The King County Housing Authority (KCHA) has received a record number of applicants for it’s Section 8 Rental Program during the recent two-week period when it reopened its waiting list. A total of 25,306 applications were filed, nearly doubling the number of applicants from its last reopening in June 2007.

The program, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, provides rental opportunities for the homeless or soon to be homeless in search of housing in King County. With more than 3,200 landlords participating in the program, it currently provides rental assistance to 10,000 families.

The quantity of applicants surprised the housing authority, although they understand the reasons for the dramatic increase.

“The economic downturn, the steady loss of affordable units, and rising rents are placing many households in increasingly desperate circumstances.” said Stephen Norman, executive director of the KCHA. “The majority of these applicants are elderly, disabled or working poor families with children. Many are on the verge of homelessness.”

“During the recession people stopped building apartments,” said Rhonda Rosenberg, the director of communications for the KCHA. “Their are simply more people competing for units than their are units that exist.”

The number of applicants will be capped at 2,500 following a mid-July lottery, a method that Rosenberg calls the “only fair way to do it.”

“It gives a sense of false hope for the people at the end of the list.” Rosenberg said, adding that “2,500 is a realistic number of people that we can expect to serve in a timeframe in which it can make a difference in someone’s life. 25,000 people could take over a decade to serve.”