People seeking Section 8 vouchers in LA County could have to wait 11 years: report

Skid Row city limits (credit: Robyn Beck)
Skid Row city limits (credit: Robyn Beck)

Talk about an affordable housing crisis.

People at the bottom of Los Angeles County’s 40,000-person waitlist for Section 8 vouchers could have to wait 11 years for a shot at one, the Los Angeles Daily News reported.

Last year, just 1,000 of the 40,000 people on the waiting list obtained vouchers, said Emilio Salas, deputy executive director for the county’s housing authority. More than 47,000 people sleep in their cars, or in tents on the streets, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

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The Section 8 program subsidizes market-rate rent for voucher holders, who pay the remainder out of their own incomes.

The update on the Section 8 waitlist came as part of a public hearing Tuesday, during which the county board of supervisors approved $4.8 million in Housing & Urban Development funds to go toward rehabilitation of public housing.

The passage of Measure H, coupled with that of Proposition HHH in November, will also pump more than $1 billion into homeless housing and supportive services over the span of a decade. [LADN]Cathaleen Chen