To curb growing wait times, the Tulsa Housing Authority is temporarily pausing applications for some of its public housing programs.

Officials say there are more than 9,200 applicants on the waitlist for its River West apartments and more than 9,800 for its Section 8 voucher program – which could translate to two years of waiting for housing.

Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs Ginny Hensley said the organization will use the break in applications to focus its energy on those who’ve already applied. She said when people apply, their needs are likely already time-sensitive.

“It's not good practice for us to continue to accept applications when the wait times are that long,” she said.

Hensley said the River West apartments are the organization’s newest development, which is part of why its waitlist is so long.

“There's a reason it probably has the highest wait list of all of our properties because it's our newest and nicest,” she said. “So it's quite obvious why that one would be higher than maybe some other properties.”

She said the Section 8 vouchers are also a popular choice among applicants because of their location flexibility. The subsidy is tied to the tenant rather than the unit, which means the voucher can be used anywhere in Tulsa where a landlord or property owner accepts it.

Applications for the Tulsa Housing Authority’s remaining 13 properties and other voucher programs will remain open and unchanged.

Still, the organization’s website says housing assistance can take anywhere from six months to three years. Hensley clarified there are shorter wait times for qualifying applicants including victims of domestic abuse, senior citizens and people with disabilities.

Otherwise, the system works to house people in the order they applied, helping those who’ve waited longest first.

Hensley said more landlords accepting housing vouchers would help with the long wait times.

The Tulsa Housing Authority began promoting new incentives to landlords last year to increase program participation. The Tulsa Housing Authority also hired a landlord relations specialist to help destigmatize the process.

“One of the great benefits of the program that we try to highlight is that, on average, a market rate renter stays in their unit for around two and a half years,” Hensley said. “We have found that Section 8 renters stay between seven and nine years in their unit, and so that's less time that the landlord is having to turn that unit over, which costs money.”

Hensley said long wait times are also indicative of the need for a city-wide increase in affordable housing. Across all of its programs, the Tulsa Housing Authority has more than 69,000 applications for housing and vouchers, representing approximately 12,000 individual applicants.

“We'd love to be able to house every single person in Tulsa who has the need,” Hensley said. “We just don't have the space or the capacity, and that's why Tulsa has to commit to producing more affordable housing units.”