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gram Inforrming the legislitive d.bt since 1914
December 11, 2023
The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program
The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program is
the nation's largest rental assistance program. Authorized
under Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.
§1437f(o)), it subsidizes the rents of more than 2.3 million
households (5 million people), and its funding accounts for
more than half the budget of the Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD).
Program Admninkstration and Basics
The HCV program is federally funded via HUD and is
administered locally by about 2,100 local public housing
authorities (PHAs). Each PHA is authorized to administer a
maximum number of vouchers, although federal funding is
often insufficient for PHAs to issue all authorized vouchers.
Because there is not enough federal funding to meet
demand for vouchers-the program serves roughly one in
four eligible households-PHAs generally maintain waiting
lists for vouchers. In administering their waiting lists, PHAs
may establish preferences for households with certain
characteristics, as determined by the PHA (e.g., persons
with disabilities, persons experiencing homelessness).
Individuals and families (hereinafter, households) are
generally eligible to receive a voucher if they are very low-
income (income at or below 50% of the local area median
income [AMI]), although 75% of vouchers available each
year are targeted to households that are extremely low-
income (income at or below the greater of 30% of AMI or
the federal poverty guidelines). In addition to income
eligibility, PHAs may adopt additional screening criteria
(e.g., criminal background, rental, or credit history).
Households use vouchers to lease private market units from
willing landlords. (Laws in some jurisdictions require
landlords to accept vouchers.) If a unit meets program
standards, including passing an initial quality and safety
inspection (annually thereafter), and the tenant meets any
screening criteria set by the landlord, the PHA and landlord
sign a contract and the landlord and tenant sign a lease.
Households contribute the greater of 30% of their adjusted
incomes or 10% of their gross incomes toward their rent
and utilities, and the voucher covers the remainder, up to a
maximum-called a payment standard-set by the PHA
(generally, 90%-110% of local Fair Market Rent, adjusted
by number of bedrooms). If the rent for a unit exceeds the
tenant contribution plus the voucher subsidy, the household
may pay the difference, up to certain limits the first year.
Vouchers are generally portable, which means families can
use them within and across PHA jurisdictional boundaries.
PHAs may choose to project base (i.e., tie them to specific
units of housing) a portion of their vouchers within certain
limits, provided tenants are given the option to receive a
tenant-based voucher after one year.
HCVs are not time-limited. A household can receive
assistance until six months after their income increases such
that their tenant contribution equals their housing cost and
they no longer qualify for a subsidy. Households may have
their vouchers revoked if they fail to follow program rules.
There are several forms of special purpose vouchers,
including Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH)
vouchers for veterans experiencing homelessness, jointly
administered with the Department of Veterans Affairs;
Family Unification Program (FUP) vouchers for child
welfare-involved families or former foster youth, jointly
administered with local child welfare agencies; and
mainstream vouchers for persons with disabilities.
Household Characteristics
The HCV program serves all types of households, ranging
from single adults to families with children. Preferences
PHAs set for their waiting lists can affect the characteristics
of their HCV caseloads, as can allocations of special
purpose vouchers. As shown in Figure 1, in 2023 roughly
39% of HCV households include children; 61% are
households without children. Of the latter, the majority are
headed by persons age 62 or older. Over time, families with
children have accounted for a smaller share of assisted
households; in 2012, according to HUD data, families with
children accounted for over half of all HCV households.
Figure I. Head of Household Characteristics, 2023
Source: Prepared by CRS based on HUD Resident Characteristics
Report data, accessed June 2023.
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