Fairfax County plans to indefinitely close the waiting list for a major subsidized housing program at the end of the month, hoping to buy time to cull unresponsive names from the backlog and reconsider how to manage the high volume of applications.
The federally sponsored Housing Choice Voucher, formerly known as the Section 8 program, provides residents with a rent subsidy for private housing. As of the beginning of the year, the county had accumulated 8,473 applications for the program, according to information provided by the Department of Housing and Community Development.
Kristina Norvell, the department’s spokeswoman, said the county is now only able to address the highest priority applicants — those who live and work in the county, Fairfax City and Falls Church. The average waiting time, she said, is about four years.
Once the list closes on March 1, the department will mail out notifications to a few thousand applicants at a time, who will have a window of 15 days to respond before being taken off the list. They can be reinstated if they respond within six months, Norvell said.
She said housing department staff will also prepare recommendations for the county’s Redevelopment and Housing Authority on how to better manage the high volume of applications and determine when the list will reopen.
Fairfax County, unlike many other jurisdictions, typically keeps its affordable housing waiting list open for new applications year-round.
