What is Section 8? How housing vouchers work

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% of your adjusted income, which is what's left after allowed deductions. The voucher pays the rest, up to a local cap. Local housing offices run it, not HUD.

What does Section 8 mean?

"Section 8" is the everyday name. HUD, the federal housing department, calls it the Housing Choice Voucher program, and says it serves over 2.3 million American families. HUD pays the money. Local housing offices run it. HUD calls them housing offices and says there are around 2,000 of them. The one you deal with might be a big city office or a small county office.

NYCHA, the New York City Housing Authority, says it runs the largest Section 8 program in the country, with about 107,979 vouchers and over 26,933 participating owners. Most housing offices are far smaller.

People often get two things wrong.

You don't apply to HUD. You apply to a local housing office, one list at a time.

It's not a building type. There's no master list of "Section 8 apartments." With a voucher, you find a landlord who will rent to you. A smaller group of buildings has vouchers tied to the building, covered below.

How does a Section 8 voucher work?

1. You get on a list. You apply to a housing office's waitlist when it's open. More on that below.
2. You're picked, and you're checked. When your name comes up, the housing office checks your income and whether you qualify. Federal rules say the income information it uses can't be older than 60 days when it issues the voucher.
3. You get a voucher and look for a home. Federal rules say a voucher must last at least 60 days, and housing offices can extend it. HUD says the usual search time is 60 to 120 days.
4. The home has to pass. The housing office checks that the home meets quality standards and that the rent is reasonable. HUD says there is an inspection before you move in, and usually another every one to two years.
5. The housing office pays your landlord. It signs a contract with the owner and sends its share each month. You pay your share.

A worked example, with made-up round numbers

The housing office sets a "payment standard," the most it will put toward rent for a home your size. The subsidy is the lower of two amounts: the payment standard minus your share, or the actual rent minus your share. Say your adjusted income is $2,000 a month, so your share is about 30%, or $600. The payment standard is $1,400.

In the second row the rent is above the payment standard, so the voucher still pays only $800 and you cover the extra $200. Federal rules say that when a family first moves in, its share can't be more than 40% of adjusted income. The third home costs $1,700. The voucher pays $800, so you would pay $900. That is 45% of your income, so the housing office couldn't approve it.

Real calculations also factor in utilities and other details, so your housing office will give you exact numbers.

For comparison, an income-restricted apartment sets a rent for the unit and a limit for who can live there. Our guide to income-restricted apartments explains the difference.

Who qualifies for Section 8?

HUD says families generally must have an extremely low or very low income. Very low means 50% of the area median income. That is the middle income in your area: half of households earn more and half earn less. Extremely low means 30% of it, or the poverty level if that is higher.

You must be a U.S. citizen or have eligible immigration status. HUD says the head of the household needs a Social Security number. Federal rules also say at least 75% of the families a housing office admits each year from its list must be extremely low income.

Limits depend on your area and household size. Our guide on how to qualify for affordable housing shows how, and our free qualify check tests your numbers against open listings.

Why is the Section 8 waitlist so long?

There are more families who qualify than vouchers to give out. USA.gov says long waits are common because HUD and local housing offices have limited resources. Federal rules let a housing office stop taking applications when it already has enough families on the list for the funding it has. It must announce a reopening publicly.

That's why lists open and close. HUD says how fast you move up depends on how many vouchers the housing office has, when you applied, and any preferences you qualify for. A preference moves some applicants ahead on the list. Some housing offices pick among applicants by drawing, which is a lottery. Others pick by date and time. Federal rules allow either.

Here's what we see as of October 7, 2026:

• We list 239 open waitlists from 155 housing offices in 20 states.
• 16 are the Alaska offices of one program.
• 43 are project-based lists, tied to one building or group of buildings.
• Our count covers open lists only. HUD says around 2,000 housing offices run vouchers, and we cover 155. Check your own housing office's website too, because a list we don't show may be open.

To see the open ones, use the "Section 8 / public housing" filter on our listings page. State pages show what's open in Alaska, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Our guide to Section 8 waitlists shows how lists open and how to apply, with four housing offices as examples.

Where does the money come from?

HUD. Federal rules say HUD gives each local housing office funds for the rental subsidies, plus separate funds for running the program. The housing office then contracts with each landlord to pay the subsidy for one family and one unit. Because the money is limited, each housing office can support only so many vouchers, which is the reason for the waitlists above.

What is the difference between tenant-based and project-based?

Federal rules describe two forms of Section 8 help:

HUD says a tenant-based voucher can be used anywhere in the country. A new voucher-holder who didn't live in the housing office's area when applying may have to lease there for the first 12 months. For a project-based unit, HUD says the assistance is tied to the specific unit rather than the tenant.

What does Section 8 not cover?

• It won't find your home. HUD says it's your responsibility.
• It doesn't cover every rent. The cap is the payment standard. Above it, you pay the difference, within the 40% limit at move-in.
• It's not guaranteed. Being on a list isn't the same as having a voucher.
• It isn't open to everyone. Income, status and screening rules apply, and housing offices set some of their own.
• It doesn't send money to you. The housing office pays the landlord.