waiting.

“It’s all about reserves,” he said. “…I can tell you one thing, if we don’t have people on the waiting list right now, and we have a huge amount of resources ready, it will probably take a year or two, and maybe even more, for a person to get housing, if only this not a special situation.”

HHA is currently accepting applications for 10 locations including Cuney Homes, Ewing, Independence Heights, Kennedy Place and Heatherbrook.