Resources and Support

The Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program helps people in our community afford rent by covering part of the cost. This program makes it easier for families to find safe and stable housing while allowing them to choose where they want to live in Multnomah County.

A property-based waitlist is for rent assistance that is tied to a Home Forward apartment community instead of a person. To get this help, you must live at that property. These vouchers are non-transferrable.

Housing Choice Voucher and Property-Based voucher programs help families, seniors, people with disabilities, and anyone with low income afford safe and stable housing.

The Waitlist application and lottery are to ensure equitable access to the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) and Property-Based (PB) waiting lists. For the HCV waitlist we will select 3,000 applicants at random to be placed on the waiting list for possible rent assistance (this is not a guarantee of assistance). Property-Based will be adding enough applicants to the PB waiting list to last for the next three years, based on the current number of people on the waiting list, unit turnover, and several other factors.

Online applications will be accepted from 9:00 AM Tuesday, April 15 to 11:59 PM Monday, April 21, 2025 (Pacific Time).

Please review our Applicant Guide [LINK] to make sure you have everything you need before you begin your application.

To qualify for the programs:

• Your household must earn less than 50% of the Area Median Income (AMI).
• The head of the household must be at least 18 years old or an emancipated minor.
• At least one person in the household must be a U.S. citizen or have eligible immigration status.
• Everyone must agree to a criminal background check.

Name, birth date, social security, gross income, and contact information. To ensure you’re fully prepared before applying, view our Applicant Guide [LINK].  We periodically send communications asking applicants if they are still interested in being on the waiting list. Please ensure your contact information including email, phone, and mailing address remains up to date. If you do not respond to communications, your name will be removed from the list.

Visit our Applicant Portal to register your account.

Save time and register your account before the waitlist opening date. You will not be able to apply to the waitlist until it opens.

• Social security or ITIN: If you or other members of the household don’t have this number, enter 999-99-9999. 
• Phone number: If you don’t have a permanent phone number, enter a friend’s number, or 999-999-9999 if no other phone options are available.
• Email address: You must have an email address to create an account and submit your application. You can set up a free email address following instructions in the application portal.
  • Note: Record your email address and password once you have set them up; we will not be able to help you retrieve your new email information.

We periodically send communications asking applicants if they are still interested in being on the waiting list. Please ensure your contact information including email, phone, and mailing address remains up to date. If you do not respond to communications, your name will be removed from the list.

No. Current residency in Multnomah County is not required. However, Housing Choice Vouchers must be used within Multnomah County for the first 12 months. After the 12- month period you may be eligible to transfer your Housing Choice Voucher. Property- Based Vouchers may only be used at the specific property they are assigned to.

Households currently living, receiving employment, education, or training in Multnomah County will receive waiting list preference if selected from the waitlist and may receive rent assistance sooner.

The online application is available in English, Spanish, Somali, Russian, and Vietnamese. We will have people ready to assist you by phone April 15 – April 21 Just call our help line 503-415-8050, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Yes. Save time by pre-registering your account before the application opens on April 15. You will not be able to apply to a waitlist until the opening, but you can have your account ready to use.

After you create an account you will get a message that no waitlists are open. After April 15, 2025 you will be able to submit an application. You will also get an email confirmation that your account was created.

No. All applications received will have an equal chance of being selected and placed on the waitlist. We will randomly select applicants for the Housing Choice Voucher and Property-Based waiting lists. If your application is selected from the lottery, it will be assigned a number at random. Your position on the list will be determined by the number you are assigned in the lottery process. As we draw applications from the list, priority will be given to people currently living, working, hired to work, or receiving education or training in Multnomah County.

No. Only submit one application. Your application is for entry into both the HCV and PB waitlist lotteries and NOT a guarantee of voucher assistance or housing.

Duplicate applications will be removed from the lottery.

Home Forward will have people ready to assist you by phone April 15 – April 21 Just call our help line: 503-415-8050, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. PST

Yes, you can save your application and log in later to complete and submit it by the waitlist close date, 11:59 PM PST Monday, April 21, 2025. However, we encourage you to complete the application in one sitting so that your session doesn’t time out or you forget to submit your application before the deadline.

Our Help Team is ready to assist you throughout this process. You can reach them at 503-415- 8050, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. PST and 5 p.m. PST from April 15-21.

The applicant portal is mobile-friendly and can be accessed via phone or tablet. Your local library is also a useful resource for computer access. Here is a list of Multnomah County libraries and locations.

Do you require a paper application? Home Forward will accept paper applications in certain circumstances upon request only. However, we strongly encourage you to submit your application online. You can also call the Helpline and submit your application over the phone, especially if you require extra assistance.

Yes. Call the hotline 503-415-8050 during the open application period to submit your application over the phone with a Home Forward staff member. Completion over the phone ensures you can meet the application deadline. Translation services are available.

If you have an existing RentCafe account, please log in with your registered credentials. Once logged in you will see an option to apply to the Home Forward waitlist application.

An automated message containing your confirmation number will be sent to your email on file. Please keep this email for your records. If you did not receive a confirmation email, please confirm your submission, verify your contact email through your online account and/or check your spam folder.

Selection of waitlist applicants and distribution of available Housing Choice Vouchers and Property-Based Vouchers will occur by September 2025. We will reach out if we need additional information to verify your application. Once you apply, there is no action needed on your part.

1. All eligible applications will be placed into a lottery and assigned a number through a random selection process.
2. Numbers 1 through 3,000 will be placed on the waiting list to receive a Housing Choice Voucher. Property-based assistance will cover housing openings for the next two to three years as opportunities open up.
3. All applicants will be notified of their waiting list status by September 2025. If you are placed on the waiting list, you can log into the portal after September 2025 or call the Waitlist Position Hotline at 503-415-8000 to find out your position on the waiting list.

Let us know right away if your contact information or household composition changes. If we send you a communication and it is returned, your name will be removed from the waiting list.

We periodically send communications asking applicants if they are still interested in being on the waiting list. If you do not respond, your name will be removed from the list.

We periodically send communications asking applicants if they are still interested in being on the waiting list. Please ensure your contact information including email, phone, and mailing address remains up to date. If you do not respond to communications, your name will be removed from the list.

You can fax changes to 503.802.8330 or email waitlistinfo@homeforward.org.

You may also send your updates by mail or hand-deliver your updates to:
Home Forward
Attention: Waitlist
135 SW Ash St.
Portland, OR 97204