Keep your place on the list

If the PHA finds you eligible, it will usually put you on its waiting list. When you reach the top depends on how many vouchers the agency has, when you applied, and any selection preferences you qualify for. PHAs can give preference to groups such as veterans or people with disabilities, so answer any preference questions on your application.

While you wait:

• Tell the PHA right away if your mailing address, phone number or household size changes. HUD says not doing this can get you removed from the list.
• Answer any letter or email that asks you to confirm you still want to stay on the list.
• Contact the PHA if you want an update on your place on the list.

Our guide on how to confirm your Section 8 application is on the waitlist walks through status checks.

HUD says you must keep the agency informed of any change to your mailing address, phone number or household size. If you don't, you may be removed from the waitlist.

To protect your spot:

• Report a move or a new phone number right away, in the way your agency asks.
• Tell the agency if someone joins or leaves your household.
• Answer every letter from the agency within the time it gives you, including any letter asking whether you still want assistance or whether your information is still correct.
• Check your mail, email and voicemail often. If your mail is unreliable, ask whether the agency can also reach you by email or text.
• Keep copies of every form you send and every letter you get.

If you have a disability, you can ask the agency for a reasonable accommodation. HUD's fair housing guidance for PHAs gives examples, including letting a person with a disability stay on a waiting list when they did not respond to the agency for a disability-related reason. Under 24 CFR 982.204(c), if you missed a request because of a household member's disability, the agency must put you back in your former place on the list. Other examples are home visits for eligibility interviews and extra time to move when a disability-related reason, such as a hospital stay, gets in the way after you reach the top of the list.