(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s largest city had to turn away thousands of people from applying for federal housing vouchers under the Section Eight program — and that’s just for a chance to get on a wait-list, not for the rental assistance itself. It’s the first time Des Moines had to close its wait-list in two decades. Chris Johansen, director of neighborhood services, says the city received 75-hundred applications this year. That sets a new record and is three-thousand more than last year.

“We had a lot more people from not only just locally, but from other states that applied as well,” Johansen says, “and that just tells me that the waiting list in their community are either long or they’re closed as well.” Johansen says it’s a sign that incomes aren’t keeping up with the cost of housing. He says the high demand for housing might be caused by COVID aftereffects. Since the pandemic, he says there has been a large increase in rent prices.

“We’ve seen, over the last two years, our average housing assistance payment has increased by about $150,” Johansen says. “That’s a straight correlation with the rise in rental rates.” Johansen says the city is already having trouble meeting the need, as federal funding isn’t covering as many families as it used to cover.