New Subsidized Housing Waiting Lists

We are changing the software we use to manage our housing programs. This new software requires that we change our waiting lists. We are removing regional waiting lists, and you can now choose to be on the waiting lists for as many properties as you want. Because the regional waiting lists are being removed, all applicants must choose at least one property.

To stay on the public housing waiting list, we need to know which waiting list(s) you want to be on. KCHA will not automatically put you on a waiting a list: it has to be your choice. Even if you were already on property waiting lists, you must select your properties again to stay on the lists for those properties.

You must let us know your property choices even if they are the same as the properties that you chose before. You can choose all of the same properties, as long as your household size hasn’t changed. But if we don’t hear from you by March 14, 2025, we will cancel your application. We need to know, in writing, either online or with a paper application, which list(s) you want to be on.

Yes, if the properties you choose have units with the number of bedrooms you are qualified for. If you pick properties that don’t have the number of bedrooms you are qualified for, you will not be put on those lists.

Remember that you can only turn down the offer of a unit without good cause one time (see below), so make sure the properties you choose are properties you would like to live in.

When you send us your property choices, your current application date will apply to any lists you choose now, regardless of whether you changed your waiting list choices in the past. That means you will keep your current place in line for any properties that you choose now.

With the new waiting list, you may have different application dates on different property lists, reflecting when you chose each. For example, if you applied to Northridge in 2021 and add Lake House in 2026, you’ll have a 2021 application date on the Northridge list and a 2026 date at Lake House.

Because any properties you add later will have newer application dates, you may want to choose as many properties as you are qualified for in the cities where you want to live.

Yes. You can remove properties from your application at any time. Your place on the list won’t change for the lists you stay on. If you re-add the property later, your application date for that property will be the date you re-added the property.

Yes. Under the old system, if you turned down a unit without good cause then your application was canceled, and you were removed from all public housing lists. This changes with the new system.

Now, you can turn down a unit without good cause one time and still stay on the waiting list. If you turn a unit down without good cause a second time, then we’ll remove you from all KCHA public housing lists.

"Good cause" is what KCHA accepts as a valid reason for turning down an offered unit. We define "good cause" in section 6.L of our Admission and Continued Occupancy Policy (ACOP):

For purposes of determining whether an applicant’s refusal of an offered apartment will affect the placement on the waiting list, Good Cause includes the following:

1. Reasons related to health, proximity to work, school and childcare (for those working or going to school); or,
2. Documented situations where an applicant is temporarily unable to move at the time of the offer (such as major surgery requiring a period of time to recuperate, or serving on a jury.); or,
3. Refusal (turndown) of a zero-bedroom apartment (alcove unit) by a household that includes more than a single (one) individual.
4. Refusal by an applicant who has turned down an offered unit in order to continue participating in the transitional housing program from which they have not yet graduated.
5. Refusal by a mixed family who has turned down an offered unit and who is one of the initially qualified residents involved in the Public Housing to Project-based Section 8 subsidy conversion process for 509 of KCHA’s Public Housing units.

Currently, we display the application date at the top of waiting list for each property to give you an idea of the length of each property’s waiting list.

With the new software, we will be unable to provide the application date at the top of each waiting list. Instead, we will provide the number of applicants on each list. While the subsidized housing program's overall average wait time is more than five years, wait times at each property will vary depending on vacancies.

We do not have a reopening date for new applications yet. When we have a reopening date, we will post it on our website and social media.