D-S-H-A’s centralized waiting list reopened to the public nearly one year ago. The consolidation means applicants now only have to visit one website to find affordable housing anywhere in the state.
Now, state housing authority officials are urging those on the waitlist to review their applications and ensure all information is still active to keep their spot.
Delaware Housing Authority Director Matthew Heckles.
“The last thing we want to have happen is that somebodies name comes up on the list after they’ve been waiting for housing and then we don’t have an updated address to send them a letter or we don’t have an updated telephone number to tell them their name has come up to the top of the list and then we have to move on to the next person.” he said.
Applicants risk losing their spot in line if they fail to do so before February 10th.
Housing officials now say those on the wait list need to manually review their applications even if their information hasn't changed- this means clicking a button that says "Everything Looks Good" on the website if their information hasn't changed. Heckles says you only need to do so if you haven't interacted with your application within the last year.
“We are contacting people through the contact information that they currently have on file with us. But again, all that assumes that their telephone number and their address are correct in the system. Even this mandatory update can’t really be done effectively if they haven’t kept us up to date on where they’re living and how to contact them” he said.
This update is a requirement handed down from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD.
Delaware Housing Authority says it has over 30,000 applicants on its waiting list- nearly 6,000 are currently at risk of being removed due to out-of-date or stale information.
Those removed from the list will have the option to appeal their removal through their appropriate housing authority. Heckles says that they can get their spot in line back if they have a "good reason" for letting their information lapse, but
" 'Good reasons' are evaluated by a committee of representatives of the public housing authorities, who will respond to an appeal by someone who was removed from the waiting list" he said.
Those who update their information now will not have to do so again until February of 2027.
