Analysis by Nathan Brunet
Last Updated: February, 23rd 2024
The Panhandle Community Services (PCS) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher waiting list is currently open. Applications are being accepted from April, 2018, until further notice.
To apply during the opening period, pick up an application at any Panhandle Community Services location. Information on each service center can be found here.
This waiting list has the following preferences:The Elderly, Persons with Disabilities, Working/Employed, Persons Who Live or Work in the Panhandle counties of Texas, Victims of Domestic Violence, Those Displaced by Natural Disaster.
Applicants will be placed on the waiting list by date and time of application, by order of preferences.
For more information, visit the PCS website.
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The application may be completed in person at www.pcsvcs.org/contact .
The application may be picked up in person at www.pcsvcs.org/contact .
The application may be printed out from http://www.pcsvcs.org/images/uploads/documents/HCVP_English_Application.pdf.
Texas Panhandle has preferences for: Elderly, Displaced by Natural Disaster, Victims of Domestic Violence, Live, Work, or Attend School Locally, Working/Employed, Disabled. Preferences are not required but Section 8 Voucher applicants that meet these criteria will be moved up the waiting list.
Texas Panhandle Section 8 Voucher Waiting List is managed by Panhandle Community Services.
Panhandle Community Services provides affordable housing for up to 2,001 low- and moderate-income households through its public housing programs.
This housing agency serves Armstrong County, Briscoe County, Carson County, Castro County, Childress County, Collingsworth County, Dallam County, Deaf Smith County, Donley County, Gray County, Hall County, Hansford County, Hartley County, Hemphill County, Hutchinson County, Lipscomb County, Moore County, Ochiltree County, Oldham County, Parmer County, Potter County, Randall County, Roberts County, Sherman County, Swisher County, Wheeler County, Texas.
After applying, it's a good practice to keep a record of any application that you submit. This will help you keep track of your application, and is especially useful if you apply to multiple waiting lists. You can do this easily with a document on your computer or mobile device, and also with a notebook or piece of paper.
Make sure to write down your application or confirmation number with the application details. This number will be important to reference in the future. Once you have this information written, keep it stored in a place that's easy to access when you need it.
With this information safely stored, all you have left to do is wait to find out if you've been selected for the waiting list.
Depending on the area, it may take weeks or even months to know if you've been selected for the waiting list. Your wait for an announcement is usually the longest in areas with large populations and a high demand for housing assistance.
Check if the public notice states when the housing authority plans to announce the results, or how long it may take to review applications. Contact the housing authority if this information isn't available.
Once all applications are reviewed, the housing authority will either contact everyone who has been placed on the waiting list, or message everyone who applied to check their results.
The housing authority will use the contact information you give in the application to reach you (usually by mail, email, or phone). For this reason, it is very important to put valid contact information on your application. Make sure you keep your contact information up to date, and that you respond quickly if any further action is required.
If you don't get contacted by the housing authority, it might mean that you were not chosen for the waiting list. Sometimes, housing authorities do not contact applicants who were not placed on the waiting list. Check with the housing authority for confirmation.
To check your status on the waiting list, you usually have to log into an online portal, call a phone number, or visit the office. Each housing authority has different ways for you to check your status.
Some housing authorities will give your spot on the waiting list, but others might only confirm that you're still on the waiting list. Make sure that you have your application or confirmation number with you when checking your status.
The wait to reach the top of this waiting list will be different for everyone.
This waiting list has at least one preference, so those who qualify will have a shorter wait than those who don't. After sorting preferences, applicants are placed on the waiting list by date and time the application was received by the housing authority. So applying soon after the waiting list opens will give you a shorter wait than those who wait to apply after you.
If you are closer to the top of the waiting list, your wait may be just weeks or months long. But if you're closer to the end of the waiting list, it could take years to reach the top.
To update your waiting list application, you usually have to log into an online portal, call a phone number, or submit a form to the office. Each housing authority has different ways for you to update your application.
Make sure that you have your application or confirmation number with you when updating your application.
You can apply for a waiting list that is open until further notice while it stays open for an unknown period of time. Usually, the housing authority is accepting applications until the waiting list closes, but some of these waiting lists never close.
To apply in person, a paper form must be completed at a location set by the housing authority. This place may be a housing authority office, local government building, or another location that is helping with the waiting list opening.
To pick up an application, you must visit a location set by the housing authority to pick up a paper form. This place may be a housing authority office, local government building, or another location that is helping with the waiting list opening. The application must be completed and sent back to the housing authority according to their instructions.
To print out an application, a paper form must be printed from a device that is connected to the internet. This document is usually in the form of a .doc, docx, or .pdf. The application must be completed and sent back to the housing authority according to their instructions.
A waiting list sorted by date and time orders applicants who are selected for the waiting list by the date and time the housing authority receives the application. Those who apply earlier will generally be placed higher on the waiting list.
If you are considering applying for a voucher, you may be interested to know who already has a voucher, and what the households tend to look like. Fortunately, we can provide some helpful statistics using HUD's 2023 Picture of Subsidized Households. The following data describes the economic and demographic characteristics of renters who have a Section or project-based voucher issued by Panhandle Community Services.
At the start of 2024, Panhandle Community Services was managing 2,071 Section 8 vouchers. Of the total number of vouchers managed, there were 1,678 households with a voucher. This represents 81% of the total voucher allotment for Panhandle Community Services.
According to HUD, there is a total of 3,774 people living in households with a Section 8 voucher issued by Panhandle Community Services, with the average number of people per household being 2.
The 1,678 households with a Section 8 voucher at the start of 2024 waited on average 11 months to receive their voucher. Of those voucher-holding households, 369 got their voucher in the last year. This represents 22 percent of voucher holders with vouchers issued by Panhandle Community Services.
Though Section 8 voucher programs are over-subscribed across the nation with all programs having a waiting list, each month, each housing agency managing vouchers has vouchers that are not issued to renters. This can result from turnover in the program if someone with a voucher buys a home, sees an increase in their income, passes away, or otherwise discontinues the use of their voucher.
The time it takes to transfer voucher funding from one recipient to another can be many months. Managing the Section 8 waiting list, qualifying new voucher holders, and approving new homes or apartments takes time. In addition, in some areas, there is an extreme housing shortage or landlords may refuse to rent to persons using a Section 8 voucher to pay their rent. This results in longer than usual ramp-up times for new voucher holders.
The Panhandle Community Services Section 8 HCV program that this waiting list covers had 81% of its vouchers utilized by households with 19% unutilized at the start of 2024. This means that 393 Section 8 vouchers out of a total of 2,071 were in processing at the time HUD reported the data.
Of the 1,678 Section 8 voucher-holding households with the Panhandle Community Services, 953 have at least one child. There are 62 two-parent households in the Panhandle Community Services voucher program, and 891 single-parent households. There were 891 households with children with a female head of household.
The average annual household income for Panhandle Community Services Section 8 Voucher holders is $14,916 The average annual income per person is $6,683 The average voucher holder earns 23% of the local Area Median Income.
| Annual Income Range ($) | Number of Households | % of Vouchers |
|---|---|---|
| Less than $5,000 | 134 | 8% |
| $5,000 - $9,999 | 168 | 10% |
| $10,000 - $14,999 | 654 | 39% |
| $15,000 - $19,999 | 268 | 16% |
| $20,000+ | 453 | 27% |
Of all voucher holders, 642 (31%) receive the majority of their income from wages and/or business. 0 (0%) voucher-holding households receive the majority of their income from welfare programs like TANF, General Assistance or Public Assistance. 1,222 (59%) voucher-holding households derive the majority of their income from some other source (other than wage or welfare).
The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program pays 70% of the cost of rent plus utilities for any household receiving the housing assistance.
For the Panhandle Community Services Section 8 program, the federal government is providing, on average, $667 per month to each household, for an average annual cost of $8,004. The program as a whole is paying landlords $1,119,226 per month, for an annual economic benefit to landlords of $13,430,712
HUD refers to the portion of rent paid by the Section 8 tenant as the Total Tenant Payment, or Family Expenditure.
For the Panhandle Community Services Section 8 HCV programs, the average family expenditure is $362 per month or $4,344 per year. The combined payment from all tenants in the program is $607,436 per month, which is $7,289,232 per year.
The average total rent paid to Section 8 landlords is $1,029 per month which includes payment contributed by both tenant households and the federal government. This is a program-wide rent average across all bedroom size rentals.
The average cost of utilities for renters in this program is $119 per month. It is important to note this is not the actual cost renters will pay for utilities, but an estimate based on the energy cost estimates of the program.
Of the 2,071 households with a Section 8 voucher, 537 (32%) live in a studio or one-bedroom unit, 587 (35%) rent a 2-bedroom rental home and 537 (32%) have a 3-bedroom or larger rental. 22% of Housing Choice Voucher recipients are overhoused with more bedrooms than people in the household.
61% of Panhandle Community Services Section 8 HCV program households have a minority head of household who is Black, Native American, Asian or Pacific Islander; or of Hispanic ethnicity.
| Race | Number of Households | % of Households |
|---|---|---|
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0 | 0% |
| Black Non-Hispanic | 453 | 27% |
| Native American/Alaskan | 17 | 1% |
| White Non-Hispanic | 654 | 39% |
| Black Hispanic | 17 | 1% |
| White Hispanic | 503 | 30% |
| Other Hispanic | 17 | 1% |
| Age Range of Head of Household | Number of Households | % of Households |
|---|---|---|
| Under 24 | 84 | 5% |
| 25-50/td> | 788 | 47% |
| 51-61 | 319 | 19% |
| 62-84 | 470 | 28% |
| 85 or Older | 17 | 1% |
Always check the program's income limit.
Most federal housing programs serve renters earning 80% or less of the Area Median Income (AMI), or less.Kimberly Leighton says:
"I rely on Affordable Housing Online to keep me aware of housing opportunities that I would otherwise have no clue exist."