The following waiting lists are currently open:

Sunrise Senior Apartments

The site-based waiting list for Project Based Voucher rental assistance units at Sunrise Senior Apartments located at 580 Westside Blvd., in Hollister is currently open and accepting applications. Sunrise Senior Apartments owned and managed by Community Housing Improvement Systems and Planning Association, Inc. (CHISPA) for occupancy by low income seniors with a head of household or spouse who is at least 62 years of age or older.

For more information about the Project Based Voucher Program, click here.

Pre-applications for the Sunrise Senior Apartments waiting list will be available beginning October 10, 2022. If you as the head of household or your spouse is age 62 or older, and you are interested in residing Sunrise Senior Apartments, complete a Sunrise Senior Apartments pre-application. Pre-applications for the waiting list will be available:

  • The CHISPA website: www.chispahousing.org
  • Housing Authority website: www.hacosantacruz.org
  • Sunrise Senior Apartments: 580 Westside Blvd. Hollister, CA 95023
  • Hollister Senior Center: 300 West St, Hollister, CA
  • CHISPA’s Main Office: 295 Main Street, Suite 100, Salinas, CA 93901
  • The Housing Authority of the County of Santa Cruz: 2160 41st Ave., Capitola 95010 Phone: (831) 454-5950 Fax: {831) 469-3712 www.hacosantacruz.org email: [email protected]
  • For more information on the application process, call (831) 757-6254 or go to www.chispahousing.org

To be added to the Sunrise Senior Apartments waiting list, return a complete pre-application to the Housing Authority.  You can return the pre-application:

  • by mail to 2160 41st Ave., Capitola 95010
  • by FAX to (831) 469-3712
  • drop off in the Housing Authority lobby at 2160 41st Ave., Capitola 95010 during office hours, Monday – Thursday 8:00 am – 4:30 pm
  • drop off after hours using our exterior Drop Box located to the left of the Housing Authority entrance.
  • E-mail [email protected]

To find out more information about this property, you are encouraged to call:

  • CHISPA at (831) 757-6254 TDD: (831) 758-9481 for information on availability of units and eligibility criteria
  • The Housing Authority at 831-454-5950 for information on completing or submitting a pre-application for this waiting list

The Housing Authority of the County of Santa Cruz provides equal opportunity to all applicants for participation in the Housing Authority’s Programs, and is an equal opportunity employer.  The Housing Authority does not discriminate based on race, ancestry, color, religion, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, political affiliation, age, citizenship, handicap or familial status. If you have any questions, please contact our Waiting List Information Line at 831-454-5950.

Resetar Project Based Voucher Waiting List

The Resetar Residential Hotel is an 89 unit supportive and affordable housing project in the heart of downtown Watsonville. There are a total of 52 Project Based units at Resetar, of which 5 units are set aside for formerly homeless veterans participating in the HUD-VASH program. There are 3 one-bedroom units and 49 studio apartment in the Project Based Voucher Program. Residents of Resetar Residential Hotel establish a service plan and receive case-management provided by Abode Services or other service providers.

In the Project Based Voucher program, assistance is associated with a unit, not the tenant. Therefore, applicants reaching the top of the Resetar waiting list will only be eligible to reside at Resetar Residential Hotel at 15 West Lake Avenue in downtown Watsonville.

El Centro Project Based Voucher Waiting List

In the Project Based Voucher program, assistance is associated with a unit, not the tenant. Therefore, applicants reaching the top of the El Centro waiting list will only be eligible to reside at El Centro Residential Apartments (1110 Pacific Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz). Only single person households age 62 or above are eligible for these units. El Centro has 45 single room occupancy (SRO) units with a bathroom, small refrigerator, microwave and sink. Each unit has access to a shared kitchen, separate men and women’s showers, and other amenities.

Click here for a flyer with more information about El Centro Residential Apartments.


The following waiting lists are currently closed:

Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) Program

The Housing Authority of the County of Santa Cruz has closed the Waiting List for the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) Program for both the County of Santa Cruz and the Cities of Hollister and San Juan Bautista.

In the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program, participants are issued a voucher and rent with a landlord who agrees to participate in the Section 8 program. The Housing Authority pays a portion of the rent directly to the landlord. The participant pays the difference between the negotiated rent and the amount paid by the Housing Authority to the landlord. This amount can (and in many cases does) exceed 30% of the household’s adjusted income.

Pippin Orchards Apartments

Pippen Orchard Apartments has both project based voucher (PBV) units and non-project based units. In the PBV program, assistance is tied to the unit, not the household. Households must reside in Pippin Orchards Apartments for at least one year before being potentially eligible to transfer assistance. As not all the apartments will be project based, there will be separate waiting list for those units. Households may apply for both waiting lists.

Please contact MidPen with questions you have about Pippin Orchards Apartments: 831-707-2150.

The Pippin Orchard Apartments Wait List closed Tuesday, August 7th at 5 pm.

Servicios de interpretación estan disponibles. Por favor solicite ayuda en la oficina de Midpen.

Merrill Road Apartments

Merrill Road is an affordable housing development consisting of 15 units for very-low income households.

USDA Farmworker Housing

This program is designed to provide affordable housing to households who earn a substantial portion of their income as farm laborers and who either are citizens of the United States or reside in the United States after being legally admitted for permanent residence. The waiting list for this program closed on Friday, October 7, 2022. Applications received after 5:00 pm on October 7, 2022 will not be placed on the waitlist.

St. Stephens Project Based Voucher (PBV) Waiting List

The complex is developed and operated by MidPen Housing. Occupancy is designated for low income seniors at least 62 years of age. The complex has studio, one and two bedroom apartments. There are a total of 39 project based units at St. Stephens. Five units are designated for formerly homeless veterans participating in the HUD-VASH program, as referred by the Veterans Administration. Five units are designated for Multipurpose Senior Services Program (MSSP) eligible persons referred by Health Projects Center. This new site based waiting list is for the remaining 29 units.


Special Voucher Programs

Over time, HUD has awarded the Housing Authority with funding for specific voucher types to serve specific populations. In some instances, these special programs offer vouchers to eligible persons from the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) waiting list. In other instances, vouchers are issued based on referrals from services providers. All special voucher programs that are based on referrals from other agencies are listed and described below, along with information regarding how you can find out more information about accessing these programs.

Shelter Plus Care

Tenant-Based Rental Assistance for 40 households

The Housing Authority administers a shelter Plus Care program which combines rental assistance and supportive services for chronically homeless persons.

Referrals for Shelter Plus Care come from the County of Santa Cruz Health Services Agency/ Homeless Persons’ Health Project (HPHP).

For more information, contact HPHP at 454-2080

Nuevo Sol SROs

11 Units

The Housing Authority administers a Moderate Rehabilitation single room occupancy project for homeless individuals.

Referrals for Nuevo Sol come from the County of Santa Cruz Health Services Agency/ Homeless Persons’ Health Project (HPHP).

For more information, contact HPHP at 454-2080

Welfare to Work vouchers

24 Vouchers

The Welfare to Work vouchers are for persons participating in the CalWorks Welfare to Work Program. The vouchers are reserved for CalWorks participants. They are intended to be a key part of the strategy to support the efforts of Santa Cruz County families who are working towards self-sufficiency.

Referrals for Welfare to Work vouchers come from the Human Services Department.

For more information, contact Victoria Regan at (831) 454-4913

Family Unification Program – Youth (FUP-Y)

30 Vouchers

The Family Unification Youth vouchers are reserved for youth and young adults who are at least eighteen years of age but not yet twenty-five years of age, who left foster care, or will leave foster care within the next ninety days, and who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless at age sixteen or older. FUP Youth vouchers used are issued for up to 36 months of housing assistance, with the possibility of extension up to a total of 60 months.

Referrals for FUP-Y vouchers come from the County of Santa Cruz Human Services Department.  For more information, visit https://santacruzhumanservices.org/HousingforHealth, email [email protected] or call 831-454-7312.

Family Unification Program (FUP)

188 Vouchers

The Family Unification Program vouchers are reserved for families for which lack of adequate housing is a primary factor in the imminent placement of their child or children in out-of-home care or in the delaying of discharge of a child or children to the family from out-of-home care.

Referrals for FUP vouchers come from the County of Santa Cruz Human Services Department.  For more information, visit https://santacruzhumanservices.org/HousingforHealth, email [email protected] or call 831-454-7312.

Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH)

347 Vouchers

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have partnered to create a program for homeless veterans that combines HUD Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance with case management and clinical services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs at its medical centers and in the community.

Referrals for vouchers VASH come from the VA.

For more Information, contact Shannon Healer, LCSW at (650) 269-5945

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Forms for Applicants Already on the Waiting List

For more information about the waiting list, see our Q&A page.

Waiting List Status Form

Use this form to notify us of a change of address or if you’d like to verify that you are on any of our waiting lists. Remember that if we cannot reach you by mail, you will be dropped from the list. Once we get this form, we will send you a new copy of your original letter that confirmed your address, placement on the list and your date of placement.

Request for Consent to Act on Tenant’s Behalf

Use this form to authorize someone else to speak to the Housing Authority or receive mail on a person’s behalf.