The Lancaster County Housing Authority has posted on its website the numbers of the 500 applications that it is adding to its housing voucher waiting list.
The 500 were selected randomly from among the 3,291 responses the authority received when it opened the waitlist last week, the first time it had been opened since 2007.
As vouchers become available, they will be offered to the 500 applicants in order. Applicants will be notified by mail; to receive vouchers, they must meet the program’s income limits.
In 2007, the authority put all the applications it received on its list, resulting in a backlog that took more than 15 years to clear. To avoid that this time around, the authority said it would limit the list to 500, a manageable figure.
Housing Choice, also known as Section 8, is a federally funded program for low-income renters. Tenants use the vouchers to secure leases from private landlords. They pay a reduced rent, with funding through the voucher making up the difference.
