Waiting Lists
When an individual or family applies for housing with the Worcester Housing Authority, our staff places them on one or more waiting lists.
The WHA maintains waiting lists in accordance with fair housing rules. The waiting lists implements preferences and priorities and specifies the order in which apartment offers are made to the applicants. The waiting list also assists in ensuring that admissions are conducted in compliance with fair housing laws.
Our waiting lists contain enough information and are organized in a manner that allows us to accurately identify and select families in the proper order. The waiting lists easily permit us to identify which applicants need which type of community (i.e. family, elderly), size and type of apartment, and the priority or preference of each applicant.
Eligible applicants are placed on the waiting list in order of date and time of the application. Any preferences or priorities for which the applicant qualifies also impact an applicant’s position on the waiting list. Where two or more applicants qualify for the same preference or priority, the application date and time will be the deciding factor in placement on the waiting list.
The WHA maintains waiting lists for a variety of federal and state subsidized public and leased housing programs. All of our program waiting lists are maintained by bedroom size ranging from single room occupancy or congregate style housing to 5-bedroom units in our family developments. At the time of application, applicants are placed on all open program waiting lists that fit the need of the applicant household. At any one time an applicant may be on multiple waiting lists.
The chart below illustrates the housing programs the WHA administers and the bedroom sizes that may be available for each program. The WHA regularly reviews all its waiting lists and determines whether or not to open or close a waiting list.
Public Housing Programs / Bedroom SizeCongregate / Studio / 1 BR / 2 BR / 3BR / 4BR / 5BR
Federal Family / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes
Federal Elderly Only / Yes / Yes / Yes
Federal Mixed / Yes / Yes / Yes
Federal Wheelchair / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes
State Family / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes
State Elderly/Handicapped / Yes / Yes / Yes
State Wheelchair / Yes / Yes / Yes
Leased Housing Programs / Bedroom Size
Studio / 1 BR / 2 BR / 3BR / 4BR / 5BR
Federal Section 8 Voucher / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes
Federal Section 8 Project Based / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes
Federal Section 8 Wheelchair / Yes / Yes / Yes
State AHV Program / Yes
State MRVP (Mobile) / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes
State MRVP (Project Based) / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes
For more information, visit our Admissions Office located at 40 Belmont Street
or call us at 508-635-3300.