Oak Park, Illinois Section 8 Voucher Waiting List

The Oak Park Housing Authority (OPHA) last accepted Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher waiting list applications from March 4, 2024, until March 15, 2024. This waiting list was last open in March, 2022. 150 applicants were placed on the waiting list in August 2024. The Oak Park Housing Authority states on their website it anticipates the Section 8 waiting list will reopen in 2026.

To apply while the waiting list was open, applicants were required to complete the online application.

The maximum income limit for each household size were as follows:

• 1 Person $38,650 | 5 Persons $59,600
• 2 Persons $44,150 | 6 Persons $64,000
• 3 Persons $49,650 | 7 Persons $68,400
• 4 Persons $55,150 | 8 Persons $72,800

This waiting list had the following preferences: The OPHA gives preferences to very low-income households who are:

• Legal residents of Oak Park; or
• Currently employed 30 hours or more per week in the Village of Oak Park; or
• Hired to work 30 hours or more per week in the Village of Oak Park

Selected applicants were placed on the waiting list by random lottery, weighed by order of preferences. Applicants not selected for the waiting list were sent notices that they were not selected on August 9, 2024. Applicants that were selected were sent both an email and mail notifications on August 13, 2024.

Dave Layfield, founder of Affordable Housing Online said "The Oak Park Section 8 waiting list is a good example of a small housing authority efficiently managing its waiting list. Housing authorities typically want to have about 2 years worth of applicants on their lists. With an anticipated opening again in 2026 and 150 applicants placed on the waiting list in 2024, this means the Oak Park Housing Authority processes about 75 applicants per year, issuing voucher to many of those applicants."

For more information, visit the OPHA website.

Sources: This information was verified by the OPHA public notice on August 15, 2024.