Information about the redevelopment of Reno Ave. may be found here.

Public Housing and Project Based waitlists are open. Click here to learn more.

Effective April 6, 2026, at 8 :00 AM RHA Project Based at The Village at Hawk View is open.

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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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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
May 2026
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Older Americans Month Celebration - Washoe County Senior Services 1155 8th St, Reno NV 89512
May 1, 2026
09:00
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Wheel Barrow Garden Opening and Planting - Willie J Wynn
May 11, 2026
14:15
Mineral Council Art Night
May 11, 2026
16:00
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Girl Scouts - Mineral Manor
May 12, 2026
18:00
Mineral Manor Resident Council Meeting
May 12, 2026
17:30
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Myra Birch Resident Council Meeting
May 13, 2026
17:00
Food Box by FBNN - Tom Sawyer
May 13, 2026
09:00
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Stead Resident Council Meeting - 5056 Brave Ave
May 14, 2026
17:30
IMPACT orientation
May 14, 2026
13:00
Neighborhood Resident Council Meeting - Tom Sawyer
May 14, 2026
13:00
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Mineral Council Art Night
May 25, 2026
16:00
Chronic Disease Self Management Program - Tom Sawyer
May 25, 2026
13:30
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Girl Scouts - Mineral Manor
May 26, 2026
18:00
IMPACT orientation
May 26, 2026
16:30
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Circle of Life POLST/DNR workshop
May 29, 2026
11:00
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Mineral Council Community Clean-Up Event
May 30, 2026
09:00
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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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