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How to Add Someone to Your Section 8 Voucher, Step by Step

By KPCB StaffCombined Expertise In The Low Income Housing Space For 10 Years · How we write our guides

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To add someone to your Section 8 voucher, you must ask your public housing agency (PHA) for approval before the person moves in. Your landlord also has to agree in writing. Federal rules say no one but PHA-approved household members may live in the unit, so moving someone in first can put your voucher at risk.

The one exception is a new child. If you have a baby, adopt, or get court-awarded custody of a child, you don't ask permission first, but you must tell the PHA promptly.

Who you can add

HUD's definition of a family is broad. It covers a single person or a group of people living together, "regardless of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status." A spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend, adult child, grandchild, parent, sibling or other relative can all be considered.

Your PHA decides whether to approve each person, and it writes its own rules in a document called the Administrative Plan. Some PHAs are stricter than others about who counts as family, so ask for their policy before you assume someone will or won't qualify.

Two kinds of people can live with you without becoming family members, but only with PHA approval:

  • A foster child
  • A live-in aide, meaning someone who lives with you only to provide care that an elderly person or a person with a disability needs, and who isn't financially responsible for that person

What the PHA checks

Even when the PHA approves new members through a quick "interim" update, HUD's Reexaminations guidebook says it still has to verify the new person's Social Security number, criminal background and citizenship or immigration status.

Social Security number

If the new person is 6 or older, or is younger than 6 and already has a Social Security number, you must give the PHA that number when you make the request (or when the PHA processes it). Proof can be:

  • A Social Security card issued by the Social Security Administration
  • An original federal or state government document that shows the person's name and Social Security number

If you add a child under 6 who doesn't have a number yet, you have 90 calendar days to provide it. The PHA can grant one more 90-day extension if it decides the delay was outside your control and couldn't have been foreseen. The child is counted as part of your household while you wait.

Citizenship or immigration status

New household members must provide evidence of citizenship or eligible immigration status at the first interim or annual reexamination after they move in. HUD calls a household where some members have eligible status and some don't a "mixed family." If that describes your household, ask your PHA how it handles your case.

Criminal background

Federal rules require PHAs to keep out two groups:

  • Anyone subject to a lifetime sex offender registration requirement under a state program
  • Anyone ever convicted of making methamphetamine on the grounds of federally assisted housing

For other criminal history, the PHA has discretion. It may deny someone for drug-related, violent or other criminal activity within what it considers a "reasonable time," and it sets that time period itself. HUD's eligibility guidebook says PHAs may not deny someone based only on arrest records. It also encourages PHAs "to allow ex-offenders to rejoin their families when appropriate" and to consider things like rehabilitation.

If the PHA plans to deny someone because of a criminal record, it must give the family a copy of that record and a chance to dispute whether it is accurate or relevant. For more on screening, see our guide to what Section 8 looks for in a background check.

Debts and past program problems

A PHA may also deny or end assistance if a family member owes money to a PHA, was evicted from federally assisted housing in the last five years, or had Section 8 assistance terminated before.

How to add someone, step by step

  1. Call or visit your PHA and ask for its form or process for adding a household member. Each PHA uses its own form. If you don't know which PHA runs your voucher, find your local housing agency on HUD's contact page.
  2. Ask your landlord for written approval. HUD's tenancy addendum, which is part of every voucher lease, says "Other persons may not be added to the household without prior written approval of the owner and the PHA."
  3. Gather the new person's documents. Expect to need the Social Security proof above, proof of the person's income, and any ID or proof of relationship the PHA asks for. The PHA may also ask the new adult to sign consent forms so it can verify their information.
  4. Turn in the completed form and documents, and keep a copy of everything. Ask for a dated receipt or confirmation.
  5. Wait for written approval from the PHA before the person moves in.
  6. Once approved, the PHA updates your household on its records and recalculates your rent.

Only the PHA can approve a new household member, so don't pay anyone who offers to get it done for you.

How adding someone changes your rent and voucher

Your rent share

The PHA counts income from every household member who is 18 or older, plus the head of household and spouse, so adding a working adult usually raises your share of the rent. Adding a child or someone with no income may lower it or leave it the same.

If you reported the change on time under your PHA's rules, the PHA must give you 30 days' notice before a rent increase, and it takes effect on the first of the month after those 30 days. If you didn't report on time, the PHA must charge any increase back to the first of the month after the change happened.

Income limits

Section 8 income limits are checked when a family is first admitted from the waitlist. Once you're in the program, a higher household income generally means you pay more rent rather than losing the voucher right away. If your income rises to where the PHA pays nothing to your landlord, the payment contract ends automatically 180 days after the last payment. See our guide to Section 8 income eligibility for how the limits work.

Voucher size

Your PHA's "subsidy standards" decide how many bedrooms your voucher covers based on how many people live with you. A larger household may qualify for a bigger voucher size, which can raise the most the PHA will pay. If your household outgrows your current unit, ask the PHA about moving. If you disagree with the PHA's decision about your voucher size, federal rules give you the right to ask for an informal hearing.

How long it takes

Your PHA's Administrative Plan sets its rules for reporting and processing household changes, so ask how long approval usually takes. For interim reexaminations, federal rules say a "reasonable time" should generally be no longer than 30 days after a change in income is reported. Turning in a complete packet the first time helps avoid back-and-forth.

If you're still on the waitlist

HUD says waitlist applicants must keep their PHA informed of changes to their mailing address, phone number, or household size, and failing to do so may get you removed from the list. If you applied with more than one PHA, update each one. Our guide on confirming your Section 8 application is on the waitlist explains how to check your status.

Removing someone or changing the head of household

You must promptly tell the PHA when anyone leaves, such as an adult child who moves out or a partner who leaves. Your PHA's policy sets the deadline. Their income comes off your rent calculation, and your voucher size may go down.

You can't hand your Section 8 assistance to someone outside your household. Federal rules say the family may not sublease the unit, assign the lease or transfer the unit.

If the family breaks up, the PHA decides who keeps the assistance, using the policy in its Administrative Plan. It may consider:

  • Who is staying in the original unit
  • The interests of minor children and of ill, elderly or disabled members
  • Whether domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking is involved

If the breakup results from domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking, the PHA must make sure the victim keeps the assistance. If a court divides property in a divorce or separation, the PHA has to follow the court's decision about who stays on the program.

HUD's family definition includes a "remaining member of a tenant family," meaning a household member who stays in the unit after others have left. If the head of household dies or moves out, another adult already approved on the voucher may be able to take over as head of household under the PHA's policy. Contact the PHA as soon as possible. If you're applying to change the head of household after a death, ask the PHA what documents it needs.

Guests and visitors

HUD defines a guest as someone "temporarily staying in the unit" with your consent. A guest doesn't need PHA approval, but someone who actually lives with you does. Ask your PHA how long a guest may stay under its policy, and check your lease, before a long visit.

What happens if you don't report a new household member

Letting someone live with you without approval breaks your family obligations. The PHA can end your assistance for that, and it can deny or end assistance for fraud in connection with any federal housing program. If you are facing termination, the PHA must offer you an informal hearing first. You can find free legal help through LawHelp.org. For more on your rights as a renter, see our guide to landlord and tenant rights.

Frequently asked questions

Can I add my boyfriend or girlfriend to my Section 8 voucher?

Often, yes. HUD's family definition doesn't depend on marital status. Your partner goes through the same approval as anyone else: Social Security number, income, citizenship or immigration status, and a criminal background check. Your landlord must also approve in writing.

Can I add a friend or roommate?

It depends on your PHA. The federal definition includes "a group of persons residing together," but PHAs write their own policies. Ask your PHA whether it will approve an unrelated adult.

What happens if I get married while on Section 8?

Ask the PHA and your landlord to approve your spouse before they move in. Their income will be counted, so your share of the rent may go up. Being married doesn't by itself end your assistance.

Can I add my spouse if they have a felony?

Possibly. Only lifetime sex offender registration and a conviction for making meth in federally assisted housing are automatic bars. For other crimes, the PHA decides using its own policy and how long ago the activity happened, and it must let you dispute the record.

Can I add my grandchild or a child I'm caring for?

Yes, with PHA approval. A birth, adoption or court-awarded custody only needs to be reported promptly. For other children, such as a grandchild staying with you informally, you need approval first. A foster child also needs PHA approval.

Can I transfer my voucher to my daughter?

You can't transfer a voucher to someone outside the household. If your daughter is an approved adult member of your household and you move out or pass away, your PHA's policy decides whether she can stay on as head of household.

To see what other help your household may qualify for, try our benefit finder.

Sources

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