People lined up overnight Thursday outside the Loudoun County Department of Housing in Leesburg, Virginia, hoping to get on the waitlist to receive a Housing Choice Voucher (HCV.)
The HCV application opened at 8:30 a.m. for the first time in more than a decade. The program pays for a portion of a person’s monthly rent based on household income, according to Loudoun County’s website.
“Because sometimes I don't have enough money to pay my food. And this is actually going to help me out,” Carolina who was waiting in line said.
Carolina who has lived in the area since 2002 arrived at 10: 30 p.m. on Wednesday. Some people arrived as early as 4 p.m. She said she is applying to be on the waitlist for her three daughters who she's raising on her own.
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Video showed a line of people wrapped around the side of the building. In the cool hours of the early morning people were wearing blankets and jackets.
“This is going to help them not to be worried at school, you know that we don't have money to pay the rent,” she said.
René who has lived in the area for 20 years said it's becoming increasingly challenging to provide as the cost of living keeps rising.
“People like us with low income, we cannot afford to buy new houses" he said.
Applications will be considered based on the date and time the preliminary application is received, qualification for one or all of the local waitlist preferences and household income.
The combination of federal funding and people dropping off the program prompted the county to be able to accept new applications for the first time in years, but spots are limited. The HCV program is funded by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Within two hours, the county reached its cutoff of 300 applications or when people on the list will have to wait three years to receive a subsidy.
The county told News4 those who filled out a preliminary application for a voucher will hear if they are qualified and if they've secured a spot in the program in about a month.
Kiplinger recently reported on the 15 Most Expensive Housing Markets in the U.S. The list included Alexandria, Arlington, Bethesda and D.C. The average home price in three of the four locations exceeded $1million.
