Guides

These pages explain the Housing Choice Voucher program in plain language. They are not legal advice, and they are not an application. The housing authority’s own page is the one that counts. Applying is free.

Tools that run in your browser

• Income limits check — compare a yearly income with HUD’s 30, 50, and 80 percent limits.
• Rent estimator — compare about 30 percent of monthly income with a Fair Market Rent.
• Small Area rent by ZIP — HUD’s ZIP-code rent for a studio through four bedrooms.
• My applications — a private list kept on this device only.
• Open lists near a ZIP — sort verified open waitlists by distance.

Read

• Papers people often need
  A plain-language list of documents housing authorities often ask for when a Housing Choice Voucher waitlist opens.
• Applying is free
  How to spot a Section 8 or Housing Choice Voucher scam. HUD and housing authorities do not charge a fee to join a waitlist.
• Moving with a voucher
  A plain-language explanation of Housing Choice Voucher portability, and a short letter you can copy.
• The unit inspection
  What the Housing Choice Voucher inspection is for, how NSPIRE relates to the older housing quality standards, and a letter to request an inspection.
• More time to find a unit
  How Housing Choice Voucher search time works, and a short letter asking for an extension.
• A change because of a disability
  How to ask a housing authority for a reasonable accommodation in the Housing Choice Voucher program, with a short letter.
• How many bedrooms a voucher covers
  How housing authorities set a Housing Choice Voucher bedroom size, and why that size is not the same as the unit you must rent.
• Payment standards and your share of the rent
  What a Housing Choice Voucher payment standard is, how it relates to Fair Market Rent, and how the tenant share is different.
• Words this program uses
  A short glossary of Housing Choice Voucher and Section 8 words, in plain language.