Section 8 helps pay your rent, but each local housing office runs its own list. Start with what Section 8 is, then find your area's guide.
Section 8, officially the Housing Choice Voucher program, is a federal program that helps low-income families pay rent in privately owned homes. A local housing office gives you a voucher. You usually pay about 30 percent of your adjusted income, and the voucher covers the rest, up to a limit. As of October 8, 2026, we list 271 area-wide waitlists.
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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 percent of your adjusted income. There are four kinds: public housing, vouchers, project-based assistance and rural rentals. Each has its own waitlist, and waits run from months to many years.
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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 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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As of October 7, 2026, work requirements and time limits for rental assistance, proposed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), are not law. The Federal Register shows no final rule. If one is adopted, each housing office that is allowed to could choose to use them. Public housing already has an 8-hour monthly community service rule.
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A fair market rent is HUD's yearly estimate of what a modest rental costs in an area, by bedroom count, utilities included. Housing authorities set Section 8 payment standards at 90 to 110 percent of it. It does not limit what landlords charge, and it is not the rent you pay.
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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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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.
6 min read