Featured photo: A Sept. 12 Housing Authority of Winston-Salem board meeting

Next month, the Housing Authority of Winston-Salem’s housing-choice voucher waiting list will reopen. More than 900 people are currently on the waiting list.

According to the housing authority, the waiting list, which last opened in December 2021, will reopen on April 2 at 9 a.m. and close on April 4 at 5 p.m. 

The list has been closed due to the number of applicants.

Interested applicants can apply on haws.org and click here to fill out a preliminary application for a housing choice voucher. Online applications will be available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Russian. If you need help completing the application, please call (336) 727-8500 starting April 2 at 9 a.m. to request an appointment. 

Low-income, elderly or disabled residents are eligible for Section-8 housing choice vouchers. If a tenant qualifies for a Section-8 voucher, their rent and utilities could cost 30 percent of their income while the rest of the bill is footed by the local housing authority. Legally, Section-8 tenants can’t pay more than 40 percent of their adjusted monthly income for rent. Currently, 5.2 million American households receive rental assistance, with approximately 2.3 million of those households receiving a housing choice voucher, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. 

Out of HAWS’ 4,537 total vouchers, 3,368 are leased as of January 31, about 74 percent. North Carolina’s average is 81 percent, according to HAWS. While 52 people were issued vouchers by HAWS in January, 25 people found housing to lease that month.

According to HAWS, Section-8 voucher recipients have a maximum of 120 days to look for housing. Once those 120 days are up, they are removed from the waiting list and have to reapply when it opens up again. According to the organization, there are 934 people currently on the waiting list.

Even with the vouchers, the increased cost of housing can make it difficult for people searching for housing using Section-8 vouchers to find a place they can afford. According to Apartments.com, the average studio apartment in Winston-Salem costs about $997 per month, while a one bedroom comes in at $1,045 per month; a two bedroom costs $1,197 per month. Within the past year, the average rent has decreased by around $4 per month, according to the leasing website. 

At a Feb. 13 board meeting, HAWS Executive Director Kevin Cheshire stated that the organization can “only support housing at a certain rent level.” 

Cheshire clarified that if rent costs about  $3,000 a month, housing-voucher tenants “aren’t even eligible for that.” 

During the meeting, HAWS Vice President Kelly Church said that when the waiting list reopens, they expect their success rate for connecting with people on the waiting list to be 90 percent. Right now, it’s probably 40 percent, Church added, because people on the waiting list have been there for “several years,” she said. 

“They’ve changed their phone number, their email address or mailing address,” she explained. We’re getting all our return mail back, and we just wasted a whole month reaching out to those folks.”

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