Program Basics

• Section 8 gives low-income families vouchers to help pay their rent. The value of a voucher depends on the size of the family and its income. Although local, state and regional housing agencies distribute vouchers where the family resides when it first applies, the family can transfer the voucher to any community in the U.S. They may use the voucher toward the rent of any home they choose, as long as the home meets HUD's standards for safety and habitability.
  
  

Landlord Eligibility

• A private landlord makes his rental unit available as a Section 8 home by contacting his local Public Housing Authority (PHA). The PHA orders an inspection once a Section 8 tenant has applied for a property to make sure the home meets HUD's health and safety standards. The PHA also investigates market rents in the area to determine a reasonable rent amount for the property. After the PHA deems the home safe and determines the rent is reasonable, the home can be rented by the Section 8 tenant. The landlord advertises for and screens tenants in the same way he would for a non-Section 8 unit. When he finds a suitable tenant, he enters into a contract with the PHA as a Section 8 landlord and he enters into a lease agreement with the tenant.
  
  

Tenant Eligibility

• A would-be Section 8 tenant must apply for the voucher program through her local PHA, which will verify her income documentation and determine her familial status to make sure she's eligible. Once the PHA finds that the tenant is eligible, it computes her liability for the rent payment. Tenants pay 30 percent of their adjusted gross monthly income toward their rent; Section 8 pays the rest.
  
  

Tenant, Landlord and PHA Responsibilities

• The tenant's responsibilities include paying rent on time; keeping the home sanitary and not damaging it; adhering to all lease terms; and reporting changes in income and familial status to the PHA. The landlord is responsible for providing a safe, habitable property for the entire term of the lease and to abide by the terms of the lease and his contract with the PHA. The PHA is responsible for administering the Section 8 program on a local level. It must inspect a rental unit at least once a year to make sure it's still safe and habitable, and it must re-evaluate the tenant's income and familial status each year to make sure the tenant remains eligible for the program.