Chicago Housing Authority Opens All Waiting Lists for First Time Ever

The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) offers housing opportunities for low income families and individuals – including seniors – in the City of Chicago.  CHA is in fact, the largest owner of rental property in Chicago, providing homes form more than 50,000 families and individuals including 11,500 units designated for seniors.  The CHA also oversee the administration of 36,900 Housing Choice Vouchers (formally known as Section 8) that allow low-income families to rent in the private market.

The information below about application procedures is extracted from a recent CHA press release

The CHA Waitlist Lottery Registration is open October 27 through November 24 for the three types of housing opportunities at www.thechawaitlist.org.This is the first time low-income families and individuals will have the opportunity to apply online for all three affordable housing waitlists on one registration form. “With the support of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, CHA continues to work to meet the great housing needs within the City of Chicago and help build strong, vibrant communities,” said CHA CEO

Michael R. Merchant. “I encourage all qualified low-income households to participate in the waitlist opening registration.” Online registration is free, and easy to use. The registration form

will be available in several different languages. Log onto www.thechawaitlist.org or call 312.971.7700 for more information.  All registrations received during the four-week waitlist opening period will have an equal chance of being selected for the electronic lottery. The random lottery will take place in early 2015 and those selected will be eligible for one of the three housing programs.

The CHA is now accepting applications for its three different types of housing – Public Housing, housing Choice Voucher Program, and Property Rental Assistance. To find out more about what each of these housing opportunities offer, please visit the CHA website by clicking here.