Houston’s affordable housing waitlist application opens Jan.15
A resident walks through Cuney Homes on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, in Houston. Cuney Homes is one of 10 places available on the waiting list for applicants in need of affordable housing.
Brett Coomer/Staff Photographer
The Houston Housing Authority will open its long-awaited affordable housing waiting list on Sunday, January 15 at 12pm CT in response to rising rent prices across the city and residents seeking assistance. According to HHA, the application portal will be open until Wednesday, February 14, at 4:00 p.m.
The Houston Housing Authority is the city’s affordable housing development program. Eligible applicants include low- to moderate-income individuals, families, seniors, and people with disabilities. There are also various housing options, including bungalows, mid-rises and high-rises, based on family size.
Online applications at the HHA website and hard copy applications at the HHA administration office are available during office hours Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM for eligible candidates. The administration building is located at 2640 Fountain View Drive, Houston, Texas 77057, in Uptown Houston, near Tanglewood.
How to apply:
All applicants must create and maintain a login and password to check the status of their application. When waitlisted, applicants must submit changes through the online portal. Changes in an application refer to contact number, address, family size and other details. Updates on applicants’ application status will be provided via post or email. The application status comes in many languages besides English, including Spanish, Mandarin, Vietnamese and Swahili. If another language is needed, prospective applicants may call the HHA hotline at 713-260-0353 or [email protected]. People who are hard of hearing can call 711 TTY. There is no limit to how many public housing locations an applicant can apply for. After creating an account, an applicant can select all desired fields. One application per family; if an applicant’s name appears on multiple applicants, they may be removed from the waiting list. After applying, applicants can expect an email, text message or letter confirming that their application has been received by the Department of Public Housing. The applicant must also update their application as soon as possible in light of any changes.
There are currently 10 properties on the Public Housing waiting list open throughout Harris County, including senior apartments available in the north end, bungalows in the Third Ward and apartments in the Museum District.
The open portal comes after the County was forced to close the application in 2018 due to a lack of affordable housing. Home ownership in the county has become increasingly scarce as landlords snap up single-family homes, many converting them to multi-family rental properties.
Overall, housing affordability for all socio-economic groups continues to be an ongoing problem in the city as supply chain issues and an influx of new residents drive home prices higher.
According to an October 2022 report by the Greater Houston Partnership, Houston ranks fifth on the list of metropolitan areas with the highest percentage of families living in poverty. Exactly 11.2 percent of the 7.2 million people in the Houston-Woodlands-Sugarland area live below the poverty line.
The 2021 U.S. Census Bureau reported that 19.5 percent of Harris County residents were in poverty and the median household income was $56,019.
