The Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority will open its waiting list for public housing briefly next month.

It will be the first time in three years that new names have been added to the list, according to Toni Mills, occupancy specialist for the housing authority.

“We like to keep a pool of eligible families that can move in once an apartment becomes available,” Mills said Tuesday.

At the end of sign-ups in November 2007, about 1,300 families were on the waiting list, Mills said. Now, only 244 names remain.

Many of those families dropped off the list because they were placed in housing authority apartments, Mills said. However, other applicants may have moved out of the area, obtained other housing or died, she said.

The authority manages communities at Chorey Park, Colander Bishop Meadows, Cypress Manor Apartments, Hoffler Apartments and Parker Riddick Village. Applications are available for 1-, 2- or 3-bedroom apartments.

To be eligible for public housing, applicants must be U.S. citizens or legal alien residents, and their annual gross income cannot exceed eligible limits established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The limits vary based on family size.

Applications can be obtained at SRHA headquarters, 530 E. Pinner St., between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Nov. 9-10 and Nov. 16-17. Applications also can be downloaded from the authority’s website, www.suffolkrha.org. They will be mailed to people with disabilities upon request.

Regardless of whether they are picked up in person or printed, all completed applications must be mailed to the authority, 530 E. Pinner St., Suffolk, VA 23434, and be postmarked by Nov. 30. Applications postmarked later will not be accepted.

People who need help filling out the applications should come to the Pinner Street headquarters 2-4 p.m. Nov. 17 for assistance. The completed applications will then be handed back for the applicant to mail in.

For more information, call 539-2100.