POTTSVILLE — The Pottsville Housing Authority announced that the wait list for its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program will be closed starting April 30.
The housing authority said wait lists will close at 4 p.m. April 30 due to a great demand for housing assistance that “far exceeds the funding provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.” The authority said hundreds of people are currently on the wait list.
“Closing the waiting list will help make the lists more manageable and give applicants more realistic expectations about how long they might wait before being selected,” the PHA said in a statement.
When the wait list re-opens, the Pottsville Housing Authority will make an announcement via social media, pottsvillehousing.net, news releases and a public notice.
While the wait list for Section 8 is closed, the PHA’s public housing program is still available. PHA manages about 509 rental housing units in Pottsville. Public housing residents pay no more than 30% of their adjusted gross income for rent and basic utilities.
Those interested can apply at the PHA office at 410 Laurel Blvd., Pottsville, or online at papottsville.tenmast.com/apply.
Lack of housing is nagging problem
Section 8 housing inventory has been a persistent problem in Schuylkill and surrounding counties in recent years.
Last year, the Housing Authority of the County of Luzerne closed its Section 8 wait list indefinitely.
In September 2023, Schuylkill County Housing Authority Executive Director Thomas F. Hale described a critical shortage of housing options for prospective Section 8 tenants. Hale said that many units fail to meet Section 8 criteria, and many property owners don’t pay for necessary repairs.
Another problem, according to Hale, is that Schuylkill has a very low Fair Market Rent, or the cost to rent affordable housing units, as established by HUD. The 2024 Fair Market Rent rates were $663 for a one-bedroom unit, $858 for two bedrooms and $1,129 for three bedrooms.
In 2023, the average wait time for subsidized housing in Pennsylvania was one year and 9 months, according to HUD.
Officials with the Pottsville Housing Authority were not available for comment Friday.