San Francisco Housing Authority opens HCV waitlist; 33,448 apply as staff to draw 6,500 names
October 26, 2023 | San Francisco City, San Francisco County, California
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The Housing Authority of the City and County of San Francisco on Oct. 26 confirmed its Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) waitlist opened Oct. 23 at 8 a.m. and will close Nov. 6 at 5 p.m., with a randomized lottery to place 6,500 applicants on the HCV list.
Kendra Crawford, the authority’s housing operations director, said the portal accepts applications 24 hours during the open period, is available in English, Chinese, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese, and provides customer assistance by phone. "We will pull 6,500 names to be drawn by lottery and place them on the HCV list," Crawford said. She reported 33,448 total applications as of about 3 p.m. on the day of the meeting.
The authority ran two partner trainings to help applicants: Crawford said the first drew 353 attendees and the second 299, and staff have been in "constant contact" with service providers, property managers and partners such as the Mayor’s Office of Community Development to assist applicants and address language access. Applicants receive a confirmation number at application completion; Crawford reiterated the housing authority posts confirmation numbers on its website and operates a customer care line at (415) 715-5200 to help residents who do not receive email confirmations.
Commissioners asked whether the initial volume matched expectations; Crawford said the first day typically produces a spike (about 25,000 applications on opening day) and that daily submissions then tapered to roughly 1,000 per day. She said the authority’s system blocks duplicate applications by matching data such as Social Security number, name, address and date of birth.
Next steps: the portal will close Nov. 6 at 5 p.m.; a randomized drawing will occur Nov. 7 and email notifications to selected applicants are scheduled for Nov. 8–10. Applicant confirmation numbers will also be posted on the authority’s website, sfha.org. The board did not take further action on the waitlist during the meeting.
Kendra Crawford, the authority’s housing operations director, said the portal accepts applications 24 hours during the open period, is available in English, Chinese, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese, and provides customer assistance by phone. "We will pull 6,500 names to be drawn by lottery and place them on the HCV list," Crawford said. She reported 33,448 total applications as of about 3 p.m. on the day of the meeting.
The authority ran two partner trainings to help applicants: Crawford said the first drew 353 attendees and the second 299, and staff have been in "constant contact" with service providers, property managers and partners such as the Mayor’s Office of Community Development to assist applicants and address language access. Applicants receive a confirmation number at application completion; Crawford reiterated the housing authority posts confirmation numbers on its website and operates a customer care line at (415) 715-5200 to help residents who do not receive email confirmations.
Commissioners asked whether the initial volume matched expectations; Crawford said the first day typically produces a spike (about 25,000 applications on opening day) and that daily submissions then tapered to roughly 1,000 per day. She said the authority’s system blocks duplicate applications by matching data such as Social Security number, name, address and date of birth.
Next steps: the portal will close Nov. 6 at 5 p.m.; a randomized drawing will occur Nov. 7 and email notifications to selected applicants are scheduled for Nov. 8–10. Applicant confirmation numbers will also be posted on the authority’s website, sfha.org. The board did not take further action on the waitlist during the meeting.
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