Commissioner Joe Martinez of District 11 sponsors legislation that will reopen the waiting list for Section 8 housing while preserving the current spots of residents on the list
After 12 years, Commissioner Joe Martinez has made an attempt to open the Section 8 housing assistance waiting list to support Miami-Dade County residents in need of affordable housing. The legislation directs the mayor to amend the Section 8 Administration Plan for the Miami-Dade Public Housing Department. Specifically, the legislation requests an amendment of the section regarding the current tenant-based waiting list, to require the waiting list to be opened.
However, the legislation also ensures that applicants whose names have been on the list for 12 years do not lose their current ranking or have to reapply for housing assistance. This is supportive of the 34,912 applicants that are currently on the list. This number is down from 2008, when the Section 8 Program first opened and had 71,000 applicants.
Applicants for Miami-Dade Public Housing and Community Development (PHCD) Section 8 Program are placed on the waiting list via a computerized random selection system. Once an applicant moves to the top of the waiting list, they are mailed a letter to begin the eligibility process.
Commissioner Martinez sponsored this legislation in order to ensure that low-income and in-need families in the County can get the housing assistance they need to feel safe and secure in their homes.
“I want to give our low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled the opportunity to afford decent, safe and sanitary housing. They have already waited a very long time and should not lose their ranking in the event the list is dissolved”.
Commissioner Joe Martinez
For more information on Section 8 in Miami-Dade, visit this website.
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