These guides walk through how to apply for affordable rentals and homes. If you are new, start with how to apply for affordable housing, then pick the guide for your city or program.
In Detroit, the Detroit Housing Commission runs public housing and Section 8 vouchers. As of October 5, 2026, its public housing and voucher waitlists were closed, but it listed waitlists as open for rent help tied to one building, at 42 properties. The federal housing department's 2026 very low income limit is $36,700 for one person.
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In Baltimore, the Housing Authority of Baltimore City runs public housing and vouchers. As of October 7, 2026, both of its waitlists and Baltimore County's voucher list were closed. A regional voucher list took applications in May 2026. Income-restricted buildings keep their own lists. For one person, the federal housing department's 2026 very low income limit here is $46,900.
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A HUD home is a house the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development took over after a foreclosure on a loan insured by the Federal Housing Administration. HUD sells it as is, by bid, through a registered broker on HUDHomestore.gov. Owner-occupants can bid before investors, and an owner-occupant using FHA financing may qualify for $100 down.
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The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) offers first-time buyer loans through approved lenders, with down payment help of up to $25,000 as either a grant of 3 percent of the loan or a second loan of 4 percent. You need a 620 credit score, a home buyer class and income under your county's limit. Boulder and land trusts add more.
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The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs offers first-time buyer mortgages with down payment help of up to 5 percent of the loan, through approved lenders. You need a 620 credit score, a home buyer class and income under your county's limit. Its help is a second mortgage, not a gift.
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Section 811 is a federal program that helps adults with disabilities live independently, with affordable rent and access to services. Today it works mostly through state housing agencies. For the newer rental assistance you apply through your state's referral process, not to the federal government or the building, and the household needs extremely low income. Older buildings take applications themselves.
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A Section 8 voucher can help pay a mortgage, but only through local housing offices (called housing authorities) that offer it. Most buyers must be first-time buyers with steady work, finish home buyer counseling and buy a home that passes two inspections. Help lasts up to 15 years, or 10 with a shorter mortgage, unless the family is elderly or disabled.
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To apply for Section 8, you go to your local housing authority, because each one runs its own waitlist and form. Most take a short pre-application, online or on paper, while the list is open. Save your confirmation, answer every letter and never pay a fee. As of October 5, 2026, we track 221 open housing-authority waitlists.
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Public housing is owned by a local housing office, and each housing office keeps its own waitlist, often split by bedroom size or building. Lists open and close on the housing office's schedule, and waits can run years. Apply to every open list you qualify for.
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New York's main first-time buyer help comes from SONYMA, the State of New York Mortgage Agency, which offers fixed-rate loans and down payment loans through participating lenders. Income and price limits depend on the county. Cities, counties, a federal home loan bank and federal loans add more, and a few below-market homes sell by lottery.
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New Jersey has no single Section 8 list. The state's Department of Community Affairs runs a statewide voucher list, and many local housing offices run their own, each with its own opening dates. Watch each office's announcement, apply online during its window, have your household's details ready, and never pay a fee.
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The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA), the state housing agency, offers the MI Home Loan, with a 640 credit score minimum, county income limits and a $566,355 price limit. Its MI 10K Down Payment Assistance loan gives up to $10,000, interest free, and needs a home buyer class. Detroit adds a grant of up to $25,000.
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Low-income senior housing is rental housing for people 55 or 62 and older under an income limit, such as Section 202 buildings (a federal program for older adults run by HUD, the federal housing department), public housing and income-restricted apartments. You apply to each building or local housing office. As of October 8, 2026, we list 257 open senior listings.
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Sacramento's public housing and Section 8 vouchers run through waitlists on the agency's waitlist website, managed by the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA). Tax-credit and other income-restricted apartments take applications at each building. Rent in the subsidized programs is about 30 percent of your adjusted income. We track six open Sacramento lists as of October 5, 2026.
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To apply for affordable housing, find out how the listing picks people (lottery, waitlist or first come), check its income and household rules, gather your documents, and apply only on the official site or at the housing office. Expect a document check later, and never pay a stranger to handle your application.
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The Housing Choice Voucher program, also called Section 8, pays part of your rent to a private landlord. HUD, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, funds it and a local housing office runs it. You usually pay about 30 percent of your income after certain deductions. You find the home, and it must pass an inspection.
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Single mothers apply for the same housing help as any low-income family: Section 8 vouchers, public housing, and income-restricted apartments. Income limits rise with household size, so a mother with two children has a limit about 29 percent higher than a single adult. Child support you receive counts as income, and child care costs can lower your rent.
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Section 8 vouchers in Hawaii come from the Hawaii Public Housing Authority and from the City and County of Honolulu on Oahu, and from the Hawaii, Maui and Kauai county housing offices. On October 7, 2026, Kauai's list was open and the Oahu lists were closed. Hawaii County's page said its list was open when last saved on February 18, 2026, and Maui's last opening we found was in June 2023.
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Florida Housing Finance Corporation, the state housing agency, offers first-time buyer mortgages and down payment help through approved lenders, with a 640 minimum credit score and county income and price limits. Most of the help is a second mortgage, not a gift. Counties add their own programs, and rules and open dates change.
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First-time buyer help comes in four kinds: loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Affairs and the Department of Agriculture; state housing agency mortgages with down payment help; city, county and nonprofit programs; and a tax credit. No federal grant is open to every buyer, and each layer has its own income limits.
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An FHA (Federal Housing Administration) loan is insured by a federal agency and allows lower credit scores and a 3.5 percent down payment. A conventional loan has no government program behind it and often costs less for buyers with good credit. FHA mortgage insurance usually lasts longer, and conventional mortgage insurance can be canceled. Compare quotes for both.
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An FHA loan is a mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration, part of HUD, the federal housing department. With a credit score of 580 or higher you can put down 3.5 percent. With a score of 500 to 579 you need 10 percent. You also need steady income, an approved home and mortgage insurance.
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In Charlotte, Inlivian, the city's housing office, takes applications for income-based apartments community by community. It says applicants need six months of full-time work, and it has a work requirement for adults who are not elderly or disabled. The federal housing department's 2026 very low income limit is $41,100 for one person.
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In Atlanta, subsidized housing from Atlanta Housing and other local housing offices sets your rent at about 30 percent of your income. Most tax-credit apartments charge a fixed rent that tax law limits instead. You apply at each building or waitlist. In 2026, the federal limit for very low income, which is 50 percent of the area median, is $41,250 for one person.
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Affordable homes for sale are sold below market price by a city, a nonprofit or a developer to buyers under an income limit, often 80 percent to 120 percent of the area median income. Most are first come, first served or chosen by lottery. Expect a home buyer class, a mortgage pre-approval, a down payment and a limit on your sale price later.
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A Section 8 waitlist is open only when your local housing office decides to take applications, and some open for just a few days. As of October 8, 2026, we list 89 area-wide waitlists that include Section 8 vouchers, from 85 housing offices. You apply to the housing office for free, and the wait can be long, so apply to several.
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To apply for the NYC housing lottery, make a free profile on NYC Housing Connect, then apply before the deadline to each lottery your income and household size fit. Every on-time application gets a random log number, its place in line. If yours is reached, the building's agent asks for documents to confirm you qualify.
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A housing lottery is a random drawing that sets the order in which applicants are checked for an affordable home when more people apply than there are homes. Being drawn is not an approval. The building then verifies your income and household with documents before it offers you a unit.
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