LONGVIEW — After opening the wait list for the first time in four years, Housing Opportunities of Southwest Washington received more than 1,300 applications last week, according to the agency.
The housing authority, which services Cowlitz, Lewis, Pacific and Wahkiakum counties, allowed people to apply online for the Section 8 housing voucher wait list last week. Housing Opportunities doesn’t serve Kelso or Kalama, which fall under the Kelso Housing Authority.
Housing Opportunities last opened the wait list for the Section 8 vouchers in December 2018, when it received more than 900 applications. Of those, 128 remained in early April.
In the past, it was difficult for some residents to make it to the Longview office to apply in person, Jennifer Westerman, Housing Opportunities chief executive officer, said in early April. The online option “worked wonderfully,” said Cecilia Larson, rent assistance manager.
“In previous years, we had people camping overnight and extremely long lines of people coming to our office,” Larson said in an email. “This time, we had approximately 50 physically come to the office.”
This year, the wait list was open for less than 48 hours and received 1,324 applications. The list likely will last the housing authority two to three years, Westerman said.
Larson said the agency normally anticipates half the applicants will move or no longer need the rental assistance by the time their name comes up. It can be difficult for the agency to contact people when they move because they forget to update their address, she said. The online portal should help those wanting to stay on the list more easily update their contact information.
The demand for rental assistance always is high, Larson said. Several years ago, people seeking vouchers were residents on fixed incomes, but now many working families also need assistance because of the rising cost of rent, she said.
Over the past five years, the average apartment rent price in Cowlitz County increased about 17% from $820 a month in 2017 to $956 a month in 2021, according to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research, run by the University of Washington.
The federal Housing Choice Voucher Program, often called Section 8, provides rental assistance to people with low income based on gross income and family size. A housing subsidy is paid to the landlord by the housing agency that distributes the voucher, and the renter pays the difference, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
It’s become more difficult for people who receive the vouchers to find a place to rent, Larson said. The voucher comes with limits determined by HUD, and rent is typically higher than what the voucher covers, she said. Housing inventory also is low, Larson said.
In fall 2021, Cowlitz County’s apartment vacancy rate was 1.4%, compared to the 5% considered healthy, according to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research report.
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