RHA accepts applications only at certain times during the year, which is determined by the number of households currently on the waiting list that are expected to be leased within 18 months. RHA maintains waiting lists based upon bedroom size, which is determined by an occupancy standard of two persons per bedroom.
When a waiting list opens, this means that RHA will accept new applications. Advertisements for waiting list openings occur ten business days before the actual opening.
Announcements are made through the RHA website and Facebook page, and publication to the Reading Eagle, a newspaper serving persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) when such publications are in circulation in our jurisdiction, and by press release to the general emails of social service agencies who are registered with RHA’s communications office.
Applicants complete an application through the RHA website on an on-line form. When applications are properly completed, the applicant will receive a receipt confirming their submission. This receipt contains a confirmation number. As part of making the application, the applicant registers with a username and password in the RHA software system. The applicant is also provided with a time frame in which they will be able to learn of the outcome of the application.
After the waiting list period closes, RHA performs a lottery among all applicants. Because of the extreme demand for subsidized housing in the City of Reading, RHA only accepts a specific number of applications. This is based on the number of units that are expected to become available in the next 18 months.
The lottery is conducted by a computer, so all applicants have an equal opportunity to be selected. There are no criteria that alters this opportunity. After the lottery is conducted, applicants may visit the RHA software to determine the outcome of the application. The application will either read “on list”, which means that the applicant has made the lottery selection, or “removed”, which means that the application has not been selected in the lottery. Applicants who are lottery-selected are notified of their selection via email, or by U.S. mail if no email address is provided.
Leasings occur on weekdays at 9:30 AM or 1:30 PM in the Property Management Office of the development in which the household is moving. The household must bring a money order for the pro-rated first month’s rent and security deposit equal to one month’s rent in order for the leasing to occur.
The leasing appointment is expected to take up to two hours and includes a review of the Residential Lease and Resident Handbook, and a pre-inspection of the new unit. Residents are required to sign various documents that are required by RHA and/or HUD.
All adult household members are required to attend the Leasing Appointment and sign the Lease Agreement. RHA will only execute a partial agreement when arrangements are made in advance and for extraordinary reasons. It is important to note that any household member who does not execute the lease on the date of the Leasing Appointment is prohibited from visiting or joining the household until the Lease Agreement is signed. In the event that a household member is unable to understand and therefore knowledgeably agree to the terms and conditions of the lease due to disability, the person who is authorized to act on the person’s behalf is required to attend the leasing and supply proof of legal guardianship.
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