The City of Tucson, on Tuesday, Jan. 3, will open the pre-application period for families and individuals seeking to be placed on a waitlist for public housing, and City of Tucson and Pima County Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8). The pre-application period will continue through Tuesday, Jan. 24 and all applications received in this three-week window will be placed in a lottery.

Applicants in the lottery will be randomly selected by computer to be placed on the waitlist in the order they were selected.  Starting in February, the City will begin to select applicants who will then go through the eligibility process to qualify for public housing owned by the City of Tucson, and City and County Housing Choice Vouchers, also known as Section 8. Eligibility is generally based on income guidelines.

“The opening of the waitlist comes at a critical time where many residents are seeking an affordable place to live. Rental housing assistance is a valuable resource which the City is anxious to get this resource out to those who need it the most,” said Liz Morales, director of the City’s Housing and Community Development Department.

Applications will be available in English, Arabic, Cantonese, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, Swahili, and Vietnamese. In addition, assistance will be provided in alternative formats, such as paper applications, large print, braille, or translation/interpreting services. For individuals and families who do not have access to a computer or smartphone, computers will be available during the three weeks throughout the City and in various sites in the County.

Thousands of applications are expected for the waitlist which has been exhausted. This process will provide valuable housing opportunities for many families and individuals in need of secure and reliable housing alternatives. To pre-apply, applicants will not be required to provide social security numbers or any form of payment. One application may be submitted per household. Duplicate applications will be removed.

-Pre-applications will be accepted starting 9 a.m., on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023, Arizona Time and ongoing.

-The online pre-application will be available on Jan. 3.

-All completed pre-applications will receive a confirmation number which should be saved.

-All applications received as of Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, will go through the first lottery process, and will be randomly selected and placed on the waitlist based on the lottery selection. A monthly lottery will be done every month thereafter for placement on the waitlist.

“It is my greatest hope that this information reaches every person in Tucson and Pima County.  We need our community to help spread the word,” HCD Director Morales said.

For questions, email [email protected] or leave a message at 520-791-5840. All calls will be returned within 24 hours of message received. If deaf or hard of hearing, contact AzRelay 7-1-1. More information can be found at waitlist.tucsonaz.gov

The complete public notice can be found here at this site.