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A Safe, Secure Place to Call Home

The RHA helps ensure 15,000 Nevadans have a safe, secure place to call home.

Our Mission
Our History
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Doing Business With Us

What is the Reno Housing Authority?

Our Mission

To provide fair, sustainable, quality housing in diverse neighborhoods throughout Reno, Sparks and Washoe County that offers a stable foundation for low-income families to pursue economic opportunities, become self-sufficient and improve their quality of life.

Our History

Public Housing in this country was established by the U.S. Housing Act of 1937.

The purpose of the Act was to provide homes for those of low and moderate income and to provide jobs for the unemployed. The RHA was founded six years later, in October 1943, as a municipal corporation under Nevada Revised Statute 315. Since its founding, RHA has also been appointed as the Public Housing Authority for the City of Sparks, Reno, and Washoe County.

Our Full History

The organization of RHA

RHA has a five-person Board of Commissioners appointed by the Mayor of Reno with the concurrence of the Reno City Council. The Board of Commissioners appoints an Executive Director who administers the day-to-day operations of the organization.

RHA employs approximately 80 people with duties ranging from maintenance and inspections to administration of the various RHA programs and complexes.

Addressing Washoe County's Affordable Housing Needs

group photo of the RHA Team

RHA currently owns and manages more than 750 units of Public Housing in eight different locations in Reno and Sparks under the Public Housing program. Through Neighborhood Stabilization Programs and other funding, the organization also owns more than 165 rental properties specifically targeted for low-income households.

Additionally, RHA and its subsidiary, Washoe Affordable Housing Corporation, owns, manages or contracts more than 1,400 below market rate rental properties in Washoe County.

Rental Assistance

What is Affordable Housing?

RHA Events and Board Meetings
December 2025
MTWTFSS
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12/1 Girl Scouts - Myra Birch
December 1, 2025
17:30
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12/2 Early Foundations Book Kit Event - 440 Reno Ave
December 2, 2025
09:30
12/2 Produce on Wheels by FBNN Drop-off - Tom Sawyer
December 2, 2025
09:00
12/2 Young at Heart Dance Class - Willie J Wynn
December 2, 2025
14:30
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12/3 Understanding Healthcare Workshop - 440 Reno Ave
December 3, 2025
16:00
12/3 Workshop - Start Smart - 440 Reno Ave
December 3, 2025
16:00
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12/4 PM On Duty Housing Specialist Walk Ins – Mineral Manor
December 4, 2025
13:00
12/4 Food Pantry Open at Tom Sawyer
December 4, 2025
09:00
12/4 AM On Duty Housing Specialist Walk Ins – Mineral Manor
December 4, 2025
09:00
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12/9 Reno Food System Workshop - Tom Sawyer
December 9, 2025
10:30
12/9 Mineral Manor Resident Council Meeting
December 9, 2025
16:00
12/9 Girl Scouts - Myra Birch
December 9, 2025
17:30
12/9 Young at Heart Dance Class - Willie J Wynn
December 9, 2025
14:30
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12/10 Food Box by FBNN - Tom Sawyer
December 10, 2025
09:00
12/10 Myra Birch Resident Council Meeting
December 10, 2025
16:30
12/10 Girl Scouts - Essex Manor
December 10, 2025
16:30
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12/11 Neighborhood Resident Council (Tom Sayer, Silverada, McGraw) - Tom Sawyer
December 11, 2025
13:00
12/11 Girl Scouts - Mineral Manor
December 11, 2025
18:00
12/11 PM On Duty Housing Specialist Walk Ins – Mineral Manor
December 11, 2025
13:00
12/11 AM On Duty Housing Specialist Walk Ins – Mineral Manor
December 11, 2025
09:00
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12/12 Stead Resident Council Meeting - 4906 Cocoa Ave
December 12, 2025
10:00
12/12 Renown Facility Tour - 1155 Mill Street, Renown Main Hospital
December 12, 2025
09:00
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12/15 Girl Scouts - Myra Birch
December 15, 2025
17:30
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12/16 Essex Resident Council Meeting - Essex Manor
December 16, 2025
17:30
12/16 Produce on Wheels by FBNN Drop-Off - Tom Sawyer
December 16, 2025
09:00
12/16 Young at Heart Dance Class - Willie J Wynn
December 16, 2025
14:30
12/16 ARB Admissions - Silverada Manor
December 16, 2025
12:30
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12/17 Food Box by FBNN Drop-Off - Tom Sawyer
December 17, 2025
09:00
18
12/18 Food Box by FBNN Drop-Off - Willie J Wynn
December 18, 2025
10:00
12/18 Girl Scouts - Mineral Manor
December 18, 2025
18:00
12/18 PM On Duty Housing Specialist Walk Ins – Mineral Manor
December 18, 2025
13:00
12/18 Food Pantry Open at Tom Sawyer
December 18, 2025
09:00
12/18 AM On Duty Housing Specialist Walk Ins – Mineral Manor
December 18, 2025
09:00
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12/19 Rock Painting Multigenerational Event - Tom Sawyer
December 19, 2025
13:00
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12/23 Board Meeting
December 23, 2025
12:00
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12/25 Christmas Lunch for Seniors - RSGM - Tom Sawyer
December 25, 2025
11:00
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12/31 New Landlord Briefing - Teams Meeting
December 31, 2025
13:30
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Reno Housing Authority History

Public Housing in this country was established by the U.S. Housing Act of 1937. The purpose of the Act was to provide homes for those of low and moderate income and to provide jobs for the unemployed. The Housing Authority of the City of Reno (Reno Housing Authority or RHA) was founded six years later in October 1943, as a municipal corporation under Nevada Revised Statute 315. Since its founding, RHA has also been appointed as the Public Housing Authority for the City of Sparks, Reno, and Washoe County. The Reno Housing Authority provides affordable housing to families through Reno, Sparks and Washoe County. We’ve helped people afford to live in northern Nevada for more than 75 years.

The RHA was created in 1942 and our first major project was workforce housing during World War II. After the war, the RHA’s mission shifted to public housing. In 1958 the RHA began construction of Mineral Manor, Reno’s first public housing project. Mineral Manor is still home to 140 families and also houses our administrative offices. Emphasis shifted to the senior population in the 1960s. The RHA commissioned the design of Tom Sawyer Village by the firm of famed architect Frederic DeLongchamps in 1962. This was the first public housing property specifically for seniors in northern Nevada. Four years later the RHA bought the privately developed Silverada Manor next door, providing 150 additional units of senior housing. In the 1980s and 90s, the RHA built Hawk View, Stead Manor and Myra Birch Apartments, as well as Essex Manor. The RHA now owns, maintains and manages several below-market-rate homes for thousands of local families. Even more of our neighbors know the RHA as the source of the Housing Choice Voucher Program, which allows families to rent from private landlords by paying a portion of each month’s rent. The RHA issues vouchers to about 2,500 local households.

During the foreclosure crisis the RHA came to the rescue of neighborhoods and contractors. Beginning in 2009 the RHA competed for and was awarded about $22 million in federal funding to purchase, repair or replace foreclosed homes in high-foreclosure neighborhoods. Those homes were repaired, rehabilitated and rented to low income families across the county. The Willie J. Wynn Apartment complex was the first RHA multi-family, low-income housing project of this century, but certainly not the last. A complex designed for senior veterans, Dick Scott Manor, is underway now in 2022, with other opportunities on the horizon.

Though we help nearly 9,000 Nevadans affords to live here, the lack of affordable housing in our region creates more demand that federal aid can supply. About 3,000 families are on our waiting lists, anticipating an opportunity to find affordable housing. The Reno Housing Authority utilizes Low Income Tax Credits, HOME Funds, Housing Trust Funds, Affordable Housing Programming funds and private donations to continue providing as much affordable housing as possible in the Truckee Meadows.

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