People wanting two- to four-bedroom units in Minneapolis public housing can request applications through Saturday.

What's open? The units are designed to house two to eight people. Some units are in the Glendale housing project in Prospect Park, while others are scattered throughout the city.

Who's preferred? According to the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, people paying more than half of their income for rent and utilities will get preference, as will people involuntarily displaced from housing or who are in substandard housing, victims of domestic abuse, full-time students or those in self-sufficiency programs, and households that include a veteran.

How to apply? Applications can be obtained from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. by phone or at any time on the agency's website: www.mphaonline.org. Applications may be requested by calling 1-866-477-4045 for English speakers, 1-888-214-3771 for Somalis, 1-888-214-3314 for Spanish speakers, 1-866-955-8229 for Hmong or 612-342-1415 for the deaf.

Applications requested by phone will be mailed and must be return-postmarked by Oct. 8. The authority will sort applications first according to preferences, then randomly within each preference.

Then what happens? When a family reaches the top of the list, it will be screened against income and background requirements. Families must take the first unit offered or lose their ranking for six months. If they reject the next unit offered, they will be dropped from the list. Agency officials say that about a third of those who get on the waiting list eventually move into a unit. Another third are denied units for such reasons as not meeting screening standards. The remaining third withdraw from the list because they move or exceed eligibility standards.

STEVE BRANDT