AffordableHousingOnline

Memphis Housing Authority

700 Adams Avenue, Memphis, TN

There are no open waiting lists offered by Memphis Housing Authority. Go to the Tennessee Section 8 Waiting Lists page or the Tennessee Public Housing Waiting Lists page for nearby housing applications.

Closed: Memphis, Tennessee Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Waiting List

The Memphis Housing Authority Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher waiting list is closed.

The MHA last accepted applications for this waiting list from March 21, 2022, until March 25, 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:

  • MHA public housing residents who are required to relocate due to one of the following conditions:
    • As a resident of public housing, the family is living in a unit that has been identified as hazardous to the family because the family has one or more children under the age of six with an Environmental Intervention Blood Lead Level, as defined by 24 CFR Part 35; or, there is a presence of other serious environmental hazards that affect the family’s health or safety. The preference may be given if there are no lead-free units available in any other public housing development. An application preference does not constitute issuance of a voucher. Any voucher issuance is dependent on funding availability.
    • Families (including single persons) who are currently residing in public housing units and who will be displaced by demolition, disposition, rehabilitation, or vacancy.

10,000 applicants were placed on the waiting list by random lottery, weighed by order of preferences.

For more information, visit the MHA website.

Sources: This information was verified by the MHA public notice on March 21, 2022.

Service Area

This waiting list is for Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance in Memphis, Tennessee.

Last Updated on 09/18/2022.

Closed: Public Housing Waiting List

The Memphis Housing Authority (MHA) Public Housing waiting list is currently closed. It is not known when this waiting list was last open, or when it will reopen.

Please note: As of June 11, 2019, on the MHA Public Housing page, there is a "2017 MHA Application Process and Information" link that gives information on how to apply, with a list of communities that have an open waiting list. There is also an "APPLY FOR PUBLIC HOUSING" link in the website's footer, linking to the same information. However, a MHA representative contacted Affordable Housing Online on June 11, 2019, stating, "We do not currently have an open wait list for public housing." The information on the MHA website is incorrect.

For more information, visit the MHA website.

Last Updated on 06/11/2019.

About Memphis Housing Authority

Website: http://memphisha.org/.

Phone: (901) 544-1100.

About the Memphis Housing Authority Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program

As of the HUDs most recent Voucher Management System report, Memphis Housing Authority manages 7,609 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 6,469 24 70 491 104 381
Monthly Cost Per Voucher $548 $406 $671 $571 $828 $369
Monthly Cost $3,543,159 $9,755 $46,969 $280,475 $86,130 $140,777
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 586 vouchers in the past year. The average voucher holder has received housing benefits for 7 years and 9 months. According to the 2016 PSH database, persons who were issued a voucher in the preceding 12 months waited an average of 8 months on the waiting list1.

Income Characteristics

According to 2016 Q4 Picture of Subsidized Households data, the average voucher household contains 2.8 persons and has a household income of $11,712 per year. 94% of households were very low income (VLI) and 73% were extremely low income (ELI). 34% 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 63% 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, 66% were headed by a person 25 to 49 years old, 19% were headed by a person 51 to 60 years old, and 11% 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.

61% of households included children, 1% of which had two adults in the household. 60% of households with children have a female head of household. 90% of all households were headed by a female.

99% of all voucher households were headed by minorities with 95% of all heads of households being Black and 3% being Hispanic.

Of all households participating in the Memphis Housing Authority Housing Choice Voucher program, 14% include at least one person with a disability. 23% of households with a head of household 61 years or less were headed by a person with a disability. 74% of households headed by someone 62 or older were headed by a person with a disability.

Bedroom Size and Overhousing

13% of voucher holders reside in a home with zero or 1 bedroom, 30% with 2 bedrooms and 57% with 3 or more bedrooms. 26% 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 Memphis Housing Authority voucher holders in 2016 was $319 and the average monthly HUD expenditure per voucher holder was $680. The average utility allowance across all voucher recipients is $165.

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.