Subsidized housing: what it is and how to apply

Subsidized housing is rental housing where the government pays part of the rent, so you pay less. In the main federal programs, you usually pay about 30% of your adjusted income (income after certain deductions). There are four kinds, each with its own way to apply: public housing, vouchers, project-based assistance and rural rentals.

What does "subsidized" mean?

A subsidy is government money that lowers what you pay. With a voucher, or in a building with rental assistance, an agency pays part of the rent to the owner. In public housing, federal money covers costs so the rent can be lower. HUD, the federal housing department, says every program in its subsidized-households report lowers rents for low-income tenants who meet the program's rules.

"Affordable" is a different idea. An income-restricted apartment has a capped rent, but nobody pays part of it for you. We compare the two below.

What are the four kinds of subsidized housing?

The table shows who runs each kind, where the help stays and where you apply.

Public housing. HUD says about 970,000 households live in public housing, managed by some 3,300 housing agencies. The agency is your landlord, and it keeps its own waitlist.

Vouchers. HUD calls the Housing Choice Voucher program, also known as Section 8, the federal government's major program for housing assistance, serving over 2.3 million families. The housing authority pays part of the rent straight to a private landlord you choose. Around 2,000 authorities run it.

Project-based assistance. Two programs share this name. In HUD's multifamily program, called project-based rental assistance, owners sign contracts with HUD to reserve apartments. The Congressional Research Service counts nearly 1.3 million assisted apartments in more than 17,500 properties, and says you apply directly to the property. In the project-based voucher program, a housing authority ties vouchers to a building. HUD says your authority should tell you whether it has those units or separate building waitlists.

Rural rentals. The Department of Agriculture's Rural Development office finances apartments in rural areas. It says there are more than 400,000, and more than 80% of tenants rely on its rental assistance. They are open to very low to moderate income families, people 62 and older and people with disabilities. You apply to the property's owner or manager.

How is the rent set?

For public housing, vouchers and the HUD building programs, a federal rule (24 CFR 5.628, in the Code of Federal Regulations) sets your payment at the highest of four amounts: 30% of monthly adjusted income, 10% of monthly income, welfare rent if it applies, or a minimum rent. For most households the 30% figure is the highest. Adjusted income is income minus deductions the rules allow, such as for dependents or, for older or disabled households, some medical costs.

Here is a made-up example. A household earns $1,800 a month, or $1,500 after deductions. Thirty percent of $1,500 is $450. Ten percent of $1,800 is $180. The household's share of rent and utilities is about $450.

Two programs work a little differently.

• Vouchers. HUD says your share is usually 30% of adjusted income but may be as high as 40%.
• Rural rentals. The 30% rule applies to tenants who get rental assistance. Without it, the federal rule sets your payment at no less than the property's basic rent.

How do you apply?

1. Find your housing authority. HUD's directory lists them. Ask which lists are open. An authority may close a list when it has more families than it can help soon.
2. Search for buildings. Use HUD's map for properties with rent help, then contact each one. Each has its own application, and some keep waitlists.
3. Gather papers. HUD says authorities usually ask for everyone's names and birth dates, your address, expected income for the next 12 months, past landlords, and documents such as pay stubs, bank information and proof of citizenship or immigration status.
4. Apply to more than one list. Lists are separate, and you do not need to live where you apply for a voucher.
5. Keep your contact details current. HUD says failing to report a new address or phone number may get you removed from a list.

How long is the wait?

Nobody can promise a number, and the honest answer is long. Here is what the official sources say.

• HUD's 2025 report to Congress found that 28.0% of very low-income renter households received housing assistance in 2023. More than seven in ten did not.
• HUD says long waits are common in public housing and that an authority can close its list.
• The Chicago Housing Authority's property page shows estimated waits before eligibility screening of 5 to 10 years, 10 to 25 years and over 25 years for some buildings.
• The Central Texas Housing Consortium's page, dated September 28, 2026, shows no income-based property with a wait under six months. Several properties with a fixed rent show 0 to 3 months for some sizes, though others show 12 months or more.

Waits differ by building, apartment size and list, so ask each one for its current estimate.

How is it different from income-restricted apartments?

A tax credit apartment has an owner who received a federal tax credit and agreed to cap the rent for at least 30 years. By law the cap is 30% of the income limit for the unit, not 30% of your income. Inclusionary housing is a city rule that requires developers to include some below-market homes. San Francisco asks projects of 10 or more units to reserve homes, pay a fee or choose another option.

Say the one-bedroom cap is $1,200 a month. Households earning $30,000 and $42,000 a year can both be charged up to $1,200. That is 48% of the first household's income and 34% of the second's. With a subsidy, both would pay about 30% of their adjusted income instead. These are made-up numbers.

The two can overlap. The tax credit rent cap does not count Section 8 payments, so a building can hold tax credit units and tenants with vouchers. Our guides explain income-restricted apartments and how to qualify.

What is open right now?

As of October 5, 2026, we track 1,570 open listings: 1,209 rentals and 361 homes for sale. Our count covers only the listings we track.

The kind of housing comes from each listing's title, and our housing types page explains each one.

We cannot count subsidized apartments, because listings do not record whether a building has a subsidy. The 187 rows that name a voucher, public housing or a Section 8 building are the ones that say so. The income-restricted label is our default for any other rental, and some of those buildings may have help too. Of the 1,570, 158 are area-wide waitlists, kept on our waitlists page, and 1,412 are single buildings on the listings page.

Examples from the listings:

• Voucher: Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority in Cleveland takes applications all year and picks by lottery.
• Public housing: Chicago Housing Authority keeps lists property by property.
• Section 8 building: the Westchester County, New York senior buildings take applications from September 14 to October 12, 2026.
• Rural rental: Belton, Texas has a two-bedroom list open, with a wait the housing authority puts at 6 to 12 months.

Our building directory also draws on HUD data files for 69,111 subsidized or income-restricted buildings, including 16,981 with Section 8 project-based help. It shows where help exists, not what is vacant.

What should you do next?

Run the free eligibility check to see which listings fit your household. Then read how to find an open Section 8 waitlist and learn what area median income means for your limit.