Rochester Housing Authority Announces Enhanced Waiting List

ROCHESTER NY (WROC) — Tuesday at the Rochester Housing Authority on West Main Street, County Executive Adam Bello, Mayor Malik Evans and City Council President Miguel Melendez joined RHA Executive Director Shawn Burr, to announce a soon-to-be-opened waitlist for the Housing Choice Voucher program, previously known as Section 8.

This federally funded HUD program will pay a portion of the cost of rent for low-income households.

Leaders say they expect about 25,000 residents to apply, but of that group, only 4,000 will be selected for the waitlist.

“So don’t miss it.” It’s a 1 in 5 chance for you to have access to this voucher. The odds are better than the lottery and it’s free,” Melendez said.

Eligibility of applicants will be based on total annual gross income and family size.

“Once selected, we determine their eligibility. So that’s the first thing once they’re determined to be eligible, they go through a training process, they get a voucher, and then they get instructions on what to do next,” Burr said.

Executive Director Shawn Burr explains that after that comes the search for a private landlord who will provide housing for Section 8 beneficiaries, followed by an inspection of the unit before moving in, and then finally a negotiation with the owner on the rent.

He says the old RHA would open its waiting list and accept everyone who applied until the list reached zero, then reopen it, which could take up to 10 to 12 years. This new waiting list, according to him, is more efficient

“So what we did was develop a process where we would open a waiting list, randomly select 3 or 4,000 people based on how many we needed, given that time frame, out of all candidates, then every 3 to 4 years we would do the same thing over and over again,” Burr said.

Applications for the waiting list open this Thursday, May 23 at noon. The deadline to apply for the voucher program will be Friday, June 7 at 4 p.m.