HUD Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Guidebook
HUD agency guidance (not codified law) on administering the tenant-based Housing Choice Voucher program: eligibility and denial of assistance, housing search and leasing, payment standards, rent reasonableness, calculating rent and HAP payments, utility allowances, moves and portability, reexaminations, special housing types, fair housing and nondiscrimination, HAP contracts, and HUD-VASH. Verified 2026-09-25: 12 chapters exist as separate PDFs, independently dated (2019-2025); "Family Self-Sufficiency," listed on HUD's index page, links to an external hudexchange.info training course rather than a hud.gov PDF and is out of scope. Three further chapters ("Waiting List & Tenant Selection," "Terminations," "Informal Hearings & Reviews") are announced on the index page as not yet written.
Provisions (381)
§ 1
Chapter Overview
§ 2
Initial Calculations at Voucher Issuance
§ 2.1
Total Tenant Payment2
§ 2.2
Minimum Rent
§ 2.3
Gross Rent
§ 2.4
Maximum Rent Burden at Initial Occupancy
§ 2.6
Impact of Unit Size Selection on Subsidy
§ 3
Calculations Completed Following Unit Selection
§ 3.1
Housing Assistance Payment (HAP)
§ 3.2
Family Share
§ 3.3
Family Rent to Owner
§ 3.4
Utility Reimbursement
§ 3.5
Prorated Assistance
§ 4
Glossary
§ 1
Chapter Overview
§ 10
Background Screening
§ 10.1
Criminal Background Screening
§ 10.1.1
Consent for Background Screening
§ 10.1.2
Information from Drug Abuse Treatment Facilities
§ 10.1.3
Records Retention and Confidentiality
§ 10.1.4
Denial of Assistance for Criminal Activity
§ 10.2
Additional PHA Discretionary Admission Criteria
§ 11
EIV System Searches at Admission
§ 11.1
Existing Tenant Search and Avoiding Duplicate Subsidy
§ 11.2
HUD-52675 Debts Owed to PHAs and Terminations
§ 11.3
120-day review of Income Report
§ 12
Notifications to Family
§ 12.1
Emergency Contact
§ 12.2
Notification Requirements
§ 12.3
Effective Communication and Limited English Proficiency Requirements
§ 13
Denial of Assistance
§ 13.1
Timing of Denial
§ 13.2
Non-discrimination
§ 13.3
Consideration of Circumstances
§ 14
Chapter Glossary
§ 2
Overview of Eligibility Factors and Requirements at
§ 2.1
Eligibility Factors for Admission
§ 2.2
Screening and Other Requirements at Admission
§ 3
Family Eligibility Requirements
§ 4
Income Limits
§ 4.1
Income Targeting
§ 4.2
Applying Income Limits
§ 5
Restrictions on Student Eligibility
§ 5.1
Prohibition on Assistance to Noncitizen Students
§ 6
Student Income Eligibility
§ 7
Citizenship Status
§ 7.1
Documentation of Citizenship or Immigration Status
§ 7.1.1
Extensions
§ 7.2
Verification of Eligible Immigration Status
§ 7.2.1
Primary Verification Method
§ 7.2.2
Secondary verification method
§ 7.2.3
CIS Appeals Process
§ 7.3
Prorating Assistance for Mixed Families
§ 7.4
Delay, Denial, or Termination of Assistance
§ 7.4.1
Notification of Denial Due to Citizenship Status
§ 8
Compliance with Verification Requirements
§ 9
Disclosure of Social Security Numbers
§ 9.1
SSN Disclosure Requirements for Applicant Families
§ 9.1.1
Children Under Age 6 Added to Applicant Families
§ 9.1.2
Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Program for
§ 9.2
SSN Disclosure Requirements for New Household Members Added to a Participant
§ 9.2.1
New Household Members Age 6 and Over or Under Age 6 Who Have an SSN
§ 9.2.2
New Household Members Under Age 6 Who Do Not Have an SSN
§ 9.3
Acceptable Documentation
§ 1
Chapter Overview
§ 2
Fair Housing and Civil Rights Authorities
§ 2.1
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
§ 2.2
Executive Orders 11063 and 12892
§ 2.3
The Fair Housing Act
§ 2.3.1
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing and Fair Housing Planning
§ 2.4
Age Discrimination Act of 1975
§ 2.5
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
§ 2.6
Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
§ 2.7
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
§ 3
Ensuring Program Access for Individuals with Disabilities
§ 3.1
Who is an Individual with a Disability?
§ 3.1.1
Disability under Federal Civil Rights Laws
§ 3.1.2
Disability under the HUD Program Definition
§ 3.2
Reasonable Accommodations
§ 3.2.1.1
Assistance Animals as a Reasonable Accommodation
§ 3.2.2
Reasonable Accommodation Process
§ 3.2.3
Reasonable Accommodation Requests
§ 3.2.4
Disability-related Need
§ 3.2.5
Establishing a Nexus between a Disability and Reasonable Accommodation
§ 3.2.6
Approval or Denial of the Request
§ 3.2.7
Confidentiality of Information
§ 3.3
Effective Communication
§ 3.4
Physical Accessibility
§ 3.5
The Integration Mandate and Olmstead Decision
§ 3.5.1
The Integration Mandate
§ 3.5.2
Olmstead
§ 3.6
Section 504 Coordinators
§ 4
Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited
§ 4.1
Who is a Limited English Proficient Person?
§ 4.2
Providing LEP Services – Four Factor Analysis
§ 4.3
Oral Interpretation
§ 4.4
Written Translation
§ 4.5
Language Access Plan or Implementation Plan
§ 5
Affirmative Marketing and Applicant and Participant
§ 5.1
Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing
§ 5.2
Where to Advertise
§ 5.3
Contents of Marketing Materials
§ 5.4
Tenant Screening
§ 5.5
Clear Policies and Reliable Records
§ 6
Data Collection, Reporting, and Recordkeeping
§ 7
Addressing Discrimination Complaints
§ 7.1
PHA Actions to Prevent Discrimination
§ 7.2
Filing Procedures for Discrimination Complaints
§ 7.3
Processing of Discrimination Complaints
§ 1
Chapter Overview
§ 10
Documentation
§ 11
Document Distribution and Record-Keeping Requirements
§ 12
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Reporting Requirements
§ 13
Chapter Glossary
§ 2
Owner Approvals
§ 2.1
Debarment and Other Causes for Disapproval
§ 2.2
Discretionary Owner Disapproval Policies
§ 2.3
Renting to Relatives
§ 2.4
Conflicts of Interest
§ 3
Term of HAP Contract
§ 4
Payment to Owner
§ 4.1
Distribution of Housing Assistance Payment
§ 4.2
“Zero HAP:” When the Family Pays the Full Contract Rent to the Landlord
§ 4.3
Penalties for Late Payment of HAP
§ 5
Contents of Housing Assistance Payments Contract (HAP
§ 5.1
Part A: Contract Information
§ 5.2
Part B: Body of Contract
§ 5.3
Part C: Tenancy Addendum
§ 6
HAP Contract Execution
§ 7
Changes Requiring New HAP Contract
§ 8
Owner Responsibilities
§ 9
Change in Ownership
§ 1
Chapter Overview
§ 10
Lease and Tenancy
§ 11
Chapter Glossary
§ 2
Briefings
§ 2.5.1
Required Briefing Packet Materials
§ 2.5.2
Supplemental Briefing Packet
§ 3
Briefing Attendance, Length, Location, and Time
§ 4
Subsidy Standards
§ 5
Voucher Issuance
§ 6
Search Time, Extensions, and Voucher Expirations
§ 7
Assisting Families During the Housing Search
§ 8
Request for Tenancy Approval
§ 9
PHA Approval of the Tenancy
§ 1
Chapter Overview
§ 2
HUD-VASH Voucher Awards
§ 3
HUD-VASH Roles and Responsibilities
§ 3.1
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
§ 3.2
Public Housing Agencies
§ 3.3
Program Participants
§ 4
Differences Between HUD-VASH and Regular HCV Rules
§ 4.1
Participant Eligibility
§ 4.10
Voucher Turnover
§ 4.11
Section Eight Management Assessment Program (SEMAP)
§ 4.2
Waiting Lists and Preferences
§ 4.3
Housing Quality Standards Inspections
§ 4.4
Leasing
§ 4.5
Case Management
§ 4.6
Portability
§ 4.7
Termination of Assistance
§ 4.8
Voucher Reassignment Upon Family Break-Up
§ 5
HUD-VASH Funding and Leasing
§ 5.1
Moving to Work (MTW) PHAs
§ 5.2
Reallocation of HUD-VASH vouchers
§ 5.3
PHA Income Targeting
§ 5.4
PHA Funding and Leasing
§ 6
Project-Basing HUD-VASH Vouchers
§ 6.1
Differences between HUD-VASH and Regular PBV Rules
§ 7
HUD-VASH Reporting Requirements
§ 7.1
Form-HUD 50058
§ 7.2
IMS/PIC and Portability
§ 7.3
Voucher Management System (VMS)
§ 8
Chapter Glossary
§ 1
Chapter Overview
§ 10
Moving to Work (MTW) and Special Purpose Vouchers (SPV)
§ 10.1
Moving to Work (MTW)
§ 10.2
Special Purpose Vouchers (SPV) and Programs
§ 11
IMS/PIC and Voucher Management System (VMS) Data
§ 11.1
IMS/PIC Data Entry
§ 11.1.1
The IMS/PIC Responsibilities of the Receiving PHA
§ 11.1.2
The IMS/PIC Responsibilities of the Initial PHA
§ 11.2
VMS Data Entry
§ 11.2.1
Receiving PHA Instructions for Billed Vouchers
§ 11.2.2
Initial PHA Instructions for Billed Voucher
§ 12
Related SEMAP Indicators
§ 13
Chapter Glossary
§ 2
Eligibility Requirements and Family Responsibilities
§ 2.1
Portability Requirements for Applicants
§ 2.1.1
Residency Requirements
§ 2.1.2
Income Requirements
§ 2.2
Family Responsibilities
§ 3
Limitations on Family Moves (including portability moves)
§ 3.1
Mandatory and Discretionary Limitations on Family Moves
§ 3.1.1
Mandatory Denial of a Family Request to Move
§ 3.1.2
Discretionary Denial of a Family Request to Move
§ 3.2
Exceptions to Limitations on Family Moves
§ 3.2.1
Protections for Victims of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault or
§ 3.2.2
Reasonable Accommodation
§ 3.2.3
Harassment
§ 3.3
Denying Family Requests to Move for Insufficient Funding
§ 3.3.1
Notifying the Local PIH Field Office
§ 3.3.2
Determining Whether There Is Sufficient This optional tool is designed to
§ 3.3.3
PHA Policies Addressing Denial of Family Moves for Insufficient Funding
§ 3.3.4
Improper Denial of Requests to Move
§ 4
Initial PHA’s Responsibilities
§ 4.1
Providing the Family Information About Portability
§ 4.2
Eligibility Determination
§ 4.2.1
Applicant Family
§ 4.2.2
Participant family
§ 4.3
Selecting and Contacting the Receiving website.
§ 4.4
Voucher Issuance and Informing the Family How to Contact the Receiving
§ 4.5
Notifying the Receiving PHA and Providing the Portability Information
§ 4.6
Monitoring Families Searching in Other Communities
§ 5
Receiving PHA’s Responsibilities searchers
§ 5.1
Requirement to Administer Assistance
§ 5.10
Monitoring Families Moving into the PHA’s Jurisdiction
§ 5.11
Submission of Annual & Interim Reexaminations (Form HUD-50058)
§ 5.11.1
Receiving PHA Fails to Send Updated HUD-50058 on Time
§ 5.12
Family Decides to Port to Another Jurisdiction
§ 5.1.1
Extreme Circumstances
§ 5.1.2
Rescreening
§ 5.2
Responding to the Initial PHA
§ 5.3
Expired Initial PHA Voucher
§ 5.4
Voucher Issuance
§ 5.5
Suspension of the Voucher (also known as tolling)
§ 5.6
Extending the Term of the Voucher
§ 5.7
Briefings and Reexaminations
§ 5.8
Notifying the Initial PHA
§ 5.9
Decision to Absorb or Administer
§ 6
Termination of Assistance for Ported Families
§ 7
Portability Billing
§ 7.1
Billing Amount
§ 7.2
Billing the Initial PHA
§ 7.3
Notification of Billing Amount Changes (Form HUD-52665)
§ 7.4
Notification of Billing Arrangement Termination (Form HUD-52665)
§ 7.4.1
Retroactive Absorptions
§ 7.4.2
Receipt of Payments for Billing Arrangements No Longer in Effect
§ 7.5
Billing Payments
§ 7.6
Penalties for Failure to Pay the Receiving PHA in a Timely Manner
§ 7.7
Summary of Portability Billing Deadlines
§ 8
Use of Email or Other Delivery Confirmation Method
§ 9
Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Requirements
§ 9.1
Reasonable Accommodations in the Portability Context
§ 9.2
Reasonable Accommodation and Insufficient Funding
§ 9.3
Effective Communication and Limited English Proficiency Requirements
§ 1
Chapter Overview
§ 2
Metropolitan Area Fair Market Rents and Small Area FMRs
§ 2.1
Designated and Opt-In SAFMR PHAs
§ 2.2
Payment Standard Groupings
§ 2.3
SAFMRs and Project Based Vouchers (PBV)
§ 2.4
Portability and SAFMRs
§ 2.5
Special Housing Types and SAFMRs
§ 2.6
Applicability of SAFMRs to Moving to Work (MTW) agencies
§ 2.7
Inapplicability of SAFMRs to Other HUD Programs
§ 2.8
Suspension of SAFMR Designation or Temporary Exemption
§ 3
Establishing Payment Standards
§ 3.1
Payment Standards within the Basic Range
§ 3.2
Rounding the Payment Standard
§ 3.3
Phase-out of Payment Standards Based on the 50th Percentile Rent: Success
§ 3.4
Payment Standards Below 90 percent of the Applicable FMR
§ 3.5
Exception Payment Standards
§ 3.5.1
Exception Payment Standards Based on SAFMRs in ZIP Codes Where the SAFMR is Higher Than
§ 3.5.2
Simplified Process for Exception Payment Standards Greater than 110 percent up to 120 percent
§ 3.5.3
Exception Payment Standards That Require HUD Approval
§ 3.5.4
Impact of HUD-Approved Exception Payment Standards on PBV Rent Determination
§ 3.6
Establishing the Payment Standard Schedule
§ 3.7
Payment Standards for Special Purpose Voucher Programs
§ 4
Revising the Payment Standards
§ 4.1
Annual Review of Payment Standards
§ 4.2
Lowering the Payment Standard
§ 4.3
File Documentation
§ 4.4
Applying the Payment Standard
§ 5
Changes in Payment Standard Amounts
§ 5.1
When the Payment Standard Increases
§ 5.2
When the Payment Standard Decreases
§ 5.3
Change in Family Unit (Voucher) Size During the HAP Contract Term
§ 6
Exception Payment Standard as a Reasonable
§ 6.1
Reasonable Accommodation Exception Payment Standard Requiring HUD
§ 6.2
Reasonable Accommodation Exception Payment Standard Calculation for
§ 7
Reevaluation of HUD-published FMRs/SAFMRs
§ 8
Administrative Plan Requirements
§ 9
Glossary
§ 1
Chapter Overview
§ 2
Purpose and Basic Requirements of Reexaminations
§ 2.1
Annual reexaminations
§ 2.1.1
Streamlined Income Determination for Fixed Income Sources
§ 2.1.2
Definition of Fixed Income Sources
§ 2.1.3
Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA)
§ 2.2
Interim Reexaminations
§ 3
Notifications
§ 4
Mandated Use of the EIV System
§ 5
Managing the Annual Reexamination Process
§ 5.1
Effective Date of Annual Reexamination
§ 5.1.1
Anniversary Date of the HAP Contract
§ 5.1.2
Twelve (12) Months from the Date of Program Admission
§ 5.2
Mail-in versus In-person Reexaminations
§ 5.3
Tracking the Reexamination Process
§ 1
Chapter Overview
§ 2
Program Requirements
§ 2.1
When Rent Reasonableness Determinations Are Required
§ 2.10
Units occupied by certain employees of the property management
§ 2.1.1
Before Executing a HAP Contract
§ 2.1.2
Before Any Increase in the Rent to Owner
§ 2.1.3
Ten Percent or More Reduction in FMR
§ 2.1.4
If Directed by HUD
§ 2.2
Comparability
§ 2.3
Accessibility
§ 2.4
Assisted and Unassisted Units in the Premises
§ 2.4.1
Rent Control
§ 2.4.2
Conversion Actions11
§ 2.4.3
Other Owner Rent Reductions
§ 2.5
Rent Increases
§ 2.6
Tax Credit and HOME Units
§ 2.7
Units with Other Forms of Federal Housing Subsidies
§ 2.8
Owner Certification of Rents Charged for Other Units
§ 2.9
Documenting the Rent Reasonableness Decision
§ 3
PHA Options for Developing and Maintaining a Rent
§ 3.1
Overall Considerations
§ 3.1.1
Understand local market factors
§ 3.1.2
Ensure method represents entire market, not only units within the PHA’s
§ 3.1.3
Update data regularly to ensure methodology reflects current market
§ 3.1.4
Obtain information about the program unit
§ 3.1.5
Consider how utilities will be factored into the rent reasonableness
§ 3.1.6
When practical, share rent reasonableness data with PHAs in overlapping
§ 3.2
Rent Reasonableness Methodology – Comparables vs. Market Study
§ 3.2.1
Using Comparables
§ 3.2.2
Rental Market Survey or Study
§ 4
SEMAP
§ 5
Chapter Glossary
§ 1
Chapter Overview
§ 2
Single Room Occupancy Facilities
§ 2.1
Occupancy
§ 2.2
Housing Quality Standards
§ 2.3
Payment Standard and HAP Calculation
§ 2.4
Utility Allowance
§ 3
Congregate Housing
§ 3.1
Occupancy
§ 3.2
Housing Quality Standards
§ 3.3
Payment Standard and HAP Calculation
§ 4
Group Homes
§ 4.1
Occupancy
§ 4.2
Housing Quality Standards
§ 4.3
Payment Standard and HAP Calculation
§ 4.4
Utility Allowance
§ 4.5
Rent Reasonableness
§ 5
Shared Housing
§ 5.1
Occupancy
§ 5.2
Housing Quality Standards
§ 5.3
Payment Standard and HAP Calculation
§ 5.4
Utility Allowance
§ 5.5
Rent Reasonableness
§ 6
Cooperative Housing
§ 6.1
Occupancy
§ 6.2
Housing Quality Standards
§ 6.3
Payment Standard and HAP Calculation
§ 6.4
Rent Reasonableness
§ 7
Manufactured Homes
§ 7.1
Occupancy
§ 7.2
Housing Quality Standards
§ 7.3
Payment Standard and HAP Calculation
§ 8
Manufactured Home Space Rental
§ 8.1
Occupancy
§ 8.2
Payment Standard and HAP Calculation
§ 8.3
Utility Allowance
§ 8.4
Rent Reasonableness
§ 9
Glossary
§ 1
Chapter Overview
§ 2
Utility Allowances Overview
§ 3
Utility Allowance Schedule
§ 3.1
Establishing a Utility Allowance Schedule
§ 3.1.1
Average Consumption Data
§ 3.1.2
Allowance by Unit Size
§ 3.1.3
HUD Utility Schedule Model
§ 3.1.4
Utility Rate Schedules
§ 3.1.5
Ranges and Refrigerators
§ 3.1.6
Other Utilities and Services
§ 4
Using the Utility Allowance Schedule
§ 5
Higher Utility Allowance as a Reasonable Accommodation
§ 6
Reviewing and Revising Utility Allowances
§ 7