New approach creates an ongoing application opportunity

On Wednesday, January 17, 2024 the Seattle Housing Authority will open application to families and individuals for a chance to receive a Housing Choice Voucher (formerly known as a Section 8 voucher), which provides rental assistance for people with low incomes to rent from landlords throughout the Seattle rental market.

Application will be available online through SHA’s website at seattlehousing.org. Application is free. If any website asks for money to complete an application, it is not the correct site. To avoid misleading websites applicants should type seattlehousing.org into an internet browser. Applicants will be required to establish an SHA Portal user account on SHA’s website to log in and apply to the voucher list.

The opportunity to apply for a chance to receive a voucher will be ongoing, which differs from SHA’s previous process in which registration was open for a few weeks every few years and a single random drawing was conducted to create a number-ordered wait list for a set number of vouchers.

Under the new process, applicants on the list will be chosen at random when vouchers are available. The number of applicants selected in each drawing will vary, depending on the number of vouchers available. The chance of being drawn is the same no matter when households apply. Random selection ensures that all applicants have an equal chance of being drawn at any time. People may apply to the list any time effective January 17, 2024. The open application opportunity will be available for families and individuals whenever they wish to apply.

Application is open to adults 18 years or older or emancipated minors, no matter where they currently live, however applicants selected for a voucher will initially be required to use the voucher within the city of Seattle for a minimum of one year. Applicants with a total household income greater than 50 percent of Area Median Income are not eligible for a voucher.

SHA will review eligibility and verify income at the time applicants are selected from the list. Applicants who meet the voucher program eligibility requirements and meet the program preferences will be served. Those preferences are applicants with a total household income of 30 percent or less of Area Median Income at the time of selection or for the 12 months prior to selection and applicants who are homeless at the time of selection or have been in the prior 12 months. Applicants with a total household income of 31 through 50 percent will be returned to the list until all eligible applicants who meet the preferences have been served. Applicants with a total household income above 50 percent are not eligible for a voucher and will be removed from the list.

Information in multiple languages and answers to Frequently Asked Questions can be found at seattlehousing.org. Applicants who need assistance applying online, want a paper application, want to apply in person, need accommodation for a disability, or need translation or an interpreter can contact SHA’s Housing Choice Voucher staff at 206.239.1674 or by email at voucherlist@seattlehousing.org.