South Carolina Section 8: Eligibility, Documents, and How to Apply

To qualify for Section 8 in South Carolina, your household must meet HUD income limits for your county, every member must be a U.S. citizen or hold eligible immigration status, and no one in the household can fall under the federal criminal history bars. To apply, you submit an application to the local public housing agency that serves the county where you live or want to live, during a period when that agency’s waiting list is open. South Carolina Section 8 eligibility and how to apply both depend on which agency covers your area, because each one runs its own list, sets its own local preferences, and opens applications on its own schedule.

Find the Agency That Covers Your County

There is no single statewide Section 8 application. SC Housing (the South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority) operates the voucher program in seven counties: Clarendon, Colleton, Dorchester, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lee, and Lexington.¹ If you live outside those counties, a different agency handles your area. SC Regional Housing Authority 1 covers counties like Anderson, Cherokee, Oconee, and Pickens. SC Regional Housing Authority 3 serves Aiken, Allendale, Barnwell, Orangeburg, and others. Charleston, Columbia, and Greenville each have their own city housing authorities.

This matters before you do anything else. Each agency keeps its own waiting list, uses its own application form, and may give preference to different groups, such as homeless families, veterans, or working households. HUD’s website lists every public housing agency in South Carolina by county. Start there, confirm who covers your address, and check whether that agency’s list is currently open.

Income Limits

HUD sets income ceilings each year based on the median family income in your metropolitan area or county, and the limits adjust for household size.² Federal law requires that at least 75 percent of families newly admitted to the program in a given year have “extremely low” incomes, meaning no more than 30 percent of the area median income.³ The rest of the slots can go to households earning up to 50 percent of area median income.

What that looks like in dollars depends on where you live. In the Charleston-North Charleston metro area, the FY2025 extremely low income limit is $23,300 for a single person and $33,250 for a family of four. In the Greenville-Mauldin area, low-income limits range from $54,150 for one person to $102,150 for a household of eight.⁴ Figures update annually and vary by county, so pull HUD’s income limits page for the numbers that apply to your household size in your area.

Citizenship and Immigration Status

Every household member must be a U.S. citizen or hold eligible immigration status.⁵ Housing agencies verify status through a formal process. Families that include both eligible and ineligible members (called “mixed families”) can still receive assistance, but the subsidy is prorated rather than paid in full.⁶

Criminal History

Federal regulations require housing agencies to deny admission in three situations. The first is if any household member was evicted from federally assisted housing for drug-related activity within the past three years. The second is if any member has a lifetime sex offender registration requirement. The third is if any member was convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine on the premises of federally assisted housing.⁷

The three-year drug eviction bar can be lifted if the person completes a supervised rehabilitation program, or if the circumstances no longer exist, for example when the person responsible has left the household.⁸ The lifetime sex offender ban has no exceptions or waivers.⁹

Beyond those mandatory bars, housing agencies have discretion to deny applicants with recent histories of violent crime, other drug activity, or conduct that could threaten the safety of neighbors. Each agency sets its own “lookback period” for these discretionary denials.⁷ If criminal history is a concern, ask the specific agency what its policy says before you apply.

Protections for Domestic Violence Survivors

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) prevents housing agencies from denying your application because you are a survivor of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. The protection extends to circumstances that often follow abuse, including damaged credit or an eviction record tied to the violence.¹⁰ You can self-certify your status using HUD Form 5382, and the agency cannot demand additional proof unless it has conflicting information.

Documents to Gather Before You Apply

Every person listed on the application needs basic identity documents. Collect these before the agency’s list opens, because application windows can close quickly:

Original Social Security cards for every household member.
Government-issued birth certificates for each member.
A current driver’s license or state ID for each adult.
Proof of income: recent consecutive pay stubs (typically four to six weeks’ worth), W-2 forms, or an employer letter. If you receive Social Security, SSI, TANF, or other public benefits, bring the most recent award letter.¹¹
Bank statements for checking and savings, plus records for investments or other assets.¹²

Two categories of expense can lower your calculated income and increase your subsidy, so document them too. Child care costs count when the care lets a family member work or attend school. Unreimbursed medical expenses count for elderly or disabled families when qualifying costs exceed three percent of annual income.¹² Receipts and invoices matter here.

Submitting the Application

How you submit depends on the agency. SC Housing accepts applications online or by mail when its list is open, and it does not accept walk-in applications at its office.¹ You can also request a paper application by phone, email, or fax.¹³ Other local housing authorities use their own portals and offices, so check directly with the agency serving your county.

Make sure names on the application match your legal documents exactly. A nickname that doesn’t match the full name on a Social Security card can hold up processing. After you submit, you should receive a confirmation with a tracking number or reference code. Save it. For SC Housing applicants, address changes can be submitted through the online portal, by mail, fax, or email to the voucher program office in Columbia.

What Happens After You Apply

Demand across South Carolina far exceeds supply, and waiting lists close when they fill. SC Housing, for context, provides up to 2,500 vouchers across its seven-county service area.¹ Once your application is accepted, you are placed on the list by the date and time of submission, adjusted for any local preferences the agency applies.

Wait times vary. Some agencies in less populated areas move through their lists in under a year. Agencies in high-demand metro areas can take several years. There is no reliable way to shorten the wait beyond applying to every agency where you are eligible and keeping your contact information current. Agencies typically send status updates by mail, so notify the agency immediately if you move. Failing to respond to a notice can get you removed from the list entirely.

If You Receive a Voucher

A voucher is not an assigned apartment. You find your own rental in the private market, and you have a limited window to do it. Under SC Housing’s program, you have 60 days from issuance to locate a qualifying unit and submit a Request for Tenancy Approval.¹² Federal rules set the minimum initial term at 60 days, and extensions are at the agency’s discretion.¹⁴ SC Housing may extend for circumstances like serious illness, a death in the family, or difficulty finding a unit suited to a larger household, but you have to request the extension in writing before the voucher expires.

Before the agency authorizes payments, the unit must pass a Housing Quality Standards inspection covering utilities, secure windows and doors, working smoke detectors, lead-based paint hazards (in pre-1978 housing with children under six), adequate heating, and structural soundness.¹⁵ You pay the security deposit yourself. The agency does not cover it, and landlords can charge up to one month’s rent.

Appealing a Denial

If the agency denies your application, you have the right to challenge the decision through an informal hearing.¹⁶ Each agency sets its own deadline for requesting one, so read the denial letter carefully. It will state the number of days you have to respond, and missing the deadline usually forfeits the hearing right.

At the hearing you can present evidence, bring witnesses, and explain your side. Documentation is what wins these. If the agency miscalculated your income, bring the pay stubs and bank statements that show the correct numbers. If it relied on an old record that no longer applies, bring the paperwork that proves it. The hearing officer must be someone other than the person who made the original decision. You are not required to bring an attorney, but an advocate from a local legal aid organization often makes a meaningful difference.

1
South Carolina Housing. Housing Choice Voucher Program
2
HUD USER. Income Limits
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 42 – 1437n
4
U.S. Department of HUD. FY2025 Adjusted HOME Income Limits
5
USAGov. Section 8 Housing
6
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Public Housing Occupancy Guidebook – Eligibility Determination and Denial of Assistance
7
eCFR. Title 24 CFR 982.553 – Denial of Admission and Termination of Assistance for Criminals and Alcohol Abusers
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 42 – 13661
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 42 – 13663
10
HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
11
South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority. Determining Income for HOME, NSP, HTF, and LIHTC Projects
12
South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority. Housing Choice Voucher Program Participant Handbook
13
SC Housing. SC Housing Reopening Housing Choice Voucher Waiting List In Multiple Counties
14
eCFR. Title 24 CFR 982.303 – Term of Voucher
15
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD-52580 – Inspection Checklist
16
eCFR. Title 24 CFR 982.555 – Informal Hearing for Participant