The Oklahoma Finance Housing Agency, responsible for disbursing federal funds for rental housing programs in Oklahoma, has announced a temporary halt in accepting new applications for its Section 8 waitlist due to an ongoing housing shortage for low-income families. This decision, effective from October 16, is prompted by a lack of resources to meet the increasing demand for assistance. While the agency currently assists 10,100 families each month, it receives approximately 1,100 new assistance requests monthly. The Section 8 waitlist already contains 17,000 households and has a three-year wait time.
Section 8 is a federal program aimed at helping very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled afford safe and decent housing in the private market. According to agency spokesperson Holley Mangham, temporarily closing the waitlist will allow staff to concentrate on assisting those already in the queue. The closure is not permanent, as federal regulations permit it when the estimated wait time exceeds 24 months, but a reopening date remains uncertain.
The closure doesn’t affect individuals already on the agency’s waiting list or those already receiving assistance. However, it serves as an indicator that federal funding falls short of meeting the demand from renters at the highest risk of eviction, particularly those with low incomes. Sabine Brown, a senior policy analyst at the Oklahoma Policy Institute, emphasized the need for more federal funding but also urged state and municipal policymakers to seek additional solutions.
Although the state Legislature has passed the Oklahoma Housing Stability Program, allocating $215 million to boost affordable housing supply, this funding primarily targets workforce housing, which serves individuals with incomes slightly above the low-income housing program requirements but insufficient to afford the housing market. Brown stressed the importance of directing funding towards extremely low-income renters, who are most vulnerable to eviction, to effectively address this housing crisis.