The Housing Authority of the Birmingham District is now accepting applications for the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program.

The waitlist is open for the first time since 2020, and applications are being accepted through a lottery system until December 12, with the deadline for submission at 3 p.m. Mailed-in paper applications must be postmarked by that same date. After the application period closes, 3,000 applicants will be randomly selected and added to the waiting list for housing assistance.

According to HABD, applications will be added to the wait list by a lottery pull. Only 3,000 people will be selected and they will have to qualify, based on income and household size. In order to receive a voucher, all applicants must pass a criminal background check.

Keaira Turner, the director of Strategic Communications for HABD, told AL.com that there are less than 200 people left on the general Housing Choice Voucher waitlist from when the waitlist was open in 2020, and those individuals will be contacted first when the housing authority is ready to pull them from the waitlist.

“By opening up the waiting list, we can allow families to gain housing as a part of our Home for the Holidays initiative,” said Larry Williams, chief Housing/Programs officer at the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District in a press release. “We urge all eligible individuals to apply during this time. We are excited to offer some relief to our community, especially as the holidays approach.”

HABD owns and manages 14 developments consisting of more than 4,000 public housing units in the Birmingham Metropolitan Area.