Columbia County Housing Authority

Waiting Lists

Learn more about Columbia County Housing Authority.

Open: Columbia County, Pennsylvania Section 8 HCV

The Columbia County Housing Authority (CCHA) is accepting Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher waiting list applications since at least July, 2020, until further notice.

To apply during the opening period, complete the online application.

This waiting list has the following preferences: 

  • Residency Preference – Households that reside, work in or have accepted employment in Columbia County. 
  • Working Preference – Households where the head, spouse, or co-head is employed at least 20 hours per week. 
  • Elderly or Disabled Preference – As required by HUD, families where the head or spouse, or sole member is a person age 62 or older, or a person with disabilities , will also be given the benefit of the working preference.  
  • Involuntary Displaced – Persons who have been involuntarily displaced from their previous residence as the result of fire, natural disaster, or governmental action, so long as the displacement was not caused, in whole or in part, by any action or failure to act on the part of the person so displaced, or by any action or failure to act on the part of any member of the immediate family of the person so displaced?

Selected applicants will be placed on the waiting list by date and time the application is received, weighed by order of preferences.

For more information, visit the CCHA website.

Sources: This information was verified by the CCHA, as of October 26, 2020.

Service Area

This waiting list is for Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance in Columbia County, Pennsylvania.

Reasonable Accommodation

Applicants who need help completing the application due to disability can make a reasonable accommodation request to the housing authority via (570) 784-9373.

Next Steps

Learn more about what happens after the application is submitted.

Last Updated on 05/11/2023.

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Open: Evan Owen Memorial Apartments Elderly or Non-Elderly Disabled Senior and Disabled

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Note: Due to the decentralized nature of affordable housing information, the information about this waiting list may be out of date.

The Columbia County Housing Authority (CCHA) Elderly or Non-Elderly Disabled Public Housing waiting list for 1 and 2-Bedroom apartments at Even Owen Memorial Apartments is currently open. Applications are being accepted since at least July 27, 2020, until further notice.

To apply during the opening period, complete the online application available here.

This waiting list has the following preferences: 

  • Residency Preference – Households that reside, work in or have accepted employment in Columbia County. 
  • Working Preference – Households where the head, spouse, or co-head is employed at least 20 hours per week. 
  • Elderly or Disabled Preference – As required by HUD, families where the head or spouse, or sole member is a person age 62 or older, or a person with disabilities , will also be given the benefit of the working preference.  
  • Involuntary Displaced – Persons who have been involuntarily displaced from their previous residence as the result of fire, natural disaster, or governmental action, so long as the displacement was not caused, in whole or in part, by any action or failure to act on the part of the person so displaced, or by any action or failure to act on the part of any member of the immediate family of the person so displaced?

For more information, visit the CCHA website.

Sources: This information was verified by the CCHA, as of October 26, 2020.

Service Area

This waiting list is for Other Senior and Disabled rental assistance in Berwick, Pennsylvania.

Reasonable Accommodation

Applicants who need help completing the application due to disability can make a reasonable accommodation request to the housing authority via (570)784-9373.

Last Updated on 03/07/2022.

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Closed: Town Park Village Family Public Housing

The Columbia County Housing Authority (CCHA) Family Public Housing waiting list for 3 and 4-Bedroom apartments at Town Park Village Apartments is currently closed. Applications were last accepted from the earliest confirmed date of July, 2020, until an unconfirmed date in April, 2022. There is no notice of when this waiting list will reopen.

To apply during the opening period, applicants were required to complete the online application.

This waiting list had the following preferences: 

  • Residency Preference – Households that reside, work in or have accepted employment in Columbia County. 
  • Working Preference – Households where the head, spouse, or co-head is employed at least 20 hours per week. 
  • Elderly or Disabled Preference – As required by HUD, families where the head or spouse, or sole member is a person age 62 or older, or a person with disabilities , will also be given the benefit of the working preference.  
  • Involuntary Displaced – Persons who have been involuntarily displaced from their previous residence as the result of fire, natural disaster, or governmental action, so long as the displacement was not caused, in whole or in part, by any action or failure to act on the part of the person so displaced, or by any action or failure to act on the part of any member of the immediate family of the person so displaced?

For more information, visit the CCHA website.

Sources: This information was verified by the CCHA, on April 19, 2022.

Service Area

This waiting list is for Public Housing rental assistance in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. Apartments offered through this waiting list are only located within this service area.

Last Updated on 04/19/2022.

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About Columbia County Housing Authority

700 Sawmill Road, Bloomsburg, PA (570) 784-9373

Columbia County Housing Authority provides affordable housing for up to 483 low and moderate income households through its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) and Public Housing programs..

Housing Authority Jurisdiction

Low-income housing managed by Columbia County Housing Authority is located in Columbia County, PA.

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

About the Columbia County Housing Authority Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program

As of the HUDs most recent Voucher Management System report, Columbia County Housing Authority manages 375 active Housing Choice Vouchers.

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

Standard Ported Out
Vouchers 374 1
Monthly Cost Per Voucher $415 $1,884
Monthly Cost $155,364 $1,884
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 13% having issued approximately 27 vouchers in the past year. The average voucher holder has received housing benefits for 7 years and 4 months. According to the 2016 PSH database, persons who were issued a voucher in the preceding 12 months waited an average of 19 months on the waiting list1.

Income Characteristics

According to 2016 Q4 Picture of Subsidized Households data, the average voucher household contains 1.8 persons and has a household income of $13,055 per year. 96% of households were very low income (VLI) and 60% were extremely low income (ELI). 17% of households had wages as a major source of income, 2% of households had welfare (TANF, General Assistance or Public Assistance) as their primary source of income, and 78% of households had other income (Social Security, Disability or Pension) as their major source of income.

Heads of Household Characteristics

4% of households were headed by a person 24 years old or less, 37% were headed by a person 25 to 49 years old, 18% were headed by a person 51 to 60 years old, and 42% were headed by a person 62 years old or older. In addition, 6% of households were headed by a person 85 years old or older.

28% of households included children, 3% of which had two adults in the household. 25% of households with children have a female head of household. 79% of all households were headed by a female.

8% of all voucher households were headed by minorities with 5% of all heads of households being Black and -1% being Hispanic.

Of all households participating in the Columbia County Housing Authority Housing Choice Voucher program, 37% include at least one person with a disability. 61% of households with a head of household 61 years or less were headed by a person with a disability. 59% of households headed by someone 62 or older were headed by a person with a disability.

Bedroom Size and Overhousing

56% of voucher holders reside in a home with zero or 1 bedroom, 27% with 2 bedrooms and 16% with 3 or more bedrooms. 8% 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 Columbia County Housing Authority voucher holders in 2016 was $313 and the average monthly HUD expenditure per voucher holder was $469. The average utility allowance across all voucher recipients is $186.

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.