The Tacoma Housing Authority (THA) is changing the way it operates in an effort to improve efficiency and access to affordable housing in the Tacoma area.
Beginning Nov. 13, THA will create two separate waiting lists, one for Housing Choice vouchers and another for THA-subsidized housing units.
THA’s Associate Director of Rental Assistance, Nando Ruiz, said the organization currently maintains one waiting list for both.
Ruiz told The News Tribune the separation of lists is intended to both improve choice for families and individuals to help them find the housing solutions they need and to improve the efficiency with which THA is able to connect them to those solutions.
He said the unified waiting list system has been “burdensome” to administer, as those who are selected from the list and contacted by THA often have needs that do not fit what is available at that moment, causing a slowdown in the process.
In the recent past, THA maintained separate waiting lists for households interested in living at THA-owned properties and one for those who wished to receive a Housing Choice voucher. In 2018, facing low voucher utilization rates and a shift to a new software system, THA’s Board of Commissioners approved consolidating all the waiting lists into one.