Find Housing

At the Tacoma Housing Authority, it is our duty to assist and support those most in need of housing find and secure safe, affordable housing.

We offer two different kinds of housing assistance: housing in rental units owned by THA, or vouchers to help you pay for housing you rent from private owners.

• Types of housing assistance
• Eligibility requirements for public housing
• Eligibility requirements for rental assistance

THA’s housing waitlists

You can apply to our waitlists for low-income housing through THA’s new online service portal.

• Log in to the THA applicant portal
• How to register an account
• How to apply to the waitlists

We have separate waiting lists for housing in a THA property and for rental assistance vouchers. The waitlists are open continuously, so you can apply at any time, and you will be able to apply specifically for THA housing, for a voucher, or both.

You can find more information on our waitlist page.

• Learn more about the changes to our waitlists
• Frequently asked questions about the waitlists

THA’s market-rate units

Some of THA’s properties include units that we rent out at affordable market rates for households earning certain incomes. Tenants in these units are not part of THA’s housing programs, but they live in an affordable THA-owned unit.

Our market-rate properties are leasing at 60% of Tacoma’s Area Median Income. Please contact us if you aren’t sure whether you qualify.

When we have available market-rate units, they will be posted here.

Subsidized units

THA also subsidizes units owned by partners who rent to low-income households. When we are informed about available subsidized units, they will be posted here.

THA’s Housing Vouchers for Special Populations

THA serves the following populations through referrals from community partners. If you think you might qualify, please contact the agency listed below.

• Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) – Are you a homeless veteran looking for housing assistance? Call the VA Puget Sound Health Care System at 800-329-8387 and mention your interest in HUD-VASH.

• Non-Elderly Disabled Voucher Program (NED) – Are you under the age of 62 with a disability transitioning from a nursing home or skilled nursing facility, or currently staying in a hospital or other healthcare institution for an extended period without a residence? Contact your DSHS Aging and Long-Term Support Administration (ALTSA) case worker to ask about the NED program, or get more information about ALTSA housing resources.

• Family Unification Program (FUP) – Are you a family without adequate housing that may lead to the placement of your child or children in out-of-home care? Or is your lack of housing delaying the return of your child or children from out-of-home care? Contact your Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) case worker to see if you are eligible for a FUP voucher.

• Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) – Are you between the ages of 18–24, have left foster care or will leave within 90 days, homeless or at risk of homelessness, and in foster care between the ages of 16–18? Contact your Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) Social Worker, Pierce County Alliance or Comprehensive Life Resources to see if you are eligible for a FYI voucher.

• Mainstream Vouchers – Are you at least 18 and under 62 years old with a disability? Contact your DSHS Aging and Long-Term Support Administration (ALTSA) case worker and/or Pierce County Human Services to see if you are eligible for a Mainstream voucher.

If you face homelessness

The Tacoma Pierce County Coalition to End Homelessness keeps a list of shelter facilities available in the area, including location, availability, and contact information.

• Overnight Shelters
• Hygeine and Day Shelters
• Domestic Violence Shelter
• Free Showers at some YMCA locations

Other places to try for housing help

Here are some other places to try for affordable housing or rental assistance:

• Pierce County Housing Authority: www.pchawa.org
• Seattle Housing Authority: www.seattlehousing.org
• King County Housing Authority: www.kcha.org
• Renton Housing Authority: www.rentonhousing.org
• Rental Assistance information from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development: HUD.gov/topics/rental_assistance
• Affordable Housing apartment listings: https://www.affordablehousing.com/
• Mercy Housing: https://www.mercyhousing.org/washington/new-tacoma-apartments
• SeniorHousingNet: https://www.seniorhousingnet.com/
• Human Good (housing for seniors, formerly called American Baptist Homes of the West): https://www.humangood.org/
• About Senior Apartments from SeniorAdvice.com: https://www.senioradvice.com/senior-apartments
• Emergency Housing Guide from Caring.com: https://www.caring.com/resources/emergency-housing-guide/
• Korean Womens Association: https://www.kwacares.org/

Resources specifically for people exiting corrections:

• Re-entry Resources: wiki.sos.wa.gov/ILSRe-entry/index.php?title=Pierce_County
• Arms Around You: https://volunteer.uwkc.org/agency/detail/?agency_id=90881

Legal Help

If you need a lawyer because your landlord is trying to evict you, you may be able to get a free lawyer from Tacoma Pro Bono: https://tacomaprobono.org/; (253) 572-5134 ext. 102.  

You can also contact CLEAR (Coordinated Legal Education Advice and Referral). Its phone number is (888) 201-1014. CLEAR takes calls Monday to Friday from 9:15 AM to 12:15 PM. CLEAR’s services are free. You can also find a lot of good and easy-to-use self-help legal advice at Washington Legal Help: https://www.washingtonlawhelp.org

Here are some ways that legal assistance might help:

• If a landlord has served an eviction notice or served court papers for eviction for nonpayment of rent, a lawyer can help get rental assistance to pay the rent and avoid the eviction.  A tenant may have other defenses as well, whether the eviction is for nonpayment of rent or for other reasons.  At least it is worth learning about the eviction  process and how long it will take.
• If the tenant owes rent but the landlord owes the tenant money because the apartment or house has serious defects that the landlord has not fixed, such as no heat, no water, no hot water, no working stove or refrigerator that came with the lease.
• If the landlord is trying to evict a tenant because the tenant complained about these defects.
• If a landlord refused to rent to someone or is trying to evict a tenant because of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender, sexual preference, disability, because the tenant household has children, because of the tenant’s military status or because the tenant or their children are a victim of domestic violence.