Olmstead County, Minnesota Mainstream Housing Choice Voucher Waiting List

The Olmsted County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (OCHRA) Mainstream Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher waiting list is currently closed. Applications were last accepted from July 12, 2021, until July 14, 2021. There is no notice of when this waiting list will reopen.

Please note: According tot he OCHRA, "To be eligible for a Mainstream Voucher, applicants must:

• Have at least one household member who is a non-elderly disabled person, at least 18 years of age but less than 62 years of age.
• The eligible household member does not need to be the head of the household.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines a disabled person in three ways:

1. A disabled person is one with an inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity because of any physical or mental impairment that is expected to result in death or has lasted or can be expected to last continuously for at least 12 months; or for a blind person at least 55 years old, inability because of blindness to engage in any substantial gainful activities comparable to those in which the person was previously engaged with some regularity and over a substantial period.
2. A developmental disability, as defined in Section 102(7) of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act (42 U.S.C. 6001(8)), i.e., a person with a severe chronic disability that:
   1. Is attributable to a mental or physical impairment or combination of mental and physical impairments. 
   2. Is manifested before the person attains age 22. 
   3. Is likely to continue indefinitely. 
   4. Results in substantial functional limitation in three or more of the following areas of major life activity; self-care, receptive and expressive language, learning, mobility, self-direction, capacity for independent living, economic self-sufficiency. 
   5. Reflects the person's need for a combination and sequence of special, interdisciplinary, or generic care, treatment, or other services that are of lifelong or extended duration and are individually planned and coordinated.
3. Has a physical, mental, or emotional impairment that is expected to be of long-continued and indefinite duration, substantially impedes his or her ability to live independently, and is of a nature that such ability could be improved by more suitable housing conditions."

To apply during the opening period, applicants were required to complete the online application. Only online applications were accepted.

The maximum income limits for each household size were listed on the public notice.

This waiting list had the following preferences:

• Residency: Families who are Olmsted County residents. 
• Employment, Education, Elderly or Disabled: Families who:
  • Work at least 20 hours/week or have been hired to work in Olmsted County;
  • Attend post-secondary education full-time in Olmsted County; or,
  • Have family members who are elderly or disabled.
• Homeless: Families who are homeless.

150 applicants were placed on the waiting list by random lottery, weighed by order of preferences.

For more information, visit the OCHRA website.

Sources: This information was verified by the OCHRA public notice on July 14, 2021.

Service Area

This waiting list is for rental assistance in Olmstead County, Minnesota.