The Housing Choice Voucher Program provides decent, affordable housing to very low- to low-income individuals and families, including people with disabilities and senior citizens. Vouchers are distributed through Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) with local housing agency partners. VHDA contracts with the City of Winchester to administer this program. Vouchers allow qualifying prospective tenants to select from a wider range of housing options, as opposed to being limited to designated housing projects. The program pays the difference between the voucher payment standard and 30% of the participant’s monthly adjusted income toward rent and utilities.
To participate in the program, a family must apply to a local housing agent and be certified as eligible. They are allowed to seek housing from landlords who wish to participate. The family may select the housing in which they currently reside or move to another home. Any rental housing, including single-family homes, apartments, and mobile homes, qualifies as long as it is in decent, safe, and sanitary condition, as defined by the program Housing Quality Standards. Every month, the landlord receives two checks: one from the family and one from VHDA. Payments will be made for the term of the specified contract.
For landlords interested in the Housing Choice Voucher Program, please visit: vhda.com | virginiahousingsearch.com
The Winchester Housing Choice Voucher Program only serves families that live/work in the City of Winchester. Anyone may apply, but those applicants who live/work in Winchester are placed on the waiting list ahead of those who do not live/work in the city of Winchester.
Housing Choice Voucher Program Contacts:
(Last name A-J) Jean Richardson
(Last name K-Z) Sherry Richards
Eligibility is determined by household income and based on family size.
City of Winchester Waiting List Selection Process
Applicants are selected in order of date and time of application by preference.
- First preference is given to applicants living and/or working in the City of Winchester.
- Second preference is given to those applicants who are Working Families: Families where the head, spouse, or sole member is either employed, is age 62 or older, or is a person with disabilities.
- Third preference is given to those applicants who are Homeless: “Any person or family that lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; or is living in a shelter, an institution that provides a temporary assistance, or a public or private place not designated for regular sleeping accommodation”.
- All other applicants are selected after preference holders are selected in order of date and time of their application.
Announcements
The Waiting List for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, formerly known as Section 8, is currently closed.
If you are an applicant that has a pending application for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, notify our office in writing of any changes in your local preferences. When applicants are pulled off the waiting list, staff will attempt to contact the applicant twice by mail. If our office is unable to make contact with the applicant, their name will be removed from the waiting list. The applicant must reapply when the waiting list is open to receive new applications.
Other Resources
Fair Housing posters in six different languages: