Find Housing

At the Tacoma Housing Authority, it is our duty to assist and support those most in need of housing find and secure safe, and affordable housing.

THA’s housing waitlist

Our low-income housing waitlist will be open from April 3 to April 17, 2023. You can find more information on our waitlist page or through the links below.

If you are looking for more general information about affordable housing options, we hope the following information will help you find and keep an affordable home in the Tacoma area.

THA’s market-rate units

Some of THA’s properties include units that we rent out at affordable market rates for households earning certain incomes. Tenants in these units are not part of THA’s housing programs, but they live in an affordable THA-owned unit.

When we have available market-rate units, they will be posted below.

If you face homelessness

The Tacoma Pierce County Coalition to End Homelessness keeps a list of shelter facilities available in the area, including location, availability, and contact information.

Call for Help

Dial 2-1-1 to connect with United Way of Pierce County. They can refer you to other places for other sorts of help, including:

  • Rent and Utility Assistance
  • Counseling and Mental Health Services
  • Food and Clothing Resources
  • Shelter and Affordable Housing
  • Employment and Education Services
  • Military/Veteran Resources
  • Transportation
Visit Washington 211

Other places to try for housing help

Here are some other places to try for affordable housing or rental assistance:

Resources specifically for people exiting corrections:

Legal Help

If you need a lawyer because your landlord is trying to evict you, you may be able to get a free lawyer from Tacoma Pro Bono: https://tacomaprobono.org/; (253) 572-5134 ext. 102.  

You can also contact CLEAR (Coordinated Legal Education Advice and Referral). Its phone number is (888) 201-1014. CLEAR takes calls Monday to Friday from 9:15 AM to 12:15 PM. CLEAR’s services are free. You can also find a lot of good and easy-to-use self-help legal advice at Washington Legal Help: https://www.washingtonlawhelp.org

Here are some ways that legal assistance might help:

  • If a landlord has served an eviction notice or served court papers for eviction for nonpayment of rent, a lawyer can help get rental assistance to pay the rent and avoid the eviction.  A tenant may have other defenses as well, whether the eviction is for nonpayment of rent or for other reasons.  At least it is worth learning about the eviction  process and how long it will take.
  • If the tenant owes rent but the landlord owes the tenant money because the apartment or house has serious defects that the landlord has not fixed, such as no heat, no water, no hot water, no working stove or refrigerator that came with the lease.
  • If the landlord is trying to evict a tenant because the tenant complained about these defects.
  • If a landlord refused to rent to someone or is trying to evict a tenant because of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender, sexual preference, disability, because the tenant household has children, because of the tenant’s military status or because the tenant or their children are a victim of domestic violence.

We hope you have found value in these resources, and we apologize that THA cannot be more helpful at this time. When it comes to affordable housing in our region, the need is great, and our resources are thin. We wish you all the best in your search for housing, and we hope to be of greater assistance in the future.