It can take years for people on the Northwest Oregon Housing Authority’s waiting list to get a spot, yet two dozen units at the agency’s housing projects are sitting vacant.

The housing authority, which provides critical housing assistance in Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook counties, has flagged eight properties with significant vacancies.

The Owens-Adair is among the properties with vacant units.

Three are in Clatsop County.

Leaders at the agency called the vacancies a critical problem that affect the agency’s budget and the long list of people waiting for housing.

“You brought me in to clean things up. You brought me in to find how things are working and where we can do things better,” Elissa Gertler, the executive director of the housing authority, told the board last week.

“This is the first thing that I’ve come across that needs immediate attention. This is a major cleanup issue. We can do all the great development, make all the developers fees — I can go out and have as many meetings in the community as possible. This is our No. 1 job is renting these apartments. And I am focusing all of my efforts on it.”

Gertler, who took over in July, outlined a strategy to fill the units. She told the board she expects to have significant updates on changes by November.

The properties identified in Clatsop County include Owens-Adair, a 46-unit apartment complex for seniors and people with disabilities in Astoria; Clatsop Shores, a 42-unit apartment complex in Seaside; and Tilikum Apartments, an eight-unit complex for homeless families with children in Warrenton.

Combined, the properties have 11 vacant units — five at Owens-Adair, four at Clatsop Shores and two at Tilikum.

Gertler said the problem is complicated and requires a multipronged approach.

She said the plan is to categorize the vacant units and prioritize the ones that require the least amount of investment to turn over.

Some units, Gertler said, are left in very poor condition and require significantly more work and investment than others. She added that aside from people who choose to move, death is one of the most common reasons a unit becomes vacant.

Gertler said it can take time to coordinate with family, remove belongings and clean the room.

Rents have also not covered the debt service, according to the housing authority, making it unmanageable. Staff will explore ways to potentially reduce the debt service and raise rents.

Staffing is an other challenge, Gertler said, noting that there are only four staffers serving the three counties. That is down from about two dozen staffers at one time, she added.

She said financial support offered by Clatsop County could help.

When the county was considering what to do with its federal American Rescue Plan Act funds, it offered money to the housing authority so the agency could hire a staffer to represent the county’s interests.

At the time, the housing authority turned down the offer, but now it is back on the table. The county Board of Commissioners is expected to discuss and approve the funding in the coming weeks.

Gertler told The Astorian the money could enable the housing authority to hire two new staffers.

“It’s very exciting to have the resources from Clatsop County to be able to bring on things like residence services, resource development to get more money,” she said.