Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County, Kensington, Maryland

About Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County

The Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County is a Section 8 and Public Housing Public Housing Agency in Kensington, Maryland.

The Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County serves Montgomery County, Silver Spring, Gaithersburg, Rockville, Germantown, Takoma Park, Olney, Wheaton, North Bethesda, Kensington, Sandy Spring, Bethesda, Montgomery Village, Clarksburg, Potomac, Damascus, Colesville, Derwood, Chevy Chase and Aspen Hill.

Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County Waiting Lists

Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County Housing Choice Voucher Waiting List: Open Indefinitely

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.

Last Updated on 07/13/2017.

Public Housing Waiting List: Open Indefinitely

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.

Last Updated on 12/21/2015.

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

As of the most recent VMS report, Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County manages 7,293 active Housing Choice Vouchers.

The following is a summary of the types of vouchers managed and the monthly costs of each:

	Standard	Homeownership	Tenant Protection	Ported Out	VASH	Non-Elderly Disabled
Vouchers	5,161	7	572	178	78	627
Monthly Cost Per Voucher	$1,077	$768	$1,031	$563	$973	$979
Monthly Cost	$5,559,556	$5,373	$589,571	$100,202	$75,895	$614,061

Household Characteristics of Voucher Holders for Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County

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.

Public Housing Operated by Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County