Section 8 in San Diego: waitlists, vouchers and how to apply

San Diego Section 8 vouchers, which pay part of your rent at a private landlord, come from six local housing offices. Each keeps its own waitlist, a line of people waiting for a voucher. Which one you join depends on where you want to live. Openings are rare and short, so watch the right office's website and apply as soon as its list opens.

Which housing office runs Section 8 where you want to live?

Which housing authority (local housing office) you apply to depends on where you want to live. The city of San Diego has its own, the County covers 13 cities and the areas outside any city, and four other cities run their own:

The County's areas served page lists every city it covers. To see which California lists are taking names today, check our California waitlists page.

How long is the wait for Section 8 in San Diego?

Often many years. The County of San Diego says you may wait 10 years or more before your name comes up, because federal money is limited. The San Diego Housing Commission closed its voucher and public housing lists on February 1, 2026. Public housing is apartments a housing office owns. At the time, it said it didn't expect to pick new families from its voucher list for several more years. To see whether it has reopened, check our California waitlists page.

If you are already on a list, your application stays active. Keep your mailing address current with each office, because a letter you miss can cost you your place.

How are openings announced and names picked?

Federal rules say a housing office must give public notice when it opens its list, saying where and when to apply. The San Diego Housing Commission's plan says it gives at least two weeks' notice in a local newspaper and other media before it opens its list. It gives at least seven days' notice before it closes. It keeps no list of people who want to hear about a reopening, so check its website yourself. When any office opens its list, apply on that office's own website by the deadline in its notice.

Names are not drawn by lottery, a random drawing. The County picks names by the date and time you applied. The San Diego Housing Commission sorts applicants into four tiers and goes by date and time within each tier. A priority group, in its rules, is a family with a dependent, a person 62 or older, a person with a disability, a veteran or active service member, or a person who is homeless and has a disability. The tiers, in order:

1. People who live or work in the city of San Diego and are in a priority group.
2. Other people who live or work in the city.
3. People outside the city who are in a priority group.
4. Everyone else.

What are the 2026 income limits in San Diego County?

An income limit is the most your household can earn in a year and still get a voucher. Under federal rules, most families who get a new voucher must be at or under the very low limit. HUD, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, sets these 2026 limits for San Diego County:

HUD's 2026 median family income for the county is $130,900, but its very low limit for four people, $87,450, is more than half of that. That is because HUD raises the limits where rents are high compared with incomes. The extremely low limit is 60% of the very low limit, or the federal poverty guideline if that is higher.

At least 75% of the families a housing office newly gives vouchers to each year must be at or under the extremely low limit. So if your income is above it, expect a longer wait. The San Diego Housing Commission's Section 8 page lists income under 80% of the area median income, the middle income in the area, among its rules. Federal rules also let an office admit some families up to the low income limit in listed cases. When a list opens, check its notice to see which limit applies to new families.

How much rent do you pay with a voucher here?

With the County and the four other city offices, you usually pay about 30% of your income toward rent and utilities, and the housing office pays the landlord the rest. Each office sets a voucher limit, officially the payment standard, for each home size. It is the highest rent plus utilities a home can have while you pay only that 30%. If a home costs more, you pay the extra too.

In San Diego County, voucher limits change by ZIP code. The County says HUD requires it to set them from rents in each ZIP code. To see HUD's estimate for a ZIP code, use our voucher estimate page, and ask the office for its own figure before you sign a lease. Then check how your rent is worked out for a home above that amount.

The San Diego Housing Commission, which covers the city of San Diego, sets its own rules for what families pay. HUD's Moving to Work program lets a few housing offices do that, and the Housing Commission calls its rules Path to Success. Its planned new amounts, in a list of questions and answers updated April 10, 2026, depend on who lives in your household:

• Every adult is 62 or older, has a disability or is a full-time student aged 18 to 23: 32% of adjusted income, your income after set deductions, up from 28.5%.
• At least one adult is under 62, has no disability and isn't a full-time student aged 18 to 23: 40% of adjusted income or a set minimum, whichever is more. The minimum is about $580 a month for one adult like that, $1,155 for two and $1,735 for three or more.

The San Diego Housing Commission says the new amounts start after HUD approves them and families get notice, sometime between fall 2026 and early 2027. Ask it which amounts apply to you.

Can a landlord refuse a voucher in San Diego?

No, not because of the voucher. California law makes it illegal for a landlord to turn you away because you pay with a Section 8 voucher or other rent help. The California Civil Rights Department's fact sheet says a landlord can't charge you a higher deposit or rent because of the voucher. It also says the landlord may judge your income only against the part of the rent you pay.

A landlord can still screen you on its other rules, such as rental history. To report a landlord, call the Civil Rights Department at 800-884-1684. In the city of San Diego, you can also call the source of income hotline the Housing Commission lists, at (833) 801-4420.

What can you do while you wait?

• Rent from the Housing Commission. It owns or manages more than 4,100 apartments with lower rents for households at or under 80% of the area median income. They have their own applications, separate from vouchers.
• Join building waitlists. The Housing Commission's Affordable Housing Resource Guide lists apartment complexes with lower rents, and most have their own waitlists. Call the property managers.
• Join other offices' lists. HUD says you don't need to live in an area to apply to its list, and HUD's directory lists offices elsewhere.
• Get help if you may lose your home. The Housing Commission's Housing Instability Prevention Program helps city residents at risk of homelessness pay rent, through referrals from 2-1-1 San Diego.

How do you avoid Section 8 scams?

A housing office can't charge you to apply for a Section 8 voucher. The Federal Trade Commission warns that housing offices don't contact you to suggest you join a waitlist, and that look-alike websites charge fees. Apply only on the office's own website.

What should you do next?

Join other lists while San Diego's are closed: find Section 8 waitlists that are open in other areas, and see what you can apply for now on our California page. Our qualify check shows which listings fit your household's size and income.