More than 9,000 people have signed up for subsidized housing vouchers through a waitlist that opened just a few days ago. The Providence Housing Authority waitlist last opened in 1998.
The housing waitlist opened on Friday online, quickly getting thousands of applicants. Housing officials expect hundreds more to sign up before the waitlist closes back down on Wednesday. Rhode Island Housing and the Providence Housing Authority have about 4,000 vouchers to give out, far fewer than the number of applicants for the program said RI Housing Director Barbara Fields.
“It shows you the demand out there,” said Fields. “That many people are challenged to find a home that meets their family’s budget. And getting a voucher means that they would pay just 30 percent of their income towards the rent.”
The rest of the rent is covered by the voucher. Unlike Section 8 vouchers, which are attached to individual apartments, these housing vouchers are attached to the person said Fields.
“So you take that and you go and find an apartment in the open market,” said Fields. “So if you live in Providence, we hope you’ll live in Providence, but there’s a portability to actually go anywhere in the United States.”
Further, of those 4000 vouchers, many are already in use, so the actual available number is likely to be much smaller.
