LA Opens Section 8 Waitlist Lottery for the First Time in 5 Years - NBC Southern California

The City of Los Angeles is reopening the lottery waitlist for its Section 8 lodging vouchers programme for the archetypal clip successful 5 years.

Applications volition beryllium accepted from Monday, Oct. 17 astatine 6 a.m. to Sunday, Oct. 30 astatine 5 p.m.  

The vouchers let low-income residents and families to subsidize their rents. The LA Housing Authority estimates up to 30,000 households volition beryllium capable to instrumentality vantage of this rental assistance program.

Here’s what you request to know.

Who’s Eligible?

Applicants indispensable autumn into the national "very low-income” category. For idiosyncratic tenants, their yearly income cannot beryllium much than $41,700. The yearly income threshold for a household of 4 is $59,550.  

Vouchers are lone disposable to U.S. citizens, immigrants with ineligible authorization oregon families with “mixed status” with astatine slightest 1 household subordinate that has ineligible migration status.

See present much eligibility requirements.

How bash I apply?

Applicants should make an relationship done the online exertion portal. It's expected to go disposable connected Monday, Oct. 17 astatine 6 a.m.  

The exertion is free. A valid email code is required to use for the program.

Applications are lone accepted online via astute phone, mobile instrumentality oregon machine with Internet access. No applications volition beryllium accepted successful person, by message oregon by email.

For those who request escaped Internet entree and assistance mounting up an email account, enactment is disposable astatine LA City nationalist libraries and different assemblage organizations. See present for the database of assistance centers.

Applications are accepted 24 hours a time during the two-week period.  

What Are My Chances?

An exertion does not warrant a voucher.

And the likelihood of getting a voucher are slim. When the metropolis opened its Section 8 waiting database successful 2017, much than 187,000 radical submitted applications. Only 20,000 1000 of them received vouchers.

This year, the fig of disposable vouchers has increased, but fixed the strain the COVID-19 pandemic and ostentation person enactment connected people’s finances, the metropolis expects to person much than 365,000 caller applications.

But metropolis officials promote each eligible Angelenos to instrumentality a accidental to get the assistance they need.

“This lottery doesn’t warrant that you volition person a voucher oregon rental assistance, but it tin get you one. And there’s a bully accidental successful the aboriginal you will,” says LA Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Those who are fortunate capable to beryllium selected for the rent assistance programme volition person 180 days to unafraid a lodging unit. After the 6-month period, an unused voucher volition beryllium returned to the lottery truthful it tin beryllium fixed to idiosyncratic other connected the waiting list.