On Jan. 3, the city of Tucson will begin accepting pre-applications for residents interested in being placed on the waitlist for affordable public housing. 

Individuals and families can select to be placed on two waitlists: One is for Section 8 vouchers for the city of Tucson and Pima County. The other is for affordable housing owned by the city, which includes apartments and single-family units. The human-services program has been closed since 2017, after funding ran out.

Given the basic affordable housing needs for people in Tucson, and across Arizona, officials caution that if a Section 8 or public-housing waitlist pre-application asks for a social security number, a form of payment, or current immigration status, it’s likely a scam, according to a warning posted by the Tucson Department of Housing and Community Development. 

Once the pre-application launches on waitlist.tucsonaz.gov on Jan. 3 at 9 a.m, you will only need to provide:

  • Name;
  • Address;
  • Date of birth;
  • Preferred contact method (phone or email);
  • Information on family members;
  • Household income; and
  • Veteran or disability status (if applicable).

The online pre-application should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete, according to officials.

The city will accept pre-applications through Jan. 24. After that, people will be placed in a lottery and a computer system will randomly select applicants, who will then be placed on the public-housing waitlist.  

Starting in February, city officials will begin to select pre-applicants from the waitlist. Selected residents will then need to go through a process to determine eligibility for public housing.

If you are unable to fill out the application online on waitlist.tucsonaz.gov; need translating or interpreting assistance; or an accommodation such as braille, large format, or paper application; you can request help from the Tucson Housing Authority by emailing TucsonWaitingList@Tucsonaz.gov or leaving a message at 520-791-5840. For people who are deaf or hard of hearing, contact AzRelay at 7-1-1.

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