Iowa City Public Housing Program applications will be closed by the Housing Authority

Iowa City, Iowa – The Iowa City Housing Authority will stop accepting applicants for its public housing program on October 1.

Housing Administrator Rachel Carter stated that the list is already over 1,300 people long and that it is therefore overly full.

“It’s really not working to leave it open and take more applications. Thus, in decreasing that waitlist, we’re pretty much adhering to HUD requirements,” Carter said.

Under the scheme, the city owns 86 units, while the Department of Housing and Urban Development provides federal financing for building operations and maintenance.

There is no maximum stay period for the scheme, and tenants pay 30% of their income in rent.

Only the departure of a present renter reserves a space.

Our tenancies are typically slightly over seven years long. Our renters tend to stay put for a long time because about 60% of them are old or disabled, so we don’t have a lot of turnover from the waitlist, according to Carter.

According to Carter, the number of units that can be enrolled in the program is limited because it’s a federal initiative.

Federal statutes that control the financing of public housing place a limit on the number of units that can be built. Thus, to be honest, we can’t expand it too much,” she remarked.

Carter stated that less than 10% of applicants are homeless, but Iowa City’s Shelter House will also be impacted, according to Christine Hayes.

“The truth is that none of the individuals staying at our shelter can currently find affordable homes. Therefore, every time there is a shift in the market, Hayes, the director of development at Shelter House, stated. It is ultimately up to us. It does, in fact. Whenever the supply of homes is declining rather than increasing.

After applications close, those who are presently on the Public Housing Program waiting list will stay on it.

Carter added that there is no set date for when the applications would be available again.

She continued by saying that the Public Housing Program is just one of the numerous resources available in the Johnson County and Iowa City area.