Public Housing Apartments and Townhouses From the Berks County Housing Authority
The Berks County Housing Authority (BCHA) owns and manages 209 public housing units, apartments and duplex-style townhouses, spread across 9 developments in Berks County, and rents them to households who pay approximately 30 percent of their monthly income to the BCHA as rent. The authority is a governmental Public Housing Agency organized under the laws of Pennsylvania and funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and it was organized over 40 years ago to meet the housing needs of residents of Berks County who could not otherwise afford decent, safe and sanitary housing. It describes these homes as safe and affordable living environments for families in need.
The public housing waiting list is currently closed, so no new pre-applications can be submitted right now. The page does not say when it will reopen. You can sign up for waiting list and news alerts by e-mail through the Waiting List / News Alerts sign-up on berksha.org so you hear when it opens.
If you already applied, check where you stand using the "Check Status on Waiting List" button on the waiting list page at berksha.org, entering your Social Security number in the box and clicking "Verify".
When the waiting list is open, you submit a pre-application for housing assistance either by mail or online. The BCHA then uses one of two systems to place applicants on the list. It may use a lottery, in which each application is randomly given a number, so it makes no difference when your application is submitted and each application has the same chance of being chosen; the BCHA selects a certain number of applications, ordered by preference category and then by assigned number, and the rest are not selected and have to reapply when the waiting list reopens. Alternatively, it may accept all applications and order them by preference category and, within each preference category, by the date and time the application was received by the office.
When your name reaches the top of the list, you are invited to attend an intake interview, where you complete a full application for housing assistance. The authority verifies your income, assets and other information you submitted and conducts a criminal background check, then notifies you when it determines your eligibility. If you are eligible for public housing, it begins to offer you units that meet your needs as they become available.
The same application process covers the Housing Choice Voucher Program, which lets you find an apartment or house of your own choosing with a private landlord on the open market. The BCHA enters into a contract with the landlord, you pay a percentage of your income to the landlord as rent, and the BCHA pays a Housing Assistance Payment subsidy directly to the landlord. People found eligible for a voucher are invited to a briefing appointment, where they learn the rules and regulations of the program and receive the voucher before searching for a unit.
After you submit a pre-application you are required to notify the authority in writing of all address changes, and failure to report changes may result in removal from the waiting list without further notice. Public housing applicants must also continue to report all changes of household composition in addition to their address.
The authority publishes the FY 2026 income limits for the Reading, PA MSA, which consists of Berks County, with a median family income of $102,100. The very low (50%) income limits run from $35,750 for one person to $67,400 for eight people; the extremely low income limits run from $21,500 for one person to $55,720 for eight; and the low (80%) income limits run from $57,200 for one person to $107,850 for eight. The page does not say which of these limits it applies to public housing applicants or list the other eligibility rules, so ask the office.
The main office is at 1803 Butter Lane, Reading, PA 19606, in the Richard B. Delp Townhouses. Office hours are Monday through Thursday, 7:00am to 12:00pm for walk-ins and 12:30pm to 5:00pm by appointment only, and the office is closed on Fridays. The phone number is (610) 370-0822 and Relay Service is 711. For general questions about the housing programs you may e-mail contact@berksha.org. The office is also closed on New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, President's Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving Day, the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
If you already live in BCHA public housing and have a maintenance issue, call the 24-hour maintenance line at (484) 388-5163. That line is for public housing, Tarsus Manor, BHO and Norman Commons tenants only. If you have a maintenance problem and are not receiving housing assistance through the authority, it recommends calling the codes enforcement department of the city, township or borough where you live.
Source: berksha.org/waiting-list-application-process, read September 18, 2026.
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81,700 $88,250 $94,800 $101,350 $107,850
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Under this system, it makes no difference when your application is submitted; each application has the same chance of being chosen. The BCHA will select a certain number of applications, ordered by preference category and then by assigned number, to be placed on the waiting list; the rest will not be selected and will have to reapply when the waiting list reopens.Alternatively, the BCHA may accept all applications. In this case, applications will be ordered by preference category and, within each preference category, by the date and time the application was received by our office. When your name reaches the top of the list, you will be invited to attend an intake interview, where you will complete a full application for housing assistance. We will verify your income, assets, and other information you submitted and conduct a criminal background check. We will notify you if we determine your eligibility. If you are eligible for public housing, we will begin to offer you units that meet your needs as they become available.
In Berks County Housing Authority’s words
Public housing consists of apartments and duplex-style townhouses that the BCHA owns and manages. The BCHA manages 209 units located in 9 developments across Berks County. You will pay approximately 30 percent of your monthly income to the BCHA as rent.
Organization
Berks County Housing Authority
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This listing summarizes publicly available information from berksha.org/waiting-list-application-process. Last recorded review: September 18, 2026. Contact the provider to confirm eligibility, hours and availability before you go. If something here is wrong, tell us.