Rental Assistance Programs
Tacoma Housing Authority (THA) helps people pay for housing they find and rent from private owners.
Housing Choice Voucher Program
Rental support for families in need
THA helps people pay for housing they find and rent from private owners. Funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Housing Choice Voucher Program is the nation’s largest rental subsidy program. It used to be called the Section 8 Program.
Housing Opportunity Program
The Housing Opportunity Program (HOP) is a fixed-subsidy and time-limited rent reform program. Effective May 1, 2022, THA is no longer offering HOP subsidies. New admissions will receive a Housing Choice Voucher.
Other Rental Assistance Programs
Tacoma Housing Authority (THA) has other programs besides the Housing Choice Voucher Program that help pay rent on a dwelling. THA usually manages these programs in partnership with other community agencies.
The Project-Based Section 8 Voucher Program
THA has agreed to attach some of its vouchers to units in specific apartment buildings owned by for-profit or non-profit private owners. Doing this helps the owner get financing to build or renovate the housing, and makes some of the units in the building affordable for a long time, generally 15 years. If the building has market rate units, these arrangements provide a good mix of incomes among the families in the building. The assisted families pay the same rent that they would in the regular voucher program.
Here are some of the apartment buildings or communities in Tacoma that offer THA Project-based vouchers:
- Flett Meadows
- New Salishan
- Harborview Manor
- Eliza McCabe
- Guadalupe Vista
- Hillside Terrace
- Pacific Courtyard
- Hillside Gardens
- New Look Apartments
- Tyler Square
City of Tacoma Tenant Based Rental Assistance
The City of Tacoma provides THA with funds to manage a separate rental assistance program. It is a small one, serving about 20 families. THA chooses its families in partnership with other social service agencies and school districts. Generally, this assistance lasts two years. After that time, THA tries to transfer the family to the regular voucher program.
Single-Room Occupancy (SRO) Voucher Program
A single room occupancy (more commonly SRO, sometimes called single resident occupancy) is a multiple tenant building that houses one or two people in individual rooms. Sometimes tenants in several units share a bathroom down the hall.
Here are the communities in Tacoma that offer SRO vouchers:
- Jefferson Square
- Metropolitan Development Council (MDC)