Deadline Nears For Section 8 Housing Wait List In New Jersey

NEW JERSEY — Seeking affordable housing in New Jersey? People who want to apply for the federally funded Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program have until Feb. 3 to submit their applications.

Earlier this month, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) announced that its Division of Housing and Community Resources will be accepting pre-applications for the statewide Section 8 waiting list.

People can go online at www.WaitlistCheck.com/NJ559 until 5 p.m. on Feb. 3 to submit a preliminary application, which will enter them into a lottery to get on the waiting list for a Section 8 voucher. The voucher can be used statewide for housing.

The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program is a federally-funded program administered by the DCA that provides housing subsidies to New Jersey residents, so they can obtain “decent, safe and sanitary housing.”

According to a news release from the DCA:

“All Section 8 HCV Program pre-applications will be selected through a random lottery process. Applicants who qualify for a preference will receive priority placement on the waiting list. Preferences include United States Armed Forces veterans and their spouses, people experiencing homelessness, domestic violence survivors, local residents, and people with disabilities. A total of 20,000 households will be selected in the random lottery, enabling those households to be added to the waiting list to be awarded vouchers as they become available.”

For more information about the Section 8 open enrollment period in New Jersey, click here.

“We are always proud to partner with the federal government on Section 8 and other programs focused on providing stable housing, which is so fundamental to people’s quality of life,” said Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, who serves as DCA commissioner.

Here are some tips for those applying, state officials said:

• Applicants must be 18 years of age or older to apply or be an emancipated minor. An email address is required to apply. If an applicant does not have one, they can create an email address during the pre-application process.
• The Section 8 HCV pre-application is available in 90 languages, which can be found at www.WaitlistCheck.com/NJ559 at the top right of the pre-application. If an applicant is disabled and needs assistance with submitting their pre-application during the open enrollment period, they can contact DCA at (609) 292-4080 and select Option 9 from the menu from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week to request a reasonable accommodation or send an email to customer.service@dca.nj.gov.
• Applicants selected in the random lottery to be placed on the Section 8 HCV waiting list will be notified via email, which may take several weeks. Applicants can check their status after Feb. 24, 2023, online at www.WaitlistCheck.com/NJ559. At the time of their selection, they must meet the income limits of the county where they want to live and provide proof of residency.
• Only one Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program pre-application per household will be accepted.

At the time of selection from the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program waiting list, applicants must meet the income limits of the county where they will be residing and provide proof of residency, state officials noted (see chart below).

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