At 9 a.m. on Tuesday, the North Little Rock Housing Authority opened its waiting list to housing-voucher applicants for the first time in nearly three years, and people had to act fast.
By 9:30 that same morning, the 600 slots for the Section 8 voucher program had filled.
It was one of the first times the agency has used online-only sign-ups on its website instead of in person or by telephone. The sign-up platform worked on multiple devices, including laptops, mobile phones, and tablets, officials said.
However, the agency received several complaints of slower speeds or low bandwidth causing many people to disconnect from the server and restart their applications.
"There were a lot of people saying that it wasn't fair," agency Director Belinda Snow said.
In 2014, the last time the agency opened its waiting list, 800 slots were available and filled in just over 10 minutes, Snow said. Last week, the agency accepted applications strictly for people who needed special accommodations or assistance and received 12 responses.
The North Little Rock agency typically opens its waiting list every two to three years, but Snow said she expects the Section 8 waiting list to whittle down by late 2018, when the agency may open the list once again.
The Section 8 voucher program provides rental subsidies to elderly, disabled, and low-income people to help them afford safe and sanitary housing in the private market. Typically, voucher holders pay 30 percent of their households' monthly income toward rent, while federal dollars pay the rest.
Four housing agencies across Pulaski County are permitted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to issue roughly 4,500 Section 8 vouchers. And as of Wednesday, the agencies -- in Little Rock, North Little Rock, Pulaski County and Jacksonville -- maintained waiting lists totaling about 6,200.
The state's largest public housing and Section 8 administrator, Little Rock's Metropolitan Housing Authority, last opened up its waiting list in 2015 when, after only a few hours, applications climbed past 5,000.
Pulaski County's much smaller program last opened its waiting list in the summer of 2016. It was filled in fewer than two hours.
Neither agency has set a time to open its rolls next.
Across the state, 130 housing agencies administer 22,102 vouchers, according to figures collected from each agency last year. The Section 8 program accommodates 46,000 Arkansans.
Metro on 07/13/2017