Exhibit 31-1
                                 CERTIFICATIONS

I, Wilfred N.,Cooper, Jr. certify that:

1.      I have reviewed this quarterly  report  on Form 10-Q of  WNC HOUSING TAX
        CREDITS III, L.P.;

2.      Based  on  my  knowledge,  this  quarterly  report  does not contain any
        untrue  statement of a  material  fact or omit to  state a material fact
        necessary  to make the statements made, in  light  of the  circumstances
        under which  such statements were made, not  misleading  with respect to
        the period covered by this quarterly report;

3.      Based  on  my  knowledge, the financial statements, and  other financial
        information  included in this quarterly report, fairly  present  in  all
        material  respects  the  financial  condition, results of operations and
        cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the  periods  presented  in
        this quarterly report;

4.      The  registrant's other certifying officer and  I  are  responsible  for
        establishing  and maintaining  disclosure  controls  and  procedures (as
        defined in Exchange  Act Rules 13a-15e  and 15d-15e)for  the  registrant
        and we have:

        (a)  Designed  such disclosure controls and  procedures,  or caused such
             disclosure  controls  and  procedures  to  be  designed  under  our
             supervision,  to  ensure  that material information relating to the
             registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries,  is made known
             to us by others within  those  entities,  particularly  during  the
             period in which this quarterly report is being prepared;

        (b)  Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls
             and procedures and presented in  this report our conclusions  about
             the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and  procedures, as of
             end of the period covered by this report  based on such evaluation;
             and report based on such evaluation; and

        (c)  Disclosed in  this report any change in  the registrant's  internal
             control  over   financial  reporting  that  occurred   during   the
             registrant's  most   recent  fiscal  quarter  that  has  materially
             affected,  or  is  reasonably  likely  to  materially  affect,  the
             registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

5.      The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based
        on our  most  recent  evaluation  of  internal  control  over  financial
        reporting, to the registrant's independent registered public  accounting
        firm and the audit committee of the registrant's board  of directors (or
        persons performing the equivalent functions):

        (a)  All  significant  deficiencies  and  material   weaknesses  in  the
             design or operation of  internal control  over financial  reporting
             which   are   reasonably   likely   to  adversely   affect  in  the
             registrant's  ability  to record,  process,  summarize  and  report
             financial information; and

        (b)  Any fraud,  whether or not  material,  that involves  management or
             other employees who have  a significant  role  in the  registrant's
             internal control over financial reporting.

Date:  November 21, 2005




         /s/  Wilfred N. Cooper, Jr.
         ---------------------------
         President and Chief Executive Officer of WNC & Associates, Inc