The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher waiting list lottery opens on October 17, 2022. It will stay open for low-income households until October 30, 2022.
Households looking for low-income apartments in Los Angeles, California have only a brief opportunity to get rental assistance in the area. The Section 8 HCV waiting list may not open again for many years.
This waiting list last opened in 2017. Before that, the waiting list last opened in 2004.
The Section 8 HCV program is a federal rental assistance program that helps low-income renters pay some, or all of their monthly rent. The HACLA operates this housing program in the jurisdiction of the city limits of Los Angeles, CA.
Follow the steps below to learn how to apply to the Los Angeles, CA Section 8 HCV waiting list.
- Determine Income Qualification
First, to qualify, households must be below the HACLA’s income limits for each household size:
- Apply Online
After confirming income qualification, an online application will be available on the HACLA website once the waiting list opens.
It will be available in English, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Armenian, and Tagalog. As of the writing of this article, no direct online application link is available.
The online application will take about 5-8 minutes to complete, according to the HACLA public notice.
When available, a link to the online application will be posted on the Affordable Housing Online profile page for the HACLA here. - Submit the required information
While completing the application, a valid email address and phone number is required to apply, so the HACLA can contact applicants.
Other information needed to submit the application includes:
•Full name, date of birth, and Social Security Number or Alien Registration Number of both the Head of Household and their Co-Head.
•Total income of all household members.
•Current residential address (if applicable).
•A mailing address.
Once all required information is entered, follow the steps on the HACLA’s online portal to submit the application. - Wait for applications to be sorted
After the waiting list closes, the HACLA will place 30,000 applicants on its Section 8 HCV waiting list.
Applicants selected for the waiting list will be ordered by random lottery, in order of preferences. This means that the date and time the application is submitted has no effect on waiting list placement.
If a waiting list has preferences, it means that priority placement is given to applicants who qualify for a specific preference category. Applicants who do not qualify for the listed preferences will have a longer wait to receive assistance than those who do qualify.
As stated in the HACLA’s Administrative Plan, this waiting list has the following preferences:
•Priority 1 Preference: Special Programs and Other Referral
Families who are referred to and qualify for HACLA’s Special Programs receive a Priority 1 preference on the HCV waiting list.
•Preference for the Family of a Veteran
Person who currently serves in the active military service of the United States in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard and/or a person who has been released from such active military service under conditions other than dishonorable.
•City Residency
The applicant currently resides in the City of Los Angeles, or is expected to reside as a result of current or offered employment in the City. Employment means regularly scheduled work for at least 20 hours per week
Applicants who are placed on the waiting list will be contacted by the HACLA.
More than 365,000 applications are expected by the HACLA to be submitted during this opening period.
The HACLA public notice says that it “currently administers more than 51,300 Section 8 Vouchers.”
While this waiting list last opened five years ago, it has only opened twice in the last 18 years. So, there is no way to know the next time this waiting list will open.