When HACA has housing assistance available, it accepts wait list lottery entries through an announced wait list opening. At the close of the wait list opening period, HACA conducts an electronic lottery. Each application is assigned a number and a computer program randomly selects the lottery winners, that is, the number of applicants to which HACA estimates will be able to provide assistance within the next twelve months.
When HACA conducts a lottery, all applications in the lottery pool have an equal chance of being selected. When you applied, or any preference points for which you might, eventually, be eligible for do not help or hurt your odds of being selected in a lottery. Only the total number of applicants in the lottery pool impacts your chance of being selected as a lottery winner. No application has a better chance of being selected than another.
Applicants selected in the lottery are added to HACA’s wait list. Those not selected in the lottery are not added to the wait list and can re-apply the next time the wait list opens.
