Housing Authority Opening Low-Cost Housing Waiting Lists

Individuals and households interested in getting financial assistance for housing should mark their calendars for Dec. 15.

The Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) will open waitlists for four different housing programs at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. The waitlist functions as a pre-application lottery system and is not structured as a first-come, first-served system.

Participants in the various housing programs typically pay 30% of their income for rent with HACM covering any gap with federal support.

The programs for which HACM will accept waitlist submissions are housing choice vouchers (Section 8 vouchers), project-based vouchers (for 12 HACM buildings), public housing for seniors and disabled (at seven HACM buildings) and public housing for families (in three different developments).

The waitlists will be used to provide access to HACM’s in-demand rental units and housing vouchers. HACM provides over 5,500 vouchers to low-income households on an annual basis that pays for individuals or families to live in private housing. The Section 8 voucher is tenant-based, with the holders being able to move to a new building and take the subsidy with them.

To qualify for a voucher, an individual must have an annual income that does not exceed $29,550. To qualify for subsidized public housing, an individual must not have an annual income in excess of $47,250. A graduated scale (included below) is available for larger households.

To join the waitlist an individual must have the first and last name and date of birth for every household member, mailing address, the head of the household’s social security number, a phone number and an email address. The authority refers to it as a pre-application.

The pre-application must be submitted online and HACM recommends using a library if an individual does not have access to a computer or the internet. Milwaukee Public Library‘s central and branch libraries don’t open until 10 a.m. on Wednesdays, but the actual order on the wait list will be determined by lottery.

Anyone who is at least 18 years old and meets the income limits can apply, regardless of where they currently live. After being placed on a list, an individual will be contacted via email once selected and invited to complete an application.

Individuals that previously applied to be on a HACM waitlist are encouraged to apply again.

“Pre-applications may be discontinued at any time if the program reaches capacity,” says HACM in a notice announcing the waitlist offering. A spokesperson told Urban Milwaukee HACM anticipates holding the waitlists open indefinitely and only closing them in an extraordinary circumstance.

Buildings included in the various voucher and public housing offerings are spread across the city and include Convent Hill, Westlawn Gardens, Victory Manor, Hillside Terrace, Parklawn and Riverview. For the project-based vouchers, a waitlist for each property will be established.

Income Limits

Voucher income limits:

Public housing for seniors and persons with disabilities income limits: