What disqualifies you from Section 8?

Last updated July 14, 2026

Not everyone who needs housing assistance will be approved for Section 8. Some disqualifiers are set by federal law — if any of them apply, no PHA in the country can approve you. Others are each PHA's own policy, which means the same background might get you denied at one agency and approved at another. And some things that people assume will get them denied often don't.

Understanding which category your situation falls into tells you whether there's anything to do about it.

The federal disqualifiers — no PHA can approve you

These are set by federal law. PHAs have no discretion; denial is mandatory.

You are a registered sex offender subject to a lifetime registration requirement. Federal law prohibits any housing assistance for anyone required to register as a sex offender for life under a state sex offender registration program. This is permanent and applies regardless of when the conviction happened or how long you have been in compliance with the registration requirement.

You were convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine on the premises of federally assisted housing. This is a lifetime ban and applies specifically to meth production inside a federally assisted property — not drug offenses generally.

You don't have eligible immigration status. Section 8 is limited to U.S. citizens and certain categories of eligible non-citizens (lawful permanent residents, refugees, asylees, and a few other categories). If no one in your household is a citizen or eligible non-citizen, you cannot receive assistance. If your household is mixed — some members are eligible, some are not — you can still apply, but the subsidy is prorated to cover only the eligible members. See Section 8 for mixed-status families for how that calculation works.

The common PHA-level disqualifiers

These are not federal mandates. Each PHA writes its own policy, which means what counts against you varies by agency. That said, these show up at most housing authorities.

Criminal history. Federal law gives PHAs wide discretion to deny applicants with criminal records. Most focus on convictions in the last three to five years — though some look further back — and on the nature of the offense. Drug offenses, violent crimes, and crimes against persons are the most commonly cited categories. Arrests without convictions cannot be used as a basis for denial under HUD guidance, and many PHAs now follow a more individualized review rather than a flat ban.

One narrow federal rule does apply here: PHAs must deny applicants who were evicted from any federally assisted housing for drug-related criminal activity within the past three years, unless the evicted household member has completed a supervised drug rehabilitation program.

Outstanding debt to a PHA or federally assisted housing program. If you owe back rent, repayment of an overpaid subsidy, or damages to a previous assisted housing unit, most PHAs will deny your application until that debt is resolved. This can sometimes be cleared by entering into a repayment agreement.

Prior eviction from assisted housing. Being evicted from Section 8, public housing, or another HUD-assisted program is treated seriously at most PHAs — more so than an eviction from a private market unit. If your previous voucher was terminated for lease violations, damage, or other cause, you'll likely need to disclose it and explain what's changed.

Fraudulent information on a prior housing application. If you were previously denied, terminated, or caught misrepresenting your income, household composition, or other information on a housing assistance application, most PHAs will deny a new application. This includes unreported income and undisclosed household members.

Things that often don't disqualify you

People frequently assume these will automatically prevent approval when they usually don't.

Any criminal record at all. A criminal record is not an automatic bar to Section 8 — only specific offenses under specific circumstances are mandatory denials (see above). What PHAs look at is the nature, recency, and pattern of the offense. An old misdemeanor or a single non-violent conviction is very different from a recent felony. See criminal background checks and Section 8 for a detailed breakdown of how PHAs evaluate different conviction types.

Being over income at the time you apply, if you've been on a waiting list for years. Income limits apply at the time your name is called from the waiting list, not when you first applied. If your income was within limits when you applied and has since gone up, you may no longer qualify — but many PHAs will give you time to report income changes.

Being a single adult without children. Federal rules allow single individuals to receive Section 8. Some PHAs use local preferences (veterans, elderly, disabled applicants) that may push single working-age adults lower on the waiting list, but single adults are not categorically excluded.

Having low credit. PHAs don't run credit checks. Landlords you approach with your voucher may review credit, but the PHA itself won't deny you for a low credit score or past debt to private creditors.

If you're denied

If a PHA denies your application, they are required to give you written notice stating the reason and your right to request an informal hearing. You can contest their decision if you believe it was made in error, based on outdated information, or based on a discretionary policy rather than a mandatory disqualifier.

For discretionary denials — criminal history, past eviction, debt to a PHA — the hearing is a real opportunity. You can present evidence that circumstances have changed: a rehabilitation program completed, a debt paid, documentation of stable housing since the issue that prompted the denial.

If one PHA denies you, that doesn't prevent you from applying to another PHA that serves a different area. Different agencies have different policies, and a background that fails one agency's screening may pass another's. If you have the option to relocate, this is worth considering before assuming you're locked out of the program.

For the full picture of who qualifies — income limits, citizenship, household composition — see Section 8 eligibility overview.