About Chattanooga Housing Authority

The Chattanooga Housing Authority is a Section 8 and Public Housing Public Housing Agency in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The Chattanooga Housing Authority serves Hamilton County, Chattanooga, East Ridge, Ooltewah, Soddy–daisy, Apison, Collegedale, Fairmount, Falling Water, Flat Top Mountain, Harrison, Lakesite, Lookout Mountain, Middle Valley, Mowbray Mountain, Red Bank, Ridgeside, Sale Creek, Signal Mountain, Soddy Daisy and Walden.

Chattanooga Housing Authority Waiting Lists

Public Housing Waiting List: Open Indefinitely

The Chattanooga Housing Authority (CHA) is currently accepting Public Housing waiting list applications.

The CHA offers 17 Public Housing communities with 2,873 units.

To apply, download and print the online application here.

Once the application has been completed, it can be mailed to PO Box 1486, Chattanooga, TN 37401, or hand delivered to any of the management offices that are listed on the last page of the application.

This waiting list has the following preferences: Require an apartment that provides accommodation for handicap/disabled persons, require witness protection as requested and documented by a law enforcement entity, displaced by natural disaster, displaced by government action, employed consistently for one year.

For more information, visit the CHA website, or call the office at (423) 752-4893.

Last Updated on 03/10/2017.

Hamilton County, Tennessee Housing Choice Voucher Waiting List: Closed

The Chattanooga Housing Authority (CHA) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher waiting list is currently closed. It was last open for one day in March 2017; and prior to that for one day in October 2015, and for one day in January 2015. 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. The application was available online only. Paper applications were not available or accepted.

There are no preferences.

1,000 applicants were placed on the waiting list by random lottery.

The CHA will publish the waiting list results here on April 3, 2017 at 12:00 pm ET. The waiting list will identify households with a number that includes the head of household's first and last initials and last four digits of their Social Security Number. If you do not find your household on the list, you were not added to the waiting list.

Waiting list status information is only available on the CHA website. Do not call the CHA office for waiting list status information.

For more information, visit the CHA website, or call the office at (423) 752-4893.

Last Updated on 04/03/2017.

About the Chattanooga Housing Authority Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program

As of the most recent VMS report, Chattanooga Housing Authority manages 3,612 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 3,218 18 5 48 82 236
Monthly Cost Per Voucher $528 $301 $119 $591 $425 $441
Monthly Cost $1,698,068 $5,412 $596 $28,345 $34,845 $104,130

Household Characteristics of Voucher Holders for Chattanooga Housing Authority

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 277 vouchers in the past year. The average voucher holder has received housing benefits for 6 years and 8 months. According to the 2016 PSH database, persons who were issued a voucher in the preceding 12 months waited an average of 16 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 $10,916 per year. 96% of households were very low income (VLI) and 74% were extremely low income (ELI). 32% 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

5% of households were headed by a person 24 years old or less, 63% were headed by a person 25 to 49 years old, 19% were headed by a person 51 to 60 years old, and 14% were headed by a person 62 years old or older. In addition, 0% of households were headed by a person 85 years old or older.

57% of households included children, 1% of which had two adults in the household. 55% of households with children have a female head of household. 87% of all households were headed by a female.

84% of all voucher households were headed by minorities with 82% of all heads of households being Black and 0% being Hispanic.

Of all households participating in the Chattanooga Housing Authority Housing Choice Voucher program, 17% include at least one person with a disability. 28% of households with a head of household 61 years or less were headed by a person with a disability. 70% of households headed by someone 62 or older were headed by a person with a disability.

Bedroom Size and Overhousing

16% of voucher holders reside in a home with zero or 1 bedroom, 47% with 2 bedrooms and 38% with 3 or more bedrooms. 24% 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 Chattanooga Housing Authority voucher holders in 2016 was $299 and the average monthly HUD expenditure per voucher holder was $574. The average utility allowance across all voucher recipients is $170.



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 Chattanooga Housing Authority

Oaks at Camden

Image of Oaks at Camden
1655 Mossy Oaks Drive
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Oaks at Camden is a 57 unit low income housing apartment community in Chattanooga.
Some or all apartments in this community are rent subsidized, which means rent is income based.
Public Housing Project Based Rental Assistance

The Villages at Alton Park Apartments

Image of The Villages at Alton Park Apartments
3750 Hughes Avenue
Chattanooga, Tennessee
The Villages at Alton Park Apartments is a 275 unit low income housing apartment community that provides 1-4 bedroom apartments for rent in Chattanooga.
Some or all apartments in this community are rent subsidized, which means rent is income based.
Public Housing Project Based Rental Assistance

Mary Walker Towers

2505 S Market St
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Mary Walker Towers is a 160 unit low income housing apartment community in Chattanooga.
Some or all apartments in this community are rent subsidized, which means rent is income based.
Public Housing Project Based Rental Assistance

Gateway Towers

1100 Gateway Ave
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Gateway Towers is a 199 unit low income housing apartment community in Chattanooga.
Some or all apartments in this community are rent subsidized, which means rent is income based.
Public Housing Project Based Rental Assistance

College Hill

801 W Main St
Chattanooga, Tennessee
College Hill is a 497 unit low income housing apartment community in Chattanooga.
Some or all apartments in this community are rent subsidized, which means rent is income based.
Public Housing Project Based Rental Assistance