Voucher Portability: Moving Your Section 8 to Another City

One of the key advantages of the Housing Choice Voucher program over public housing is portability — you can take your voucher with you if you move to a different city or state, as long as you've fulfilled your initial lease term.

How Portability Works

When you want to move outside your PHA's jurisdiction, you contact your current PHA (the "initial PHA") and request portability. They will provide you with paperwork to take to the receiving PHA in your destination area. The receiving PHA then applies its own payment standards and processes your voucher.

Key Restrictions

You must have been in your initial unit for at least 12 months before moving under portability (unless you have an exception such as fleeing domestic violence). The receiving PHA can absorb your voucher (take over the subsidy) or bill your initial PHA — the latter arrangement is administratively complex.

Find PHAs in your destination area before planning a portability move.