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Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County

10400 Detrick Avenue, Kensington, MD

There are two waiting lists open now offered by Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County.

Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County Waiting Lists

Waiting ListStatus
Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Open Until Further Notice
Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County Public Housing Open Until Further Notice
Rental Assistance Program Closed

Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County offers the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) and Public Housing programs in Montgomery County.

Go to the Maryland Section 8 Waiting Lists page or the Maryland Public Housing Waiting Lists page for more nearby housing applications.

Open Until Further Notice: Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Waiting List

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Note: Due to the decentralized nature of affordable housing information, the information about this waiting list may be out of date.

The Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County (HOCMC) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher and Project-Based Voucher waiting lists are currently open. They opened on July 30, 2015 for senior (62+) and disabled households, and on August 24, 2015 for general families. These waiting lists are open indefinitely.

To apply, complete the online pre-application here. The pre-application is available online only. Any electronic device with Internet access can be used to submit a pre-application.

Applicants who do not have access to the Internet can visit any of the 11 HOCMC office locations, or any Montgomery County public library.

The following documentation is required of the applicant: Email address, mailing address, phone number.

The following documentation is required of all members of the household: Name, date of birth, all income.

This waiting list has the following preferences: Displaced by government action; live, work or hired to work in Montgomery County, 2006 Main Stream Disabled program, veteran, history of homelessness.

Applicants will receive a confirmation number upon submitting the pre-application. It is important to keep that number in a safe, easy to access place. It will be needed any time when referencing your pre-application with the housing authority.

For more information, visit the HOCMC website; call the Wait List Hotline at (240) 627-9800, from 8:30 am until 5:00 pm EDT, Monday-Friday.

Reasonable Accommodation

Applicants who need help completing the application due to disability can make a reasonable accommodation request to the housing authority via (240) 627-9400.

Next Steps

Learn more about what happens after the application is submitted.

Last Updated on 06/28/2018.

Open Until Further Notice: Public Housing Waiting List

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

The Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County (HOCMC) is currently accepting Public Housing waiting list pre-applications for families and senior/disabled households.

To apply, complete the online pre-application here. The pre-application is available online only. Any electronic device with Internet access can be used to submit a pre-application.

Applicants who do not have access to the Internet can visit any of the 11 HOCMC office locations, or any Montgomery County public library.

The following documentation is required of the applicant: Email address, mailing address, phone number.

The following documentation is required of all members of the household: Name, date of birth, all income.

Important note: Applicants will receive a confirmation number when either applying, or being placed on the waiting list, depending on housing authority policy. It is important to keep that number in a safe, easy to access place. It will be needed any time when referencing your pre-application with the housing authority.

If any of your application information changes from the time you submitted the original pre-application (such as contact information, income, and household members), inform the housing authority immediately. In the case that the office sends a notice that does not get returned, or if application information is out of date, your name may be terminated from the waiting list. Please contact the housing authority to find out its policy on updating pre-application information.

For more information, visit the HOCMC website; call the Wait List Hotline at (240) 627-9800 from 8:30 am until 5:00 pm ET, Monday-Friday; or send an email to info@HOCHousingPath.com.
Reasonable Accommodation

Applicants who need help completing the application due to disability can make a reasonable accommodation request to the housing authority via (240)627-9400.

Next Steps

Learn more about what happens after the application is submitted.

Last Updated on 12/21/2015.

Closed: Rental Assistance Program Waiting List

The Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County (HOCMC) Rental Assistance Program waiting list is currently closed. Applications were last accepted from August 18, 2020, until August 31, 2020.

Please note: This waiting list had the following qualifications:

  1. Be a Montgomery County resident that has resided in Montgomery County for a minimum of six (6) of the past 12 months
  2. You must self-certify that you have had a loss of income or unexpected increase in medical, childcare, or utility expenses due to COVID-19
  3. You are not receiving a subsidy (A) as a participant in the Housing Choice Voucher Program (including tenant-based and project-based vouchers), or (B) in a project-based assisted project where you pay no more than thirty percent (30%) of your annual income as rent
  4. You must have documentation from your landlord showing that you are at least one-month delinquent in your rent
  5. You must be U.S. citizen or a qualified alien, which includes an alien who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act (as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1641) (applicants can self-certify)
  6. You must submit your documentation by the required dates and times
  7. You must have a gross household income that does not exceed the program limits in the chart below based on household size. Your household income must remain within the program limits at all times for continued participation.

There were two ways to apply during the opening period: 

  1. Complete the online application.
  2. Print the online paper application.

Once the application was completed, it was placed in an envelope, date and time-stamped and placed in the designated drop box.

Preferences have not yet been confirmed.

Selected applicants were placed on the waiting list by random lottery, weighed by order of preferences.

For more information, visit the HOCMC website.

Sources: This information was verified by the HOCMC, as of August 18, 2020.

Service Area

This waiting list is for Other rental assistance in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Last Updated on 08/31/2020.

About Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County

Website: http://www.hocmc.org/.

Phone: (240) 627-9400.

About the Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program

As of the HUDs most recent Voucher Management System report, Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County manages 7,761 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 Non-Elderly Disabled
Vouchers 5,344 11 17 703 216 85 593
Monthly Cost Per Voucher $1,284 $693 $1,686 $1,162 $1,136 $1,280 $1,236
Monthly Cost $6,861,254 $7,620 $28,668 $817,233 $245,428 $108,795 $733,231
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 8% having issued approximately 878 vouchers in the past year. The average voucher holder has received housing benefits for 8 years and 5 months. According to the 2016 PSH database, persons who were issued a voucher in the preceding 12 months waited an average of 43 months on the waiting list1.

Income Characteristics

According to 2016 Q4 Picture of Subsidized Households data, the average voucher household contains 2.5 persons and has a household income of $18,561 per year. 96% of households were very low income (VLI) and 78% were extremely low income (ELI). 40% of households had wages as a major source of income, 3% of households had welfare (TANF, General Assistance or Public Assistance) as their primary source of income, and 54% of households had other income (Social Security, Disability or Pension) as their major source of income.

Heads of Household Characteristics

1% of households were headed by a person 24 years old or less, 53% were headed by a person 25 to 49 years old, 22% were headed by a person 51 to 60 years old, and 24% were headed by a person 62 years old or older. In addition, 3% of households were headed by a person 85 years old or older.

46% of households included children, 5% of which had two adults in the household. 42% of households with children have a female head of household. 81% of all households were headed by a female.

84% of all voucher households were headed by minorities with 67% of all heads of households being Black and 3% being Hispanic.

Of all households participating in the Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County Housing Choice Voucher program, 15% include at least one person with a disability. 27% of households with a head of household 61 years or less were headed by a person with a disability. 44% of households headed by someone 62 or older were headed by a person with a disability.

Bedroom Size and Overhousing

31% of voucher holders reside in a home with zero or 1 bedroom, 35% with 2 bedrooms and 34% 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 Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County voucher holders in 2016 was $516 and the average monthly HUD expenditure per voucher holder was $1,293. The average utility allowance across all voucher recipients is $200.

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.