Section 8 Waiting Lists / California

Section 8 Waiting List in California: Open Lists & Status (2026)

In California, 2 of the 17 housing authorities we track say they are accepting Section 8 applications as of October 23, 2026: Anaheim Housing Authority — "The HCV program is currently only open to individuals who qualify for the mainstream preference."; Santa Clara County Housing Authority (SCCHA) — "Our new online interest lists are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Applicants are randomly selected from the interest lists to receive rental assistance.".

12 lists are closed by the authority's own statement: Fresno Housing, Garden Grove Housing Authority, SFHA, HACLB, HACLA, Riverside County Housing Authority, HACSB, San Diego County Housing Authority, Santa Cruz County Housing Authority, LACDA, Oakland Housing Authority, SDHC.

3 authorities do not state a status on a page we could read: Santa Ana Housing Authority, OCHA, SHRA. Call before you rely on anything.

California has other housing authorities we do not track; HUD's PHA contact directory lists all of them. Each row below quotes the authority and links the page it came from.

Status as published by the authority on October 23, 2026; confirm with the authority before applying. We do not estimate wait times or predict openings.

Open

The authority says it is accepting Housing Choice Voucher applications. Read the wording — some openings are limited to one preference group.

Open (ongoing lottery)

The authority accepts pre-applications at any time and draws applicants at random when vouchers are available. Applying puts you in the pool, not in a queue.

Closed

The authority says its Housing Choice Voucher waiting list is closed to new applicants.

Not stated

The authority's page did not state a status, or could not be read, on the date shown. Confirm with the authority before relying on anything.

California housing authorities we track

Status is the authority's own wording on the date shown. Each name links to its payment standards page on this site; each source links to the authority's page.

Housing authority	HCV waiting list	What the authority says	Checked	Source
Anaheim Housing Authority	Open	The HCV program is currently only open to individuals who qualify for the mainstream preference. HCV: open only to applicants who qualify for the Mainstream preference (non-elderly persons with disabilities) Not a general opening: only households qualifying for the Mainstream preference can apply.	October 23, 2026	Anaheim Housing Authority – Housing Choice Voucher Program
Santa Clara County Housing Authority (SCCHA)	Open	Our new online interest lists are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Applicants are randomly selected from the interest lists to receive rental assistance. HCV: open (online interest list, random selection) SCCHA runs a continuously open interest list rather than a time-limited waiting list opening; signing up does not guarantee a voucher.	October 23, 2026	SCCHA Applicant Portal
Housing Authority of the City of Santa Ana (SAHA)	Not stated	The Housing Authority's pages that state waiting-list status could not be read; its resources page lists a 2026 PBV waiting-list closing notice (April 14, 2026) but no HCV status. HCV: not readable PBV: 2026 PBV waiting list closing notice posted April 14, 2026 santa-ana.gov/departments/housing-authority-waiting-list/ returned an error when fetched.	October 23, 2026	City of Santa Ana – Housing Authority resources
Orange County Housing Authority (OCHA)	Not stated	OCHA's public notices describe the last HCV waiting list opening (September 18–29, 2023, random selection of 12,000 applicants) but do not state a current status. HCV: not stated; last opened Sept 18–29, 2023 No newer opening or closing notice was found on OCHA's site.	October 23, 2026	OCHA Public Notices
Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA)	Not stated	SHRA posts all waiting lists only on Sacwaitlist.com; the status page could not be read (it loads with JavaScript). HCV: not readable shra.org says 'All Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency waiting lists are ONLY posted on Sacwaitlist.com.' Check sacwaitlist.com/waitingList directly.	October 23, 2026	SHRA – Find Housing
Fresno Housing	Closed	Housing Choice Voucher (commonly known as Section 8): Interest list is currently closed. HCV: closed; last opened June 15 – July 14, 2023 Fresno Housing uses an interest list; the 2023 list is the one being drawn from.	October 23, 2026	Fresno Housing – Application Process
Garden Grove Housing Authority (GGHA)	Closed	The Housing Authority is not accepting applications at this time, due to its long waiting list. The Housing Authority last opened for applications in 2010. HCV: closed; last opened 2010 GGHA: 'We do not have an estimated date as yet, as to when we will be opening the waiting list again.'	October 23, 2026	Garden Grove Housing Authority FAQs
Housing Authority of the City and County of San Francisco	Closed	Current Housing Authority Wait List Statuses: Housing Choice Voucher (HCV)/Section 8 — CLOSED; Public Housing — CLOSED. HCV: closed Public housing: closed PBV: last accepted applications May 7–21, 2025 (RAD/PBV and Public Housing) No HCV closure date is stated.	October 23, 2026	SFHA Waitlist page
Housing Authority of the City of Long Beach (HACLB)	Closed	At this time, our waiting lists are closed. When the lists reopen, we will share more information on our website and social media. HCV: closed All lists: closed No closure date is stated.	October 23, 2026	HACLB – Apply
Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA)	Closed	The HCV Waiting List is currently closed and only accepts new applicants during a specific window of time. HCV: closed Public housing: open (not accepting 1-bedroom applications) HACLA's FAQ: 'Waiting List closed and unlikely to reopen soon; check back periodically.' The Public Housing waiting list is open through HACLA's RentCafe portal.	October 23, 2026	HACLA FAQ
Housing Authority of the County of Riverside	Closed	Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) waiting list closed effective September 1, 2025, to all new registrations. HCV: closed (since 2025-09-01) Existing registrants can still update their registration.	October 23, 2026	Housing Authority of the County of Riverside – Voucher Programs
Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino (HACSB)	Closed	The Tenant-Based Voucher Program waitlist is closed. The following Project-Based Voucher Program waitlists are currently open. HCV: closed PBV: several site-based PBV waitlists open (e.g. Ivy at College Park, 3 bedrooms only) HACSB calls HCV the 'Tenant-Based Voucher Program (formally known as Section 8)'.	October 23, 2026	HACSB – Apply for Housing
Housing Authority of the County of San Diego	Closed	HACSD closed its waitlist for the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) and will not select new applicants for the next several years. HCV: closed No closure date is given on the page.	October 23, 2026	County of San Diego HCD – Rental Assistance Overview
Housing Authority of the County of Santa Cruz (HACSC)	Closed	The Housing Authority has closed the Waiting List for the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) Program. Last opening/closing date: October 17 – December 6, 2018. HCV: closed (Santa Cruz County and Hollister/San Juan Bautista lists) PBV: some senior PBV site lists open (Sunrise Senior Apartments, Resetar, El Centro)	October 23, 2026	HACSC – Waiting Lists for All Programs
Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA)	Closed	The County's Section 8 waiting list remains closed. HCV: closed Public housing: 16 site-based waiting lists took registrations August 17 – September 16, 2026 Public housing site-based lists (10 elderly-designated, 6 general occupancy) registered through harp.lacda.org; small sites closed at 1,000 applicants.	October 23, 2026	LACDA notice, August 12, 2026
Oakland Housing Authority (OHA)	Closed	Current Waitlist Status: Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) — Closed; OHA Affordable (Public) Housing — Closed; OAHPI Project-Based Voucher — Closed; Mainstream — Closed. HCV: closed Public housing: closed PBV: closed Mainstream: closed Page last modified 2026-10-19; no dates for the closures.	October 23, 2026	OHA Waitlists
San Diego Housing Commission	Closed	SDHC closed its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher and Public Housing waiting lists February 1, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. SDHC is not accepting new waiting list applications at this time. HCV: closed (since 2026-02-01) Public housing: closed (since 2026-02-01) Referral programs: open by Community-Based Organization referral only SDHC says it is not selecting new families from the HCV list and does not expect to for several years; existing applicants keep their place.	October 23, 2026	SDHC Wait List Portal

How to apply through each California authority

Anaheim Housing Authority — Open Apply / read the opening notice · payment standards & contact
Santa Clara County Housing Authority — Open Apply / read the opening notice · payment standards & contact
Santa Ana Housing Authority — Not stated Waiting-list page · payment standards & contact
OCHA — Not stated Waiting-list page · payment standards & contact
SHRA — Not stated Waiting-list page · payment standards & contact
Fresno Housing — Closed Waiting-list page · payment standards & contact
Garden Grove Housing Authority — Closed Waiting-list page · payment standards & contact
SFHA — Closed Waiting-list page · payment standards & contact
HACLB — Closed Waiting-list page · payment standards & contact
HACLA — Closed Waiting-list page · payment standards & contact
Riverside County Housing Authority — Closed Waiting-list page · payment standards & contact
HACSB — Closed Waiting-list page · payment standards & contact
San Diego County Housing Authority — Closed Waiting-list page · payment standards & contact
Santa Cruz County Housing Authority — Closed Waiting-list page · payment standards & contact
LACDA — Closed Waiting-list page · payment standards & contact
Oakland Housing Authority — Closed Waiting-list page · payment standards & contact
SDHC — Closed Waiting-list page · payment standards & contact

Other California housing authorities: HUD PHA contact directory (choose California). An authority must publish a notice before it opens its list (24 CFR 982.206). See also how to check your status and the waiting list guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Section 8 waiting list open in California?

As of October 23, 2026, Anaheim Housing Authority says: "The HCV program is currently only open to individuals who qualify for the mainstream preference." Santa Clara County Housing Authority (SCCHA) says: "Our new online interest lists are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Applicants are randomly selected from the interest lists to receive rental assistance." The other tracked California authorities say their lists are closed or do not state a status. Confirm on the authority's page before applying.

How do I apply for Section 8 in California?

Apply directly to a housing authority whose list is open — each one takes its own applications, and this page tracks 17 of the California authorities. Each authority above links its own application or portal page. Under 24 CFR 982.206 an authority must give public notice before it opens its list, so sign up for its announcements. You can apply to more than one authority, including a state agency voucher program where California has one (see HUD's PHA directory).

How do I check my Section 8 status in California?

Use the applicant portal or phone number of the California authority you applied to; the links in the table above go to each one's own page. Authorities do not share lists, so check each one separately, and report any change of address or phone in writing — applicants who miss an update letter are removed.

Does California use a Section 8 lottery?

Santa Clara County Housing Authority: Our new online interest lists are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Applicants are randomly selected from the interest lists to receive rental assistance. Open (online interest list, random selection). OCHA: OCHA's public notices describe the last HCV waiting list opening (September 18–29, 2023, random selection of 12,000 applicants) but do not state a current status. A lottery places applicants in a pool and draws at random; applying early gives no advantage.

Other states: Maryland · Texas · Washington · Arizona · Colorado · District of Columbia · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Illinois · Massachusetts · Michigan · Nevada · New Jersey · New York · Ohio · Oklahoma · Pennsylvania · All states

California on this site: rent limits · income limits