October 2006

How the Oak Park Housing Authority formed
its Housing Choice Voucher Waiting List

The Housing Choice Voucher Waiting List was open for one week in March 2004 and approximately 47,000 pre-applications were received. It took several months to open and separate the mail. Then, on January 14, 2005, in a plan approved by HUD and the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, the Oak Park Housing Authority, using a random selection software program, selected 2,000 applicants and placed them on its 2004 Waiting List.

The Oak Park Housing Authority gives perference to applicants who live, work or are hired to work in Oak Park. This preference is called a Residency Preference and it is approved by HUD. The Oak Park Housing Authority randomly selected 1,800 applicants who claimed a Residency Preference and 200 applicants who did not claim a Residency Preference. The two lists were then combined and each of the 2,000 applicants were then randomly assigned a position on the Waiting List.

The Oak Park Housing Authority will service applicants from the 2004 Waiting List according to their position on the list. If an applicant claimed a Residency Preference at the time the pre-application was submitted, absolute proof of Residency Preference eligibility must be be provided to the Oak Park Housing Authority when the applicant's name reaches the top of the list.

In October of 2005, the Oak Park Housing Authority mailed letters to the 2,000 applicants selected to be on the 2004 Waiting List. We do not expect to service anyone from this list until approximately June 2007.

Our waiting list is expected to remain closed for approximately seven (7) to ten (10) years.