As a flood of applications pours in, Sacramento housing officials are warning of a scam targeting people who want to be on the newly reopened waiting list for subsidized housing.
La Shelle Dozier, executive director of the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, said in a news release that the agency has discovered bogus websites asking applicants for a credit card or offering to sell them a credit report.
"We absolutely do not ask applicants to provide credit card information to apply for the wait list, and no payments or credit reports are required to apply for a housing voucher," Dozier said.
Starting Monday at 12:01 a.m., housing officials for the first time in six years began accepting online applications for low-income individuals and families to join the waiting list for subsidized rental homes and apartments in Sacramento County.
Applications for the wait list for the Housing Choice Voucher Program – formerly known as Section 8 – can be filled out online at www.sacwaitlist.com. The deadline to apply is 11:59 p.m. Friday.
Housing officials say that applicants are becoming prospective scam targets when they use a search engine, typing in key words.
To be safe, simply type in www.sacwaitlist.com on the computer browser to get to the correct website.
The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency will place a total of 3,000 applicants on the waiting list through random selection after the list is closed Friday. Already, applications are flowing in. By about 1 a.m. Monday, more than 3,000 applications had been received. By noon Monday, about 10,000 had been received.
Six years ago, in more economically robust times, 35,000 applications were completed to join the waiting list for subsidized rental homes and apartments.
Under the program, low-income families, disabled people and the elderly generally pay landlords approximately 30 percent of their income toward rent and utilities in residences that fall within SHRA's financial guidelines. The federal government pays the difference.
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