Waythrough is an independent resource, not MDHA. We summarize public information to help you get oriented. For applications and the most current waiting-list status, always use the official links below.

The Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA) is the housing authority for Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee. It was created in 1938 as the Nashville Housing Authority and took its current name in 1973, and it now houses roughly 30,000 people through about 8,000 Housing Choice Vouchers and more than 6,700 apartments it owns. The headline most people find is that MDHA's main voucher and affordable-housing waiting lists are closed. That is true, and it is also only half the story: MDHA opens waiting lists for individual apartment communities several times a year, they are announced only a few days ahead, and they close within about a week. This page covers both, plus how to reach the right department and how to keep an existing application alive.

Quick Facts

Serves: Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee
Phone: (615) 252-8400
Official site: www.nashville-mdha.org/
Apply: MDHA application page
Status last checked: August 25, 2026

Waiting-List Status

Waiting lists open and close frequently, so treat the status below as a starting point and confirm on the official site before you rely on it.

  • Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8): Closed — Closed (checked August 25, 2026). MDHA's wording is: "MDHA is not currently accepting applications for our voucher program waiting lists." No reopening date has been published. MDHA says it "announces waiting list openings in advance here on our website and on our social media pages (@NashvilleMDHA), so we encourage you to check back regularly for the latest information." If you already applied, MDHA says you can "check your position on the waiting list by logging into Rent Cafe with the username you used to submit your application."
  • MDHA affordable-housing waiting lists, agency-wide: Closed — Closed (checked August 25, 2026): "MDHA is not currently accepting applications for our affordable housing waiting lists." This is the agency-wide list, and it is not the same thing as the individual property lists below.
  • Individual apartment communities, opened one at a time: Open periodically, for short windows — This is the part that is easy to miss. MDHA opens the waiting list for one property at a time and announces it on its own news page a few days beforehand. In 2026 alone it opened lists for Neighborhood Housing, Vine Hill Apartments, Historic Preston Taylor Apartments, Shelby House project-based vouchers, Vine Hill Studio Apartments, Parthenon Towers, Carleen Batson Waller Manor, Sudekum Apartments and CWA Plaza Apartments II, between February and April. The windows are short: the Neighborhood Housing list ran "from noon Feb. 13, 2026, to 3 p.m. Feb. 20, 2026" and that is typical. As of August 25, 2026, MDHA's apply page showed no property list open, so the practical move is to check nashville-mdha.org/apply-for-housing and the agency's news page every week or two.

Programs MDHA Runs

  • Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8)
  • Moderate Rehabilitation
  • Affordable apartments at MDHA-owned communities, largely through Project-Based Rental Assistance
  • Project-Based Vouchers at partner properties
  • Shelter Plus Care
  • Family Unification Program and Family Self-Sufficiency
  • Section 8 homeownership
  • Federal community development funds for Metro Nashville: HOME, CDBG, ESG and HOPWA
  • Redevelopment districts across the urban core

How to Apply

Apply directly through the authority's official application page: www.nashville-mdha.org/apply-for-housing/. If you have already applied, call (615) 252-8400 to verify your position and keep your contact information current — if the authority cannot reach you when your name comes up, you can be dropped from the list.

New to the process? Our step-by-step guide to applying for Section 8 walks through the whole thing, and how to find your PHA helps you locate the right authority.

Other Authorities Serving This Area

  • The short windows are the whole game. MDHA does not keep property lists open. Between February and April 2026 it opened nine of them, each announced a few days ahead and closed within about a week. Following @NashvilleMDHA and bookmarking the apply page is worth more here than it is at most authorities, because a list you find two weeks late is a list you missed.
  • The application is online through Rent Cafe, and the login changed in January 2026. MDHA posted an update to its Rent Cafe login process on January 12, 2026. If you have an older account and cannot get in, that is why. The applicant portal is at rentcafe.com/onlineleasing/mdha, and MDHA says there is "absolutely no cost to submit a pre-application on-line" and that "you should only apply through the approved website."
  • Call the right department, not the switchboard. (615) 252-8400 is MDHA's main line, but the Rental Assistance Department, which handles vouchers, is (615) 252-6500. Resident Services runs an information line at (615) 252-8527. For an overdue balance, Finance is (615) 252-8440. Voucher questions by email go to Section8@Nashville-MDHA.org.
  • If you are homeless right now, MDHA points you elsewhere first. Its own guidance is to contact the Metro Office of Homeless Services at (615) 862-6444 for Coordinated Entry. That is a separate process from the MDHA waiting lists and it does not require a list to be open.
  • Outside Davidson County, the state agency runs the program. The Tennessee Housing Development Agency "administers the Housing Choice Voucher program in 72 Tennessee counties" and publishes a coverage map. Its own waiting list currently reads "Status: Closed" with "No application dates currently scheduled" (checked August 25, 2026), and it announces openings through local newspaper advertisements and social media. General information (800) 228-THDA.

More Local Resources

For the full picture of affordable housing in this area — emergency shelter, rental assistance, tenant rights, and legal aid — see our Nashville housing resources page and our TN state resources.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Nashville Section 8 waiting list open?

No. As of August 25, 2026 MDHA states that it "is not currently accepting applications for our voucher program waiting lists," and it has not published a reopening date. MDHA says openings are announced in advance on its website and on its social media pages (@NashvilleMDHA). What it does open regularly are waiting lists for individual apartment communities, so check nashville-mdha.org/apply-for-housing rather than assuming there is nothing to apply for.

MDHA says its lists are closed, so is there anything I can apply for?

Often, yes, just not the main list. MDHA opens property-level waiting lists one at a time throughout the year. In 2026 it opened nine between February and April, including Vine Hill Apartments, Parthenon Towers, Sudekum Apartments and CWA Plaza Apartments II. Each is announced on MDHA's news page only a few days before it opens and stays open for roughly a week. As of August 25, 2026 none were open, but that changes month to month, which is why checking the apply page regularly matters more here than at an authority that opens one list every few years.

How short are the application windows really?

About a week. MDHA's Neighborhood Housing list ran "from noon Feb. 13, 2026, to 3 p.m. Feb. 20, 2026," and the other 2026 openings followed the same pattern. Applications are accepted online only. Set up your Rent Cafe account before a list opens rather than during it, and have your household information ready, because you will not have time to sort out a login problem inside the window. If you need help applying, MDHA directs people to the Resident Services information line at (615) 252-8527 and says to press 0 when prompted.

How do I check my place on the MDHA waiting list?

For vouchers, MDHA says to "check your position on the waiting list by logging into Rent Cafe with the username you used to submit your application." For affordable housing at a specific property, MDHA says to contact that property directly and gives leasing office numbers on its communities page. Keep your contact details current in Rent Cafe. MDHA updated its Rent Cafe login process in January 2026, so if an older account will not open, that change is the likely reason.

What number should I call at MDHA?

(615) 252-8400 reaches MDHA's main office at 701 S. Sixth St. For voucher questions specifically, the Rental Assistance Department is (615) 252-6500, and email goes to Section8@Nashville-MDHA.org. Resident Services runs an information line at (615) 252-8527, and Finance handles overdue balances at (615) 252-8440. If you are currently homeless, MDHA points to the Metro Office of Homeless Services at (615) 862-6444.

How big is MDHA, and what does it actually own?

MDHA describes itself as housing roughly 30,000 Nashvillians. It manages more than 7,000 vouchers and owns more than 6,700 units, primarily affordable housing, across nearly 40 properties, with about 300 employees and a $215 million budget. It is also a development authority overseeing 11 redevelopment districts, and it administers Metro Nashville's federal HOME, CDBG, ESG and HOPWA funds. Its Payment in Lieu of Taxes program has helped create or preserve roughly 12,000 affordable units across more than 50 developments since 2016.

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