People seeking housing assistance in Tacoma soon will have 2 waiting lists to choose from
The Tacoma Housing Authority (THA) is changing the way it operates in an effort to improve efficiency and access to affordable housing in the Tacoma area.
Beginning Nov. 14, THA will create two separate waiting lists, one for Housing Choice vouchers and another for THA-subsidized housing units.
THA’s Associate Director of Rental Assistance, Nando Ruiz, said the organization currently maintains one waiting list for both.
Ruiz told The News Tribune the separation of lists is intended to both improve choice for families and individuals to help them find the housing solutions they need and to improve the efficiency with which THA is able to connect them to those solutions.
He said the unified waiting list system has been “burdensome” to administer, as those who are selected from the list and contacted by THA often have needs that do not fit what is available at that moment, causing a slowdown in the process.
In the recent past, THA maintained separate waiting lists for households interested in living at THA-owned properties and one for those who wished to receive a Housing Choice voucher. In 2018, facing low voucher utilization rates and a shift to a new software system, THA’s Board of Commissioners approved consolidating all the waiting lists into one.
The intent was to try and serve households faster by offering them the first available form of assistance — a voucher or a unit.
“At that time, Tacoma’s rental market was becoming more competitive and THA’s voucher was less desirable than a THA unit,” THA stated in a press release regarding the change. “A consolidated wait list allowed THA to issue vouchers to families who did not originally apply for one.”
Ruiz said previously the waiting list was opened for new applicants every two years, but this fall it will be opened indefinitely for those in need of housing assistance. He said THA anticipates the constant inflow of new applicants will give the agency better data on the community’s housing needs.
He said the system change will require those on the waiting list to regularly update their contact information to aid in an efficient delivery of service. According to THA, about half of the applicants selected from the waiting list do not respond to offers of assistance, which slows down the process.
“We’ve been thinking about these changes for a while,” said Amber Prentice, director of Rental Assistance at Tacoma Housing Authority in a press release statement. “After carefully examining the current processes, response rates, and reviewing over 100 public comments, we are moving forward with these new processes so that families will have the ability to apply to our wait list the moment they find themselves in need of housing assistance.”
THA will conduct random pulls from the waiting list as vouchers and units become available. As a result, it will be impossible to predict how long it will take for households to receive an offer of assistance.
Ruiz emphasized that those who were previously on the waiting list before the change will be prioritized.
Detailed instructions on how to register for the wait lists can be found at the Housing Authority website.
Editor’s Note: The story originally reported the waitlist would open on a date that was incorrect. It has been changed to reflect the accurate date.
This story was originally published October 14, 2024 at 5:15 AM.
