Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program

Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program Update

In the coming months, THDA will implement a change to how voucher size is determined under the HCV Program. Voucher size will be based on a standard of two persons per bedroom, in accordance with HUD guidelines.

Not all families will be impacted. If your household is affected, THDA will contact you directly with more information and next steps. No action is required at this time unless you are contacted.

Additional details about this update are available in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).  If you have questions, please contact the Rental Assistance Division at hcvinfo@thda.org.

Rental Assistance – Housing Choice Vouchers

The Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) or “Voucher” program is a federal rental assistance program funded through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) where very low-income individuals, families, the elderly and the disabled receive assistance to afford decent, safe and sanitary housing in the private market. THDA administers the Housing Choice Voucher program in 72 Tennessee counties. See Map here.

Some HCVs have special eligibility criteria that assist non-elderly people with disabilities.

  • Mainstream serve households that include a non-elderly person(s) with disabilities, defined as any family that includes a person with disabilities who is at least 18 years old and not yet 62 years old.
  • Non-Elderly Disabled (NED) helps people under the age of 62 with a disability who may transitioning, reside, or are at risk of residing in a nursing home, institution, or other group facility to have the freedom to live independently within the community.

Field Office Contacts

Click here for contact information for Section 8 field offices

Eligibility

Eligibility for a Housing Choice Voucher is based on the total annual gross income and household size and is limited to US citizens and non-citizens who have eligible immigration status. In general, the family’s income may not exceed 80 percent of the area median income for the county or metropolitan area in which the family chooses to live. Federal rules require 75 percent of new households admitted each year to be “extremely low income,” with incomes that do not exceed 30 percent of the area median income. Median income levels are published by HUD annually and vary by county. The income limits may be found here.

Applying

Interested applicants may apply through our website once an open wait list is available. THDA does not issue or accept paper applications. Interested applicants must submit an application for the county where they wish to live. To see counties where THDA is the administrator, please see the THDA Field Office Contact Information above. Information to apply for a THDA waiting list is available here: Instructions for Applying for an HCV Waiting List.

Visit www.HUD.gov for contact information for other public housing authorities (PHAs) across Tennessee and the rest of the country. All THDA wait list openings are announced through advertisements in local newspapers and THDA’s social media. The announcement will advise the public of the date and time the waiting list will be accepting applications as well as the website to use to apply.

The waiting period varies based upon turnover of currently assisted families (families leaving the program) and funding awards made by Congress annually. THDA is unable to predict the waiting time for an individual family. Metropolitan counties tend to have a larger number of applicants leading to longer lists and longer waiting periods. In THDA’s program, an applicant must live in the county for which they applied for at least one year after being accepted to the program in order to be eligible to relocate with the voucher to another county or state.

Any rental housing, including single family homes, apartments, and mobile homes, qualifies as long as it is in decent, safe and sanitary condition, as defined by program Housing Quality Standards.

Know Your Rights

Click here to learn more about your rights to fair housing.