Creston Plaza Apartments redevelopment project 02

Creston Plaza Apartments, as seen Friday, Nov. 6, 2015, were rebuilt by the Grand Rapids Housing Commission for 100 families. They were built in the three years that have passed since the last time the commission was able to open its wait list for Section 8 vouchers. (Cory Morse | MLive.com)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - For the first time in three years, the Grand Rapids Housing Commission will be opening up its waiting list for Section 8 housing vouchers as of Monday, June 19.

Officials are expecting about 10,000 people to apply for 5,000 available spots on the waiting list, said Carlos Sanchez, executive director of the Housing Commission.

Section 8 vouchers are in high demand and provide a subsidy to low-income households who are renting from private landlords. The Housing Commission is currently awarding vouchers to people who have been on a waiting list since May 2014.

Due to the limited availability of spots, officials will be holding a lottery to determine placement on the waiting list.

"If you're on the top of the list it will be a matter of months, but if you're on the bottom it will be years," Sanchez said of wait times for a voucher. "It's really bad. People are desperate for getting assistance."

People can apply to be on the wait list from midnight, June 19, to 11:59 p.m. June 30.

Applications can only be made online at www.GRHClist.org or over the phone by calling 616-235-2622. Applicants should have their Social Security numbers ready, as well as their income information, when they apply.

Paper applications will not be provided, and people cannot apply in the Housing Commission office due to the high interest in the vouchers. Sanchez said the commission is taking deliberate steps to avoid having applicants spend long hours waiting outside in a line outside their office.

The Housing Commission will then conduct a lottery to see which of the applicants make the 5,000 spots on the waiting list.

A computerized random system will determine ranking on the list. Applicants can check the status of their application at grhc.apply4housing.com/status.

Being on the waiting list doesn't guarantee a Section 8 voucher. A full application must be processed after landing on the wait list to determine eligibility.

The commission has 3,290 vouchers to offer on an annual basis under the set amount of funding it is allocated from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sanchez said the Grand Rapids Housing Commission has had the same number of Section 8 vouchers to offer for at least the past seven years.

"The market in Grand Rapids is really tight," Sanchez said. "The Section 8 helps a lot of families so they can increase their income over time."

The vouchers are in high demand, both in Grand Rapids and across the nation. Grand Rapids residents will receive preference in the lottery selection.

"We'll get applications from all over the country," Sanchez said. "People are trying to get on any waiting list."

After last filling its 5,000-person waiting list for Section 8 vouchers in 2014, the Housing Commission has been slowly working through the list by turning over 20 to 30 units a month. The waiting list is sitting at 150 applicants, which Sanchez expects will be approved for a voucher in the next three to four months.

To eliminate lag time, the commission wants to fill up the waiting list now.

Demand continues to exceed supply for subsidized housing in Grand Rapids. When the Housing Commission opened the new Creston Plaza apartments in 2015, 5,000 applications came in. And in 2007 when the new, 92-unit Campau Commons apartments opened, 8,000 applications were handed in.