Struggling to pay rent in Thurston? Here’s your chance to get on a wait list for aid
For the first time in five years, Thurston County is adding people to its waiting lists for housing rental assistance.
The waiting lists are for federally funded programs that allow tenants to pay between 30 and 40 percent of their income toward rent while the Housing Authority of Thurston County pays the rest of the bill directly to landlords.
In 2016, 45 percent of households in Thurston County were spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs while earning less than 80 percent of the county’s median family income — what’s considered “cost burdened” — according to the Thurston Regional Planning Council. That represents more than 46,000 households.
Households below 50 percent of the median income for Thurston County are eligible for the assistance programs. According to the Housing Authority, income limits for applicants are $29,300 for a single person, $33,500 for a two-person household, $37,700 for a three-person household, and so on.
Applications close Jan. 29, then a computerized lottery will determine who gets spots on the waiting lists. But getting on a list doesn’t mean you’ll immediately start getting help with rent.
The waiting lists last opened in 2015, Rental Assistance Program Director Karen McVea told The Olympian. The authority received over 2,400 applications that year, and a lottery pulled 1,000 names onto the lists.
The Housing Authority can serve a new family when another family goes off the program, McVea said, which can happen for a variety of reasons. It could be that someone “graduated” and doesn’t need assistance anymore, which McVea called the “perfect outcome.” People can remain on the program as long as they qualify.
It has taken the Housing Authority five years to serve the people drawn in the last lottery who haven’t found other housing or moved, McVea said. This time around, she hopes to reopen the list again in three years.
The wait list for the Housing Choice Voucher program, also known as Section 8, has the most spots available, at 800. It’s the most flexible of the programs, says McVea, and renters can choose where they live within certain parameters. Money from this program generally goes to for-profit landlords, she said.
“It’s not designed to give you the Taj Mahal,” said McVea. “It’s designed to give you safe, affordable, secure housing.”
Hundreds more spots are opening on lists for Project-Based Voucher assistance programs, which are tied to particular complexes, such as Evergreen Vista Apartments in Olympia. Those tenants can request to move onto a Section 8 voucher at the end of a year, McVea said.
The most restrictive of the programs is Moderate-Rehabilitation, McVea said, which is solely tied to the Martin Terrace Apartments.
McVea suggests applicants put in for all waiting lists, since staff automatically bypasses those who don’t qualify for a given program.
The Housing Authority expects to see plenty of interest: Tacoma opened wait lists about a month ago, McVea said, and had more than 4,000 applicants. She expects Thurston County will see between 2,000 and 4,000.
Applications are available online at wathurstonco.tenmast.com/apply. For those without Internet access, an announcement from the Housing Authority suggests visiting the Authority’s office at 1206 12th Ave. SE in Olympia, visiting a library to use a computer, or asking family and friends for assistance.
There is no charge to apply, and there’s no advantage to applying first, according to the news release. However, preference is given to Thurston County residents and people who work in the county, along with several other specific populations, such as families with children, single pregnant individuals, and victims of domestic violence.
Notification of lottery selection will go out by March 31, according to the Housing Authority.
This story was originally published January 16, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
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