Section 8 in Texas: how the waitlists work and how to apply

To get Section 8 in Texas, you apply to the housing office that covers the area where you want to live, when it opens its list. There is no statewide list. A Section 8 voucher pays part of your rent to a private landlord you choose. Most Texas offices open their lists only for short windows, so find yours and watch its website.

Who runs Section 8 in Texas?

Local housing offices run Section 8 in Texas, each for its own area, and the state housing agency runs it in 34 counties. That agency is the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA). Everywhere else, a housing authority (the local housing office) for the city or county keeps its own list. TDHCA doesn't run those lists, so you apply to the office that covers the address you want.

HUD, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, pays for the vouchers. HUD's list of housing offices names every Texas office by city and county. These are the offices for seven Texas cities:

Many cities also have a county office nearby with a separate list, and you can join more than one. For Dallas and Austin, see how the Dallas Housing Authority's pre-application pool works and where to find low-income apartments in Austin.

How are Texas Section 8 openings announced?

A Texas housing office must give public notice before it opens its waitlist, the line you join until a voucher comes free. Federal rules say the notice must say where and when to apply and appear in a local newspaper and in other ways that reach the public. Most offices also post it on their website, so keep watching the website of the office you want.

Each office sets its own rules for the window and for picking names. Some hold a lottery that gives every application a random number; TDHCA's 2022 plan, its newest posted, says it does. Applying on the first day of the window then gives you no better chance than the last. Opportunity Home San Antonio takes voucher applications only while its list is open and advertises openings on its home page. Dallas works differently: it keeps a pool of pre-applications, short first forms, and picks from them by lottery when it has money for more vouchers. Check its voucher page to see whether it is taking them today.

To see which Texas lists are taking names today, check our Texas waitlists page.

What are the 2026 Section 8 income limits in Texas?

To get a voucher in Texas, most households must earn at or under HUD's very low income limit for their county. An income limit is the most a household can earn in a year, before taxes, and still qualify. For four people in 2026, it runs from $41,850 in El Paso County to $67,200 in Travis County among the areas below. Federal rules let a housing office admit some families up to the low limit under its own rules, so ask if your income is in between. HUD's 2026 limits for a household of four took effect May 1, 2026:

The extremely low limit is 60% of the very low limit, or the federal poverty guideline if that is higher. In several of these counties the poverty guideline, $33,000 for four people, is the higher one. Each year, at least 75% of the families a housing office newly gives vouchers to must be at or under the extremely low limit. So if your income is above it, expect a longer wait.

How much rent do you pay with a Texas voucher?

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. When you first rent it, what you pay can't be more than 40% of your monthly income after set deductions.

A few Texas offices set some of their own rent rules under HUD's Moving to Work program, which lets chosen housing offices write their own rules. They include the offices in Houston, San Antonio and Travis County. If you get a voucher from one of them, ask how it works out your rent.

How do you apply for Section 8 in Texas?

1. Find the office for the area where you want to live in the table above or on HUD's list.
2. Watch its website for an opening notice, and read who may apply and how long the window stays open.
3. Have your household's names, birth dates and income ready, and an email address, because many offices take applications only online.
4. Apply on the office's own website before the window closes, and keep your confirmation.
5. Keep your address, phone number and email up to date. Opportunity Home San Antonio, for example, takes you off its list if it can't reach you.
6. Join more than one list. HUD says long waits mean you may need to apply to several, and you don't need to live in an area to apply there.

Before your name comes up, get your application documents ready.

Can Texas landlords refuse a voucher?

Usually, yes. No Texas law makes landlords accept vouchers, and a 2015 law, Senate Bill 267, stops cities and counties from making rules that require it. The law still allows local rules that protect veterans who pay rent with federal housing help. It also allows voluntary programs, such as incentives or deals tied to city money, that encourage landlords to accept vouchers.

Most tax credit buildings, apartments that get a federal tax break for keeping rents low, are different: federal law bars them from refusing you because you have a voucher. They can still screen you on their other rules. Ask any landlord whether it accepts vouchers before you pay an application fee, and find apartments that accept Section 8.

How do you avoid Section 8 scams in Texas?

TDHCA says you will not pay fees to apply for its housing help or any other state housing office's. HUD's inspector general says housing offices never ask for money to put you on a waitlist. Apply only on the office's own website, and never give your Social Security number to a site you reached from a social media post.

What should you do next?

Find your housing office, then check which Texas lists are taking names. While you wait, apply for other lower-rent homes on our Texas page, and use our qualify check to see which listings fit your household's size and income. If you'd rather buy, see Texas first-time home buyer programs.