While we are not affiliated with the government in any way, our private company engaged writers to research the LIHEAP program and compiled a guide and the following answers to frequently asked questions. Our goal is to help you get the benefits that you need by providing useful information on the process.

  1. What Is Section 8 Housing?
  2. How Does the Section 8 Housing Program Work?
  3. How Much Assistance Does Section 8 Provide?
  4. How to Qualify for Section 8 in Oregon
  5. How to Apply for Section 8 Housing in Oregon
  6. How to Check Your Application Status
  7. About the Section 8 Waiting List
  8. What Happens After You Reach the Top of the Waiting List?
  9. How to File an Appeal If You Are Denied Section 8 Benefits
  10. Need More Help?
  11. View or Download Our Free Guide

What is Section 8 Housing?

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) oversees the Housing Choice Voucher Program, also known as Section 8 Housing. The Section 8 Program is designed to help low-income families, the elderly and the disabled afford private housing rent.

Learn more about Section 8 on the HUD Program Fact Sheet page here.

How Does the Section 8 Housing Program Work?

Section 8 Housing is a voucher-based program. To enroll in the program, you must apply to a local Public Housing Agency (PHA). The PHAs are responsible for administering vouchers to participants in their given area or neighborhood.

Once an applicant is approved by a PHA, they are most often put on the PHA’s waiting list. When it is the applicant’s turn to receive housing assistance, they will receive vouchers from HUD that are used to pay for a portion of their rent.

The participant is free to choose any housing that meets the requirements of the program on the private market. Landlords must also choose to participate in the program and accept Section 8 tenants.

Learn more about Section 8 on the HUD Program Fact Sheet page here.

How Much Assistance Does Section 8 Provide?

The vouchers you receive from your PHA will only cover a portion of your rent. The highest amount of assistance you can receive in Oregon is the lesser of these two options:

  • The gross rent of the housing unit minus 30 percent of your household’s monthly adjusted income
  • The payment standard (the general amount typically needed to afford rent in your PHA’s area) minus 30 percent of your household’s monthly adjusted income

To learn more about PHA payment standards here.

How to Qualify for Section 8 in Oregon

To qualify for Section 8 Housing in Oregon, you or your family must meet the income limits set by the HUD. Limits can differ by state and county. Counties cannot exceed the state limits, but they may provide lower limits if the county is in a particularly low-cost area.

The statewide median family income for Oregon as of 2023 is $98,800 per year, and you may qualify if your income does not exceed 50 percent of this figure. To see all Oregon county income limits, click here, then navigate to "Oregon."

To be eligible, you must also meet these requirements:

  • Have a Social Security Number (SSN)
  • Be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen
  • Be 18 years of age or older
  • Not have certain criminal offenses or drug arrests

For more information about Section 8 eligibility, visit the HUD website here.

How to Apply for Section 8 Housing in Oregon

To apply for Section 8 Housing, you will need to complete the following steps:

  1. Locate a Public Housing Agency (PHA) that has an opening on its waiting list. You can apply to any PHA with openings.

To find PHAs near you and see their waiting list status, visit the HUD Housing Authority (HA) Database here.

  1. Select an application method offered by the PHA you choose. PHAs may allow you to apply online, by mail, by fax, by phone and/or in person at Section 8 Housing Office locations.

To find out which application method your PHA accepts, call the PHA office. Find contact information in the Oregon PHA directory here or by visiting the HUD PHA look-up page here.

  1. Fill out an application through your chosen PHA by providing information about your household size, your income and other personal information.

Learn what information you will need to provide on your application by reviewing the sample application on page 4-23 of the Opening a Waiting List guide here.

How to Check Your Application Status

If you applied online, you can check the status of your application by logging into your account on the PHA website you applied to.

If you applied by mail, you can check the status of your application by calling the PHA you applied to directly to ask for a status update.

To find your chosen PHA’s contact information, review the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Oregon PHA Directory here.

About the Section 8 Waiting List

Once you are approved by the PHA you applied to for Section 8 Housing, if there are no immediate openings you will be placed on a waiting list. Since the demand for housing assistance often exceeds the limited resources available to local housing agencies, long waiting periods are common.

PHAs may establish local preferences for selecting applicants from their waiting lists and will move these families ahead of other families on the list who do not qualify for the preferences. These preferences may include the following groups:

  • The homeless
  • People currently living in substandard housing
  • People currently spending more than 50% of their income on rent
  • People with disabilities
  • The involuntarily displaced
  • Veterans

Learn more about waiting lists and PHA applicant preferences in the U.S. Interagency Council for Homelessness guide here or on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) page here.

What Happens After You Reach the Top of the Waiting List?

Once you reach the top of the waiting list, you will be issued housing vouchers you can use to cover a portion of your rent on private housing. You can call the PHA you applied to for help finding housing listings in your area. Find contact information for all Oregon PHA Offices here.

You will need to find a private housing unit that is safe and sanitary and meets the PHA’s inspection requirements. You can learn more about the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) housing quality standards in their “A Good Place to Live!” guide here.

Landlords must also agree to participate in the Section 8 Program. To learn more about Section 8-compliant rentals in your area, and how to successfully secure rental agreements or leases, contact the PHA you applied to. Find contact information for all Oregon PHA Offices here.

How to File an Appeal If You Are Denied Section 8 Benefits

If your Section 8 Housing application is denied, the PHA you applied to is required to send you a written notice explaining the reason(s) for the denial. Learn more about reasons Section 8 Housing applications are denied here.

The notice will also give instruction on how to appeal the decision by requesting an informal review. To learn if your specific PHA sends denial notices by mail or email, call your PHA office. Find your local PHA contact information with HUD’s Oregon PHA Directory here.

By submitting a request for an informal review, your application will be reviewed by the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA). A judge will conduct a hearing and issue a new decision.

To begin the appeal process, see the instructions on your denial notice or contact the PHA you applied to for information on how to proceed.

Need More Help?

The Housing Choice Voucher Program, or Section 8 Housing, is managed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and is administered through local Public Housing Agencies (PHAs).

If you need help applying to the program or have other questions, call your nearest local PHA for help. Find contact information for all Oregon PHA Offices here.

Or, visit the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s PHA contact information page here, and look up PHA information by county, city or state.

You can also call the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Section 8 Housing national customer service line at (800) 955-2232 or send an email to HUD-PIHRC@tngusa.net.

View or Download Our Free Guide

While we are not affiliated with the government in any way, our private company engaged writers to research the Section 8 Housing program and compiled a guide and these answers to frequently asked questions. Our goal is to help you get the benefits that you need by providing useful information on the process.

Our free Section 8 Housing Guide is filled with helpful information about how to apply, program eligibility requirements and how to get in touch with local offices. You can view our free guide here.

  1. How to Apply for Section 8 Housing in Oregon
  2. How to Check Your Application Status
  3. About the Section 8 Waiting List
  4. How to File an Appeal If You Are Denied Section 8 Benefits
  5. Need More Help?
  6. View or Download Our Free Guide

How to Apply for Section 8 Housing in Oregon

To apply for Section 8 Housing, you will need to complete the following steps:

  1. Locate a Public Housing Agency (PHA) that has an opening on its waiting list. You can apply to any PHA with openings.

To find PHAs near you and see their waiting list status, visit the HUD Housing Authority (HA) Database here.

  1. Select an application method offered by the PHA you choose. PHAs may allow you to apply online, by mail, by fax, by phone and/or in person at Section 8 Housing Office locations.

To find out which application method your PHA accepts, call the PHA office. Find contact information in the Oregon PHA directory here or by visiting the HUD PHA look-up page here.

  1. Fill out an application through your chosen PHA by providing information about your household size, your income and other personal information.

Learn what information you will need to provide on your application by reviewing the sample application on page 4-23 of the Opening a Waiting List guide here.

How to Check Your Application Status

If you applied online, you can check the status of your application by logging into your account on the PHA website you applied to.

If you applied by mail, you can check the status of your application by calling the PHA you applied to directly to ask for a status update.

To find your chosen PHA’s contact information, review the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Oregon PHA Directory here.

About the Section 8 Waiting List

Once you are approved by the PHA you applied to for Section 8 Housing, if there are no immediate openings you will be placed on a waiting list. Since the demand for housing assistance often exceeds the limited resources available to local housing agencies, long waiting periods are common.

PHAs may establish local preferences for selecting applicants from their waiting lists and will move these families ahead of other families on the list who do not qualify for the preferences. These preferences may include the following groups:

  • The homeless
  • People currently living in substandard housing
  • People currently spending more than 50% of their income on rent
  • People with disabilities
  • The involuntarily displaced
  • Veterans

Learn more about waiting lists and PHA applicant preferences in the U.S. Interagency Council for Homelessness guide here or on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) page here.

How to File an Appeal If You Are Denied Section 8 Benefits

If your Section 8 Housing application is denied, the PHA you applied to is required to send you a written notice explaining the reason(s) for the denial. Learn more about reasons Section 8 Housing applications are denied here.

The notice will also give instruction on how to appeal the decision by requesting an informal review. To learn if your specific PHA sends denial notices by mail or email, call your PHA office. Find your local PHA contact information with HUD’s Oregon PHA Directory here.

By submitting a request for an informal review, your application will be reviewed by the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA). A judge will conduct a hearing and issue a new decision.

To begin the appeal process, see the instructions on your denial notice or contact the PHA you applied to for information on how to proceed.

Need More Help?

The Housing Choice Voucher Program, or Section 8 Housing, is managed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and is administered through local Public Housing Agencies (PHAs).

If you need help applying to the program or have other questions, call your nearest local PHA for help. Find contact information for all Oregon PHA Offices here.

Or, visit the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s PHA contact information page here, and look up PHA information by county, city or state.

You can also call the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Section 8 Housing national customer service line at (800) 955-2232 or send an email to HUD-PIHRC@tngusa.net.

View or Download Our Free Guide

While we are not affiliated with the government in any way, our private company engaged writers to research the Section 8 Housing program and compiled a guide and the following answers to frequently asked questions. Our goal is to help you get the benefits that you need by providing useful information on the process.

Our free Section 8 Housing Guide is filled with helpful information about how to apply, program eligibility and how to get in touch with local offices. You can view our free guide here.