You got a voucher — now what?

Your voucher comes with a clock. You get an initial search period of at least 60 days to find a unit and have the landlord sign the paperwork — and the housing authority can extend it. Start looking the day you get the letter, not the week the deadline lands.

The order things happen in

1. Briefing. The authority explains your voucher size (how many bedrooms it covers), your payment standard, and your deadline. Take notes and ask what a request for an extension requires — ask now, not later.
2. You find a unit. Any unit that meets HUD's quality standards and rent reasonableness, in the authority's area or, if you are porting, elsewhere. It can be a house, a duplex, or an apartment.
3. The landlord agrees and you submit the request. This is the Request for Tenancy Approval, signed by both of you. Nothing moves until it is in.
4. The unit is inspected. An inspector checks it against HUD's housing quality standards. Repairs may be required before approval.
5. Rent is checked for reasonableness. The authority confirms the rent is in line with similar unassisted units nearby. It can be reduced.
6. Contracts are signed. You sign a lease with the landlord; the authority signs a housing assistance payments contract with the landlord. Then you move in.

Do not pay a deposit before the inspection passes

If the unit fails inspection or the rent is found unreasonable, the deal does not happen — and getting a deposit back from a landlord you never rented from is its own ordeal. Wait for approval.

What you will pay

In general you pay about 30% of your adjusted monthly income toward rent and utilities, and the authority pays the rest up to the payment standard for your area. If you choose a unit that rents for more than the payment standard, the extra is yours to cover on top.

At initial lease-up your total share cannot exceed 40% of adjusted monthly income. That cap will rule out some apartments you can otherwise afford on paper, so ask the authority what monthly rent you can actually approve before you fall in love with a unit.

How income and payment standards work.

If the search period is running out

• Ask for an extension in writing before it expires, not after. Many authorities grant them, particularly in tight rental markets or if you have a disability-related reason.
• Widen the search area. Your voucher is generally usable anywhere in the authority's jurisdiction, and often beyond it.
• Ask the authority for its landlord contacts. They want vouchers used — an unused voucher is a lost one for their program too.
• Tell them if you are being turned away over the voucher. In many states, counties, and cities that is illegal source-of-income discrimination. The rules vary by locality, so check with the authority or a housing counselor about yours.

Moving with your voucher (portability)

A Housing Choice Voucher generally travels. You can move to a different city or state and take the assistance with you, which is the core difference between a voucher and a project-based unit. There are conditions — notably a first-year rule that usually keeps new admissions in the issuing authority's area — and the paperwork goes between the two authorities, so start it early. Tell your authority before you give notice, not after.

Staying in the program

• Report income and household changes when they happen. Your share is recalculated; unreported changes turn into repayment demands later.
• Complete the annual recertification by its deadline. Missing it is a common way people lose assistance.
• Let the annual inspection in. Refusing access can end the contract.
• Give proper notice before moving — to both the landlord and the authority.
• Pay your share on time. The authority's portion arriving does not cover yours, and nonpayment is grounds for termination.

If the landlord will not make repairs

Call the housing authority and ask for a re-inspection. Assistance payments can be withheld from a landlord for failed conditions, which is real leverage you have and a private-market tenant does not. Do not withhold your own share without talking to the authority first.

Sources

• 24 CFR Part 982 — voucher term and extensions, housing quality standards, rent reasonableness, family share and the 40% cap, portability
• HUD — Housing Choice Voucher tenants
• HUD — HCV Program Guidebook: Payment Standards (PDF)

Last reviewed August 1, 2026. Found something out of date? Tell us — corrections come before everything else.