Multnomah County Reopens Rental Assistance List for First Time in Two Years

• Author: Margaret Hills
• Posted: 2025-04-18

Multnomah County has reopened its list for people who need help paying their rent. This list is for low-income families and individuals and had not been open for two years. People can apply for only one week.

This assistance comes from a federal program that gives out what are called Housing Choice Vouchers. These vouchers help pay for rental apartments that would otherwise be too pricey.

Check out: Everything You Need to Know Before Applying for a Property Through Section 8

Home Forward, the local housing authority, is in charge of this list. It's very rare for this list to open because lots of people need affordable housing, but there isn't much money available from the government. The last time Home Forward let people sign up was in 2023, and before that, it was closed for seven years.

There's a huge demand for these vouchers. In just the first five hours from the list opening on a Tuesday, about 7,000 applications came in. That's more applications than what Home Forward got at the start when they last opened the list in 2023.

Home Forward will accept applications until the evening of Monday, April 21. Everyone who applies doesn't just get on the list—they draw names randomly as part of a lottery. There's only room for 3,000 new people to get on the list before it closes again.

To apply, households have to earn less than half of the average income for the area. That means, for a family of four in Multnomah County, they shouldn't make more than $5,170 a month.

People who get a voucher from this program can pick almost any apartment they want to live in and will pay less than 29% of their income on rent. For a family of four, that means paying no more than $1,499 a month. Home Forward will pay the rest.

The program aims to give families some security, so they can keep their homes while also paying for other important things like food, medicine, and childcare.

Even with the voucher, finding a place to live isn't always a sure thing. People have to pass checks on their income, and they have to have a clean background and good credit. Plus, it's often hard to find apartments that are cheap enough, even with a voucher. Right now, a three-bedroom apartment in Portland costs about $2,600 on average.

When someone gets a voucher, they're supposed to use it in 120 days, but it's not always that easy. The housing authority, Home Forward, sometimes gives more time to find a place and offers help to overcome obstacles.

It can take up to three years for a person to find a home after getting on the list. There are still about 500 people from those who got on the list in 2023 who haven't found a place to use their voucher yet.

The government's housing department supports Home Forward with money, which was a concern when there was talk about budget cuts a while ago. But, they have received a bit more money recently and reassurances that the voucher program will stay important.

People who need rent help can apply online, on the phone, or in person at certain library events during the week. Everyone who applies should know by autumn if they've made it onto the list.

-

Related reading: Help for First-Time Homebuyers in Wyoming