01/13/2023
How to apply for the newly reopened Housing Choice Voucher program in Philly
For the first time in 12 years, the waitlist for housing vouchers in Philadelphia will reopen for two weeks from Jan. 23 to Feb. 5 — and this time applicants will be chosen by lottery. Households will be able to apply through an online application at the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) website. The Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program is provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The vouchers pay for up to 70% of a tenant’s rent. Applicants must earn less than half the median income for the area. The reopened program could result in nearly 2,000 people receiving rental assistance in a matter of months, and another 8,000 being put on the waitlist for when more vouchers become available. PHA will select 10,000 applications at random in a move that they say is more equitable and will allow them to work through the waitlist faster. In 2010, when the HCV waitlist was closed indefinitely, there were more than 55,000 people on the waitlist for rental subsidies, which far exceeded the number of vouchers available. In order to catch up with the backlog of applicants, PHA closed the waitlist and hasn’t reopened it until now. Read more here.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 1/11/2023
