The Oak Park Housing Authority is opening its Housing Choice Voucher waiting list for low-income households from 8:30 a.m. March 4 to 3 p.m. March 15.
It is the first time the list has been opened since 2022.
The program, commonly known as Section 8, is a federal initiative in which the family or individual typically pays 30% of their monthly income toward rent and utilities and OPHA pays the remainder to the property owner, according to the housing authority.
Qualifying individuals, generally those with a gross family income of below 50% of the area median income, will be able to submit a pre-application through an online portal, accessible through the OPHA website. Assistance applying will be available through social service organizations listed on their website, according to David Pope, executive director of the OPHA.
The OPHA will then conduct a randomized drawing to select 150 applicants to be admitted to the waiting list. Nearly 600 households in Oak Park now benefit from this voucher program.
An applicant’s household income, including all individuals’ income within the household, must be less than the following:
- 1-person household: $38,650
- 2-person household: $44,150
- 3-person household: $49,650
- 4-person household: $55,150
- 5-person household: $59,600
- 6-person household: $64,000
- 7-person household: $68,400
- 8-person household: $72,800
If selected, the family will be able to search for suitable units including apartments, condos or single-family units. Voucher recipients are under the same lease obligations as anyone else, according to the OPHA website.
In 2022, the waiting list opened for the first time in 18 years. In 2004, more than 50,000 households applied to be put on the list, pushing the OPHA to create a more streamlined process.
More information about the waiting list can be found at the housing authority’s website.