What kind of demand is there for affordable housing on Oahu?
Consider this: Nearly 12,000 people have signed up for rental assistance six days into the weeklong open period for applying to the city’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program, officials said Tuesday.
"It speaks volumes," said city Community Services Director Pam Witty-Oakland.
Applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. Wednesday.
Another reason stoking demand is that the program hasn’t been opened up for applications in nine years. That’s when the city closed its waitlist after more than 10,000 families applied.
"It’s taken this long to go through the waitlist," said city spokesman Jesse Broder Van Dyke.
Being chosen to be on the waitlist now does not guarantee an immediate voucher, officials said. A predetermined number of applications will be randomly selected to be placed onto the current waitlist.
There are expected to be between 200 and 500 slots available in the next few years, depending on the availability of funding and affordable housing, officials said. Applicants can sign up online at tinyurl.com/q22sh98.
Those without computer access may use a terminal available at the city’s Section 8 offices at 842 Bethel St. and at Kapolei Hale from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Several nonprofit agencies have also agreed to provide access to computer terminals for applicants.
For those locations, go to the city’s Section 8 Web page at www.honolulu.gov/ dcs/housing.html.
The site also lists the income limits for which a family or individual can be eligible to receive the vouchers.
The typical rental voucher in Honolulu is $1,000, with a family contributing about the same amount, Witty-Oakland said.
The "housing choice" feature of the program, part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Section 8 program, allows voucher holders some flexibility in selecting where they want to live, officials said.
