On March 31, the Santa Clara County Housing Authority will announce when and where people can apply to get on the waiting list for the vouchers. Many agencies in the South Bay predict that tens of thousands of residents will flood the housing authority website and unknown office locations in an attempt to get on the waiting list as soon as the announcement is made.

The list will be open only for five days. Afterwards, the people who submitted applications will receive a position on the waiting list on a lottery basis. As vouchers become available, the housing authority will distribute them by going down that applicant waiting list.

"We're very excited [about the list opening up]," said Anne Ehresman, senior vice president of InnVision, a nonprofit provider of housing services. "There's been rumors of it opening for over a year, and we've been dying."

Section 8 housing vouchers--part of the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program--subsidize rents for low-income families. Generally, Section 8 participants pay 30 percent of their monthly income for rent and the program picks up the rest. The program allows low-income families to rent safe, clean homes, but according to Ehresman, "the need far outweighs what's available."

To qualify, an applicant's income cannot exceed 50 percent of the area's median income, and 75 percent of the available vouchers must go to people who make less than 30 percent. According to the housing authority, 50 percent of the median income is approximately $37,150 for a single person, $47,750 for a family of three.

The Section 8 waiting list was last opened--for a week--in 1999, and 27,000 people signed up. Since then, the waiting list has gradually shrunk to the point where the Housing Authority is ready to accept new applicants.

Candy Capogrossi, executive director of the Santa Clara County Housing Authority, said the Housing Authority does not have any new money for vouchers.

"Vouchers are only made available as people graduate from the program," she said.

"We're always trying to get more money for vouchers, but unfortunately, the federal budget is geared mostly toward international policy right now, not domestic."

Approximately 100 people leave the Section 8 program each month, so the waiting list generally shrinks by about 1,200 people a year, but the demand still vastly outpaces the supply. For example, Ehresman said about 1,000 people come to InnVision a day, all of whom qualify for Section 8 housing.

There are still 800 people on the waiting list, who Capogrossi said will be served before any new applicants.

Capogrossi said her counterparts in Oakland recently reopened their voucher waiting list and got 46,000 applicants.

After receiving a voucher, applicants find a landlord willing to participate in the program and a lease is signed. The Housing Authority inspects all Section 8 rental units to make sure they are clean, safe and livable.

For many families, even a 70 percent subsidy is not enough, because many landlords require security deposits that can equal two month's rent, and is not covered by the voucher. Ehresman said there are organizations that provide additional subsidies for security deposit, citing the United Way and the Housing Industry Foundation.

For more information, or for final dates and times from the Santa Clara County Housing Authority, 505 W. Julian St. in San Jose, visit www.hacsc.org or call 408.275.8770.

For more information about Innvision, 974 Willow St. in San Jose, visit www.innvision.org or call 408.292.4286.

Monica Heger contributed to this report.