SF Housing Authority Section 8 Waiting List: Eligibility and Lottery

The San Francisco Housing Authority Section 8 waiting list is closed to new applicants as of 2025, and SFHA has not published a schedule for when it will reopen. When it does, the window is usually short and applications are chosen by lottery rather than order of submission, so the useful work you can do right now is confirming you qualify, identifying any preferences you can claim, and gathering the paperwork you’ll need the moment enrollment opens.

SFHA actually runs four separate waiting lists: the tenant-based Housing Choice Voucher (HCV/Section 8), Project-Based Vouchers, Rental Assistance Demonstration units, and Public Housing. All four are closed. The most recent lottery opening, in May 2025, covered the RAD/PBV and Public Housing lists only, not the tenant-based Section 8 list.¹ SFHA also administers referral-only programs, including Emergency Housing Vouchers, the Family Unification Program, the Foster Youth to Independence Initiative, and VA Supportive Housing. You cannot apply directly for those; a partner social service agency has to refer you.²

Check the SFHA website periodically and sign up for any email alerts the agency offers. Openings can close within days.

Who Qualifies for a Section 8 Voucher in San Francisco

Household gross income generally cannot exceed 50 percent of Area Median Income for San Francisco. Federal rules also require that at least 75 percent of families newly admitted have incomes at or below 30 percent of AMI, which is the extremely low income category. In practice, most people who actually receive a voucher earn well below the 50 percent ceiling.

As of April 2025, SFHA’s income thresholds are:

1 person: $40,600 extremely low / $67,700 very low
2 people: $46,400 / $77,400
3 people: $52,200 / $87,050
4 people: $58,000 / $96,700
5 people: $62,650 / $104,450
6 people: $67,300 / $112,200

These figures update each year based on HUD’s calculations for the San Francisco metropolitan area.³

Asset Limits

Starting in 2024, the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act imposed a hard asset cap. You cannot receive HCV or public housing assistance if your household’s net assets exceed $100,000, or if you own real property suitable for your family to live in. HUD adjusts the dollar figure annually for inflation, so check the current number when you apply. If your net assets are $50,000 or less, no imputed income from those assets counts against you. Above $50,000, SFHA imputes income using the current HUD passbook savings rate.⁴

Citizenship and Immigration Status

Federal law limits HCV assistance to U.S. citizens and noncitizens with eligible immigration status. A household where every member qualifies receives full assistance. A mixed household where some members qualify and others do not can still receive assistance, prorated by the percentage of eligible members.⁵ Members with pending immigration status are treated as ineligible until USCIS authorizes their status, and assistance is recalculated at that point.

Criminal Background

Two federal grounds for denial have no exceptions: a household member subject to a lifetime sex offender registration requirement in any state, and a household member ever convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine in federally assisted housing. SFHA must also deny admission for three years after a household member has been evicted from federally assisted housing for drug-related criminal activity, though exceptions apply if the person completed an approved rehabilitation program or the circumstances that led to the eviction no longer exist.⁶ If SFHA proposes to deny you based on a criminal record, federal rules require the agency to give you a copy of that record and a chance to dispute its accuracy before the denial is final.

How the Lottery Works

When SFHA opens a waiting list, applicants are not ranked by when they applied. The agency randomly draws a fixed number of names from all submissions. For the May 2025 RAD/PBV and Public Housing opening, SFHA announced it would draw 24,000 names within 30 days of the application window closing.¹ Submitting an application does not guarantee a spot on the list. If more people apply than slots drawn, some applicants will not be placed at all.

Applications are typically filed through an online portal during a short enrollment window. SFHA generally makes paper applications available by mail or at community partner sites for those without internet access, but specifics vary by opening. Selected applicants receive a confirmation number to track status. Those not drawn are notified as well. Because the format is a random draw, there is no advantage to applying on day one versus day five.

Preferences That Move You Up the HCV List

Even after names are drawn, SFHA uses a point-based preference system to determine screening order. Preferences differ across the four lists, and the RAD/PBV rules get more attention online than the tenant-based HCV rules. For the Section 8 (HCV) list specifically, SFHA’s administrative plan assigns:

Individual or family on the Public Housing waitlist: 8 points
Mainstream Voucher preference (persons with disabilities): 7 points
Involuntary displacement: 5 points
Veteran or surviving spouse of a veteran: 1 point

The involuntary displacement preference covers tenants displaced by Ellis Act evictions, owner move-in evictions, or fires, and is administered through the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development’s Displaced Tenant Housing Preference program.⁷ A preference doesn’t guarantee a fast voucher, but it can meaningfully shorten a wait measured in years.

Documents to Have Ready

Gathering paperwork before a list opens is the single most useful thing you can do while waiting. Every household member who will live in the unit needs documentation:

Identity and age: Social Security cards and birth certificates for all household members.
Income: recent pay stubs, Social Security benefit letters, pension statements, and records of any other recurring income. Gross annual income is the total before taxes and deductions and includes regular financial contributions from people outside the household.
Preference documentation: a Certificate of Preference or eviction notice for involuntary displacement, a DD-214 or equivalent military discharge for veterans, and your existing waitlist confirmation if you’re claiming the public housing crossover preference.
Immigration status: proof of citizenship or eligible noncitizen status for each household member seeking assistance.

SFHA’s website is the primary source for forms and portal links during an open window. If you can’t get online, SFHA’s administrative offices can provide physical documents.

Staying on the List Once You’re On It

The most common way people lose a spot is failing to respond to routine mail. SFHA sends periodic verification letters to confirm you still want to remain on the list and that your information is current. Miss the response deadline, and you can be removed with no guaranteed reinstatement. Given that the wait can stretch across years, keeping your address, phone, and email current in the SFHA applicant portal is the whole job.

You must also report changes in household income and family composition within 15 calendar days. The exception is the birth, adoption, or court-awarded custody of a child, which must be reported within 30 calendar days.⁸ A new job, a lost job, or an adult moving in or out all trigger the reporting rule.

What Happens When Your Name Comes Up

Reaching the top of the list triggers screening. SFHA contacts you for an intake interview and verifies income, household composition, citizenship, and criminal background. If everything checks out, you receive a voucher with an expiration date. HUD requires housing authorities to give families at least 60 days to find a unit; many grant 120 days and allow extensions for documented hardship.

Once you find a willing landlord and negotiate rent, the unit must pass a Housing Quality Standards inspection before SFHA executes a contract. HQS covers working plumbing, adequate heating, functional smoke detectors, and structural soundness. If the unit fails, the landlord can make repairs and request a re-inspection. Nothing stops you from lining up backup units in case your first choice doesn’t pass.

The voucher pays the gap between what SFHA determines a unit is worth (the payment standard) and what you can afford, calculated primarily as 30 percent of your monthly adjusted income. At initial lease-up, your out-of-pocket share of rent and tenant-paid utilities cannot exceed 40 percent of your monthly adjusted income, and SFHA will not approve a lease that puts you above that threshold.⁹ The 40 percent cap resets each time you move.

Tenant-based vouchers are portable to other jurisdictions. If you lived in San Francisco when you applied, you can port out immediately. Non-resident applicants must live in SFHA’s jurisdiction for the first 12 months before porting.¹⁰

If SFHA Denies Your Application

If SFHA denies your application, withdraws a voucher, refuses to approve a lease, or declines a portability request, you can request an informal review. The request must be in writing and received by SFHA within 15 calendar days of the date on the denial notice. SFHA must respond within 15 calendar days of receiving your request.⁸ Attach a copy of the notice you’re disputing. If you need disability-related accommodations for the process itself, tell SFHA when you file.

Survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking have additional protections under the Violence Against Women Act. You cannot be denied assistance or have a voucher terminated based on acts of violence committed against you, and you can request an emergency transfer for safety reasons. Self-certification is done on HUD Form 5382, and SFHA cannot demand additional proof unless the agency has conflicting information.¹¹

1
Housing Authority of the City and County of San Francisco. RAD/PBV Project-Based Voucher and Public Housing Lottery Waitlist Opening
2
Housing Authority of the City and County of San Francisco. Housing Authority of the City and County of San Francisco – Waitlist
3
Housing Authority of the City and County of San Francisco. Payment Standards and Income Limits
4
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Assets, Asset Exclusions, and Limitation on Assets Resource Sheet
5
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Eligibility Determination and Denial of Assistance
6
eCFR. 24 CFR 982.553 – Denial of Admission and Termination of Assistance for Criminals and Alcohol Abusers
7
Housing Authority of the City and County of San Francisco. SFHA HCV Administrative Plan
8
Housing Authority of the City and County of San Francisco. Housing Choice Voucher – Participants
9
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Calculating Rent and Housing Assistance Payments
10
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Moves and Portability
11
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Violence Against Women Act