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 an unknown office location in an attempt to get on the waiting list as soon as the announcement is made.

The final location and time is a closely guarded secret to prevent people from camping out in front of the location. The county will accept applications for only five days, and a lottery will determine the order of the waiting list for new applicants.

"No matter what they do, they're going to be swamped," said Martin Eichner, director of Dispute Resolution Programs for Sunnyvale's Project Sentinel, an agency that specializes in landlord/tenant issues. "That's just the reality of this. If they did it any other way, it would look like American Idol tryouts. There would be a stadium full of people."

Section 8 housing vouchers--part of the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program--subsidize rent 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 Eichner estimates the demand could be higher than 10 applicants for every one voucher.

"It's just so hard to keep up with the need," said Marjorie Matthews, director of the Santa Clara County Office of Affordable Housing, an agency set up in 2003 to fund and assist the development of affordable housing units in the county.

To qualify for Section 8, 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 new money for vouchers.

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

Approximately 100 people leave the Section 8 program each month, so the waiting list generally shrinks by about 1,200 people a year, but demand still vastly outpaces supply.

"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," she said.

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

After receiving a voucher, applicants must find a landlord willing to participate in the program. The housing authority inspects all Section 8 rental units to make sure they are clean, safe and livable.

Cupertino Community Services anxiously awaits the opening of the waiting list, because its clients often need assistance and fall into low income levels.

For many families, even a 70 percent subsidy is not enough, because many landlords require security deposits that can equal two month's rent. For that, Nancy Tivol, executive director of Sunnyvale Community Services, said her agency will provide additional subsidies.

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

Contact Cupertino Community Services at 408.255.8033.

Monica Heger contributed to this story.