'Everybody Deserves A Place To Call Home.' OKC In Jeopardy Of Halting Housing Vouchers

With increased rent prices in the state and nationwide, more people are turning to rental assistance. The Oklahoma City Housing Authority says they’re trying to fill the need, but there’s not enough money to go around.

“We all deserve someplace safe, someplace welcoming,” said Mark Gillett, the Executive Director at the Oklahoma City Housing Authority. “Everyone deserves that opportunity no matter if we're rich or poor.”

But housing has become a luxury that some cannot afford. At least 10,000 people in OKC are on the waiting list to receive a Section 8 housing voucher. 

“There's not enough money going back into Section 8 to fully fund all of those vouchers that are needed,” said Gillett. “I mean that's a multiyear situation, we average about 500 vouchers being issued a year, so you can do that math pretty easily.”

Gillett says they are expecting a letter from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) any day now, giving them orders to stop issuing any additional vouchers. HUD calls this a shortfall.

“The shortfall is a nationwide issue right now, all rents all over the nation are going up, a lot of that is due to the pandemic, and the fact that there was an eviction moratorium in effect for 18-24 months,” said Gillett.

While OKC has not been put in a shortfall yet, Gillett says he expects it soon. A shortfall would mean the 10,000 people waiting for rental assistance will have to wait even longer.

“You're also dealing with the fact that rents are going up in OKC substantially, so what five years ago a voucher would have cost $450 on the average, now it's in the $800 range, so almost doubled,” said Gillett.

The state has implemented a handful of rental assistance programs that Gillett says have helped the housing crisis, but he says the solution lies in Washington D.C.

”Nationwide we need Congress to allocate more money towards the housing choice voucher program,” said Gillett.

Gillett says it’s important to note that a shortfall would only impact people on the waiting list, and would not impact anybody who currently holds a Section 8 housing voucher.

“We know that HUD is not giving us more right now, but it is important to know that nobody is excited, nobody is losing their housing because of this situation,” said Gillett.

For more information on OKC housing vouchers, click here: https://www.ochanet.org/leased_housing/index.php