What is Section 8? How the Housing Choice Voucher program works

Last updated June 21, 2026

Section 8 is the common name for the Housing Choice Voucher program, the federal government's largest rental assistance program. It helps low-income households afford housing in the private rental market by paying part of their rent directly to the landlord.

The program gets its name from Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937 — the law that created it. The official program name is the Housing Choice Voucher program, but most people still call it Section 8, and the two terms mean the same thing.

How it works

When you receive a Section 8 voucher, you choose your own rental unit — an apartment, house, or townhome — anywhere a landlord is willing to participate. The program then covers the difference between what you can afford to pay and what the unit actually costs, up to a local limit called the payment standard.

Your share of the rent is set at approximately 30% of your adjusted monthly income. The voucher covers the rest, paid directly to your landlord by your local housing authority. If you earn very little, the voucher may cover most of the rent. If your income rises over time, your share goes up and the voucher's share goes down.

This structure means the program meets you where you are financially — it doesn't lock you into a fixed subsidy amount.

Who runs it

Section 8 is funded by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), but the program is administered locally by roughly 2,200 Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) across the country. Each PHA manages its own waiting list, sets its own local payment standards, conducts its own inspections, and handles applications independently.

There is no single national Section 8 program. When you apply, you apply to a specific local housing authority — not to HUD directly.

Who qualifies

To qualify for a Housing Choice Voucher, your household's gross income must fall below the Very Low Income limit for your area — generally 50% of the local Area Median Income (AMI). Federal rules require that housing authorities direct at least 75% of new vouchers to households below the Extremely Low Income limit (30% of AMI).

Income limits vary by area and household size. The same household income might be over the limit in a rural county and well under it in an expensive metro area.

Beyond income, housing authorities also check citizenship status, criminal history, rental history, and whether anyone in the household owes a debt to a prior HUD-assisted program. See am I eligible for Section 8 for the full breakdown.

How it differs from public housing

Public housing and Section 8 are both federal assistance programs, but they work differently:

• Public housing is housing owned and operated by a housing authority. You live in a specific building the agency manages.
• Section 8 (Housing Choice Voucher) lets you rent from a private landlord in the open market. You choose the unit; the voucher travels with you.

The "choice" in Housing Choice Voucher reflects this — you're not assigned to a specific property. If you move, the voucher moves with you (as long as your new unit meets program requirements). After the first year, you can often use your voucher in a different city or state entirely. See voucher portability for how that works.

How to get it

Getting a voucher involves four steps:

1. Find your local housing authority and check whether their waiting list is currently open.
2. Apply when the list opens — lists often close quickly, sometimes within days.
3. Wait — most housing authorities have more applicants than vouchers. Wait times range from months to years depending on the area.
4. Attend an eligibility interview when your name reaches the top, verify your income and household information, and receive your voucher.

The full process is explained in how to apply for Section 8.

What the voucher covers — and doesn't

The voucher covers the rental portion of housing costs up to the local payment standard. It does not cover:

• Security deposits (your responsibility — though some local programs help)
• Utility costs not included in the rent (you receive a utility allowance to offset these)
• Moving costs
• Pet deposits or fees
• Furniture

The unit itself must pass a federal housing inspection before you can move in, and the landlord must agree to participate in the program. Not every landlord does — particularly in areas without source-of-income protection laws.

Once you have a voucher

After receiving your voucher, you typically have 60–120 days to find a qualifying unit. The unit has to pass inspection, and the landlord signs a Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) contract with your housing authority. Once that's in place, your housing authority pays the landlord's share every month and you pay your 30% share directly to the landlord.

From that point, you recertify your income with the housing authority every year. If your income changes, your rent share is adjusted. If you want to move, you can take your voucher to a new unit after giving proper notice. The voucher continues as long as you remain income-eligible and meet the program's requirements.