Vallejo to reopen Section 8 wait list: What that means for people who need housing

VALLEJO – The Vallejo Housing Authority  announced this month that the waiting list for housing vouchers will open next week for the first time since 2015. 

The online application for the housing waiting list will open here on Tuesday Feb. 20 at 8 a.m. close on March 5 at 5 p.m.

The Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance program – also known as Section 8 – is a federal subsidy that allows eligible families to pay approximately 30 to 40% of their income toward rent. The local public housing agency pays the balance of the rent directly to the landlord.

The applicant’s income must not exceed 50% of the median income for the Vallejo/Fairfield area, which ranges from $40,050 per year for one person, to $75,550 for a family of eight. Applicants must be 18 years or older or legally emancipated, be a U.S. citizen or have eligible immigration status 

It isn’t  clear from the program website if it’s required to be able to pay partial rent, but city spokesperson Christina Lee said that people with no income can apply to be placed on the waiting list.

After the application is closed, the Housing Authority will hold a lottery to determine who will be placed on the wait list to be considered for a voucher. 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development granted 2,358 vouchers to Vallejo. The city will give preference to unhoused individuals and Vallejo residents who work within Vallejo city limits.

An email address is required to complete the application. 

Applicants must also provide a valid phone number, legal address, Social Security number and income information.

Technical support and assistance with email creation will be available in the Vallejo Room below the JFK Library at 505 Santa Clara St.  on Tuesday, Feb. 20, through Friday, Feb. 23, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

A self-help kiosk will be available at the Housing Authority office at 200 Georgia St., Tuesday, Feb. 20 through Tuesday, March 5, weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Paper applications will be available at this office by request. 

To help the unhoused meet the application requirement, the nonprofit group 4th Second will extend the use of their mailing address to all unhoused applicants, and not only to the approximately 80 people enrolled with them for case management.

The Vallejo Together organization has been offering a mailing address to the unhoused for many years, but their mail pickup hours are limited to Fridays from 10 a.m. to noon.

Volunteers from both organizations will be reaching out to the unhoused communities to help get as many people as possible signed up.

The people who are awarded vouchers will next have to find housing and a landlord eligible to accept Section 8 funding. If the applicant’s landlord is not already signed up with the Housing Authority, the property will need to pass an inspection to ensure that it passes HUD housing quality standards. 

The Housing Authority website advises people to check affordablehousing.com.

According to a report in September, in the previous year Vallejo’s housing division provided voucher assistance to 1,416 households

When the wait list was opened in 2015, 21,000 residents signed up. According to the housing division, about half of the households who signed up met the program qualifications. The next wait list will be opened only after the 2024 wait list has been exhausted.

Some landlords are reluctant to rent with people receiving housing assistance, but California’s Fair Housing law was amended in 2020 to prohibit landlords from discriminating against tenants who use federal, state or local subsidies to pay rent. 

In Vallejo, the organization Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California is in charge of screening and investigating discrimination complaints and represents residents in bringing discrimination complaints to the California Civil Rights Department.

Editor's note — this story was updated with information about future wait list opening criteria.