By Post Staff

The Oakland Housing Authority will hold a lottery for 5,000 new spots on the Section 8 voucher waitlist, which low-income households can use to pay part of their rent.

Applications will be accepted Jan. 7 through Jan. 26 for the new spots on the list. The last time the waitlist opened was in 2011.

Recipients of the Section 8 vouchers, now called Housing Choice Vouchers pay 30-40% of their monthly income rent and utilities, while the voucher will cover the rest.

Interested individuals and households can apply online or in person at Oakland Housing Authority locations: including at 1327 65th Ave., 1540 Webster St., and 935 Union St. (See dates and times online.)

The Housing Authority “encourages every family seeking affordable housing in Oakland to apply to the waiting list lottery,” Spokesperson Kelsey Frost said. “We have staff to assist with the process, including in-person application kiosks at several locations, multilingual translation, and assistance for persons who may need additional support with the process.”

At the close of the application period, the housing authority will conduct a lottery to select the 5,000 households that will be placed on the waitlist. Depending on their spot on the list, selected households could receive a voucher in a few weeks or have to wait for years.

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Eligible applicants must make under 50% of the median income for the area, which is under $77,850 for a family of four or under $62,300 for a family of two.

For information on applying for Section 8, call  customer service at 510-587-2100 or go online to  LHcustomerservice@oakha.org  or https://myohaportal.oakha.org.

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