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Portland Housing Authority

Waiting Lists

Learn more about Portland Housing Authority.

Open: Maine Housing Choice Voucher Centralized

This housing authority participates in the Maine Centralized Section 8 HCV Waiting List, which is a partnership between all 20 housing authorities in Maine. Applicants submit one application to apply to a centralized waiting list. Selected applicants will be placed on the centralized waiting list, and will be under consideration for every participating housing authority.

The Maine Centralized Section 8 HCV Waiting List is currently open.

The Maine Centralized waiting list will accept applications from April 2013, until further notice.

There are four ways to apply:

  1. Complete the online application here.
  2. Download and print the application online here.
  3. Contact one of the participating housing authorities to request an application by mail. Contact information for all participating housing authorities can be found here.
  4. Pick up a pre-application at the office of a participating housing authority. Address information for all participating housing authorities can be found here.

Once the application has been completed, it can be mailed, faxed or submitted in person to any participating housing authority. Contact information for all participating housing authorities can be viewed here.

The waiting list will be sorted differently by each housing authority according to its own preferences.

Participating housing authorities may have any of the following preferences: Disabled, elderly, family with minor children or dependents, where you live, veteran, displaced by natural or national disaster, chronically homeless, at where you work, non-subsidized, local full-time student, working, non-elderly or disabled single person family, Tedford Shelter resident. A full explanation of all preferences can be viewed here.

For more information, visit the website here, or contact a participating housing authority listed here.

Sources: This information was verified by the Maine Centralized page on December 28, 2022.

Reasonable Accommodation

Applicants who need help completing the application due to disability can make a reasonable accommodation request to the housing authority via one of the participating housing authorities listed here: http://mainesection8centralwaitlist.org/dup/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/CWL-Participating-Housing-Authorities-REVISED-7-6-2020.pdf.

Last Updated on 12/28/2022.

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Open: Portland Housing Authority Section 8 Project-Based Voucher

Please Note: Due to the decentralized nature of affordable housing information, the information about this waiting list may be out of date.

The Portland Housing Authority (PHA) Section 8 Project-Based Voucher waiting list is currently open, since at least May, 2019, until further notice. Waiting lists for a specific community or bedroom size may be closed.

To apply, contact the PHA or the property owner. Contact information for each community can be found here.

Once the application has been completed, it must be mailed or hand delivered to the PHA at:

14 Baxter Boulevard
Portland, ME 04101

For more information, visit the PHA Project-Based Vouchers page, or the PHA website

Reasonable Accommodation

Applicants who need help completing the application due to disability can make a reasonable accommodation request to the housing authority via (207) 773-4753.

IMPORTANT: This is not the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program. Section 8 Project-Based Voucher tenants are required to live in a specific apartment community or scattered site. After one year of occupancy, a Project-Based Voucher tenant may request to be placed on a waiting list to receive the next available Housing Choice Voucher or similar tenant-based rental assistance.

Last Updated on 05/28/2019.

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Open: Portland Housing Authority Public Housing

Please Note: Due to the decentralized nature of affordable housing information, the information about this waiting list may be out of date.

The Portland Housing Authority (PHA) Public Housing waiting list is currently open, since at least June, 2015, until further notice. Waiting lists for a specific community or bedroom size may be closed.

There are three ways to apply:

  1. Visit the PHA office, located at 14 Baxter Blvd, Portland, ME 04101.
  2. Call (207) 773-4753 to request an application by mail.
  3. Send a written request by mail to:
    Portland Housing Authority
    14 Baxter Boulevard
    Portland, ME 04101

For more information, visit the PHA Public Housing Program page, or the PHA website.

Reasonable Accommodation

Applicants who need help completing the application due to disability can make a reasonable accommodation request to the housing authority via (207) 773-4753.

Next Steps

Learn more about what happens after the application is submitted.

Last Updated on 05/28/2019.

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Open: Moderate Rehabilitation Low-Income

Please Note: Due to the decentralized nature of affordable housing information, the information about this waiting list may be out of date.

The Portland Housing Authority (PHA) Moderate Rehabilitation waiting list is currently open, since at least May, 2019, until further notice. Waiting lists for a specific community or bedroom size may be closed.

There are three ways to apply:

  1. Visit the PHA office, located at 14 Baxter Blvd, Portland, ME 04101.
  2. Call (207) 773-4753 to request an application by mail.
  3. Send a written request by mail to:
    Portland Housing Authority
    14 Baxter Boulevard
    Portland, ME 04101

For more information, visit the PHA Moderate Rehabilitation page, or the PHA website.

Reasonable Accommodation

Applicants who need help completing the application due to disability can make a reasonable accommodation request to the housing authority via (207) 773-4753.

Last Updated on 05/28/2019.

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About Portland Housing Authority

14 Baxter Boulevard, Portland, ME | Visit Website | (207) 773-4753

Portland Housing Authority provides affordable housing for up to 2,981 low and moderate income households through its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) and Public Housing programs..

In addition, Portland Housing Authority offers other programs for eligible households, including:

  • Homeownership Voucher
  • Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH)
  • Section 8 Project-Based Voucher (PBV)
  • Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD)
  • Moderate Rehabilitation

Housing Authority Jurisdiction

Low-income housing managed by Portland Housing Authority is located in:

Households with a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher managed by this housing authority must rent within its jurisdiction.

About the Portland Housing Authority Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program

As of the HUDs most recent Voucher Management System report, Portland Housing Authority manages 1,891 active Housing Choice Vouchers.

The following table summarizes types of vouchers managed and the monthly costs of each as of December 31st, 2021:

Standard Homeownership Family Unification Tenant Protection Ported Out VASH
Vouchers 1,510 48 20 86 66 62
Monthly Cost Per Voucher $1,058 $819 $1,242 $1,040 $801 $673
Monthly Cost $1,596,889 $39,304 $24,830 $89,399 $52,867 $41,730
Waiting List and Tenancy

According to the 2016 Q4 Picture of Subsidized Households database, the housing authority's voucher program has an annual turnover of 15% having issued approximately 116 vouchers in the past year. The average voucher holder has received housing benefits for 9 years and 7 months. According to the 2016 PSH database, persons who were issued a voucher in the preceding 12 months waited an average of 34 months on the waiting list1.

Income Characteristics

According to 2016 Q4 Picture of Subsidized Households data, the average voucher household contains 2.1 persons and has a household income of $14,996 per year. 95% of households were very low income (VLI) and 75% were extremely low income (ELI). 27% of households had wages as a major source of income, 1% of households had welfare (TANF, General Assistance or Public Assistance) as their primary source of income, and 69% of households had other income (Social Security, Disability or Pension) as their major source of income.

Heads of Household Characteristics

3% of households were headed by a person 24 years old or less, 47% were headed by a person 25 to 49 years old, 29% were headed by a person 51 to 60 years old, and 22% were headed by a person 62 years old or older. In addition, 1% of households were headed by a person 85 years old or older.

32% of households included children, 9% of which had two adults in the household. 26% of households with children have a female head of household. 63% of all households were headed by a female.

24% of all voucher households were headed by minorities with 17% of all heads of households being Black and 0% being Hispanic.

Of all households participating in the Portland Housing Authority Housing Choice Voucher program, 36% include at least one person with a disability. 63% of households with a head of household 61 years or less were headed by a person with a disability. 75% of households headed by someone 62 or older were headed by a person with a disability.

Bedroom Size and Overhousing

49% of voucher holders reside in a home with zero or 1 bedroom, 27% with 2 bedrooms and 24% with 3 or more bedrooms. 11% of voucher recipients are considered overhoused, meaning they occupy a rental unit larger than their family size requires.

Rent, Assistance, and Utility Allowances

The average monthly tenant contribution to rent by Portland Housing Authority voucher holders in 2016 was $370 and the average monthly HUD expenditure per voucher holder was $814. The average utility allowance across all voucher recipients is $76.

1. This Picture of Subsidized Households data field is the average wait time of those who received a voucher in the preceding 12 months. Due to special voucher programs like VASH, recent waiting list purges, or waiting list preferences the average wait time can vary significantly from one year to the next and it is entirely possible many current applicants on the waiting list have been waiting for assistance for far longer.