If you are a veteran in San Diego County who is homeless or close to it, the fastest way into the HUD-VASH program is to contact the VA San Diego Healthcare System and ask to be screened, or call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at (877) 424-3838, a free and confidential line that runs 24 hours a day.1U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. HUD-VASH HUD-VASH in San Diego pairs a federal rental voucher that works like Section 8 with ongoing VA case management, and the local program currently houses more than 2,000 veterans at a time across the city, the county, Oceanside, and Imperial County.2VA San Diego Health Care. VA San Diego Reaches Veteran Housing Milestone If you are in crisis, call 988 and press 1, or text 838255.
Who Qualifies
HUD-VASH is for veterans who are homeless or at imminent risk of becoming homeless, and whose household income is below 80 percent of the area median income for San Diego. One important detail: VA disability income is not counted toward that income limit.3HUD Exchange. HUD-VASH Operating Requirements For reference, the FY2026 median income for the San Diego metro area is $130,900.4San Diego Housing Commission. Payment Standards and Income Limits
The program was created under standard Housing Choice Voucher regulations, with waiver authority from the 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Public Law 110-161) that lets HUD adjust the usual voucher rules for homeless veterans.3HUD Exchange. HUD-VASH Operating Requirements Discharge status does affect eligibility; veterans without an honorable discharge should look at the alternatives described below.
How to Apply, Step by Step
In San Diego, every HUD-VASH case starts at the VA, not at a housing office. The VA San Diego Healthcare System identifies eligible veterans, gathers the documentation, and sends the referral to a local housing authority.2VA San Diego Health Care. VA San Diego Reaches Veteran Housing Milestone
Which housing authority depends on where you plan to live. The San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) handles vouchers inside the city of San Diego. The Housing Authority of the County of San Diego (HACSD) covers unincorporated areas and most other cities, with Oceanside and Imperial County running their own programs.2VA San Diego Health Care. VA San Diego Reaches Veteran Housing Milestone Once the housing authority confirms eligibility and enrolls you, it issues a voucher. You then have a window to find a rental on the open market whose rent and conditions meet the program’s rules. After you sign a lease, the VA keeps working with you through case management, which can include mental health care and other clinical services from the VA medical center and its outreach clinics.5U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Housing Choice Vouchers for Homeless Veterans
If you do not already have a VA case manager or primary care team, calling the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans is often the simplest first move, because the operators can route you directly to the right VA San Diego intake point.1U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. HUD-VASH6City of San Diego. Second Temporary Bridge Shelter Opens With Focus on Homeless Veterans7Veterans Village of San Diego. Housing Programs
What the Voucher Pays and Where It Works
The voucher subsidizes rent in the private market up to a payment standard set by ZIP code and bedroom size. In the city of San Diego, the VASH payment standard for a one-bedroom runs from roughly $1,961 in some neighborhoods to $3,660 in downtown.4San Diego Housing Commission. Payment Standards and Income Limits You pay a portion of the rent based on your income, and the voucher covers the rest, up to the payment standard.
Most HUD-VASH vouchers in San Diego are tenant-based, meaning the voucher travels with you to whatever qualifying unit you rent. The county has also issued a Notice of Funding Availability for up to 50 project-based VASH vouchers, which are attached to specific units in multi-family buildings rather than to the tenant.8County of San Diego. Veterans Services Veterans Village of San Diego’s Vets Villas in Escondido is one example of dedicated veteran housing with on-site case management, mental health services, and workforce development.7Veterans Village of San Diego. Housing Programs
Finding a Landlord Is the Hard Part
Getting the voucher is one problem; getting a landlord to accept it is the bigger one in San Diego. A 2022 HUD Office of Inspector General survey found 74 percent of public housing agencies nationally could not fully use their VASH vouchers, with high rents, low vacancy, and a shortage of one-bedroom units cited as the main reasons.9HUD Office of Inspector General. HUD-VASH Program Survey The Regional Task Force on Homelessness has named landlord recruitment the single biggest obstacle in San Diego.10Regional Task Force on Homelessness. Reports and Data
Both the city and county try to close that gap with incentives you can point landlords toward during your search. The County of San Diego offers leasing bonuses of up to $2,500 per unit, security deposit help covering up to two months’ rent, a landlord assurance fund of up to $5,000 for lost rent or property damage, and a dedicated landlord liaison.11County of San Diego. Help Veterans Find Housing SDHC runs similar incentives inside the city, including a $500 bonus for a first unit leased to a veteran and a $1 million contingency fund.12San Diego Housing Commission. Housing Our Heroes Initiative Special Report In February 2026, the state added $1.67 million to extend the county’s Homelessness Prevention Landlord Incentive Program for at least two more years, providing up to $2,800 per veteran for deposits, bonuses, and related upfront costs.13Regional Task Force on Homelessness. State Funds $1.7M to House Veterans, Prevent Homelessness
Ask your VA case manager and the housing authority caseworker for the landlord liaison’s contact information early. The incentive packages are what persuade reluctant property owners, and they are more effective when the landlord hears about them directly from staff.
Staying Housed After You Lease Up
San Diego runs a dedicated HUD-VASH Aftercare Team through the VA, which exists to keep veterans from losing their vouchers after they graduate from active case management. The team provides up to six months of short-term intensive support and checks in at 90 days, six months, one year, and annually after graduation. A designated liaison coordinates weekly with the housing authorities to catch paperwork problems before they turn into voucher terminations.14U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. VA San Diego Healthcare System’s HUD-VASH Aftercare Team
In fiscal year 2022, the aftercare team made 1,101 outreach calls and helped with 378 voucher recertifications. As of June 2023, about 47 percent of veterans in the local HUD-VASH program were graduates receiving aftercare rather than active case management.14U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. VA San Diego Healthcare System’s HUD-VASH Aftercare Team If a recertification notice arrives and you are not sure what to do with it, call the aftercare team before the deadline passes.
If You Don’t Qualify for VASH
HUD-VASH is not the only route. Veterans Village of San Diego operates rapid rehousing through the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program, which does not require an honorable discharge; its number is (619) 339-0111.7Veterans Village of San Diego. Housing Programs The county housing authority also administers sponsor-based housing vouchers and other rental assistance for veterans who fall outside VASH eligibility.15County of San Diego. VASH
A Note on Federal Funding
You may have seen news about proposed changes to HUD-VASH at the federal level. The President’s FY2026 budget proposed replacing HUD-VASH with a new VA-administered program called Bridging Rental Assistance for Veteran Empowerment (BRAVE), funded at $1.1 billion. Congress has not adopted the proposal; the FY2026 THUD appropriations bill released in January 2026 preserved HUD-VASH at $15 million for voucher assistance, the same level as FY2025.16NAHRO. FY 2026 THUD Bill Released Fourteen House members sent a letter in November 2025 asking the VA and HUD to protect existing vouchers for more than 112,000 veterans during any transition.17U.S. House of Representatives. Krishnamoorthi and Ramirez Lead House Members Demanding Answers For now, the program is still operating in San Diego and still accepting referrals, so if you are eligible, apply.