Prince George’s County opened up the application portal for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, commonly referred to as Section 8 housing, last week. During the five-day window that applications were open, there were more than 47,000 applicants for just 5,000 slots.

So what happens next?

Over the next 45 days, the county will process the applications and a random lottery will decide who gets vouchers and who gets put on the waitlist. And until the new waitlist with over 42,000 names on it is exhausted, it won’t be open again.

There’s no telling how long that will take.

The last time the voucher program took new applications was in 2015. Before that, it was 2008.

Those who applied will find out by email if their name was chosen for a voucher or put on the waiting list. There’s no cost to apply and anyone who contacts you asking for money to help complete the process is probably trying to scam you.

In September, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore issued an executive order aimed at increasing the total number of housing units statewide by 96,000.

In recent weeks, Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy’s administration exercised a right of first refusal to keep nearly 300 apartments in Hyattsville affordable. Groundbreaking ceremonies have also been held recently at both the site of a 364-unit affordable housing project in New Carrollton, and an affordable housing complex for seniors in Landover.