If you’re searching for how to apply for public housing or Section 8 in San Antonio, here’s the honest truth as of October 2026: Opportunity Home San Antonio — the local housing authority, formerly called SAHA — has closed both of its main waitlists. The Family Public Housing Waitlist and the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) Waitlist are both shut. You cannot apply right now, and any page telling you to ‘just apply’ is out of date.
Nearly 100,000 families — around 250,000 people, roughly 1 in 15 San Antonians — are already on an Opportunity Home waitlist. The lines are years long, which is why new applications are closed.
Here is what you can actually do instead:
- Already on a waitlist? Check your status and keep your information current. Check online at homesa.org (Housing → Find a Home → Apply for Housing → Check Waiting List Status). Waitlist questions: 210-477-6658. Email: waitlist@homesa.org. Main line: 210-477-6000. If Opportunity Home cannot reach you, you can lose your spot — update your address and phone number the moment anything changes.
- Look at Opportunity Home’s other affordable housing options. Separate from the closed waitlists, they list affordable communities at homesa.org/otherhousingoptions.
- Try the City of San Antonio’s own housing programs. The Neighborhood and Housing Services Department at sa.gov/NHSD runs city housing assistance, and the city’s ‘Close to Home’ resource page lists additional help.
- Get free, personal help with every other benefit you may qualify for.
Looking for more ways to save? Our free Apply for Me program finds the San Antonio programs you may qualify for — food, housing, utilities, health care, and more.
The waitlists can reopen without warning. We will update this guide the moment they do — check back monthly.
Keep resources like this free. San Antonio Benefits is supported by readers like you. ♥ NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS to help us keep publishing free guides for San Antonio families. Gifts are not tax-deductible.
