Can You Transfer a Section 8 Voucher to Another Person? What the Rules Allow, Including to Your Child

No. A Section 8 voucher cannot be transferred, given, or sold to another person, including a son, daughter, or partner who does not live with you. The voucher belongs to the approved household, not to the person whose name is on it, and federal rules forbid assigning the lease or transferring the unit. What does exist is continuation: when the head of household dies, moves out, or the family splits up, an adult who is already an approved member of the household can often keep the assistance. Whether they can, and after how long, is set by your housing authority.

So the real question is not "can I transfer it," it is "is the person I want to protect already on the voucher, and for long enough."

This is general information, not legal advice. Your housing authority's administrative plan controls the details. Find your agency on HUD's PHA contact list.

The Rule

Three pieces of federal regulation answer this question.

The family, not the person, holds the voucher. HUD's definition of "family" in 24 CFR 5.403 lists the groups that count, and one of them is "the remaining member of a tenant family." That line is why a household can continue after its head is gone. There is no corresponding category for a person outside the household.

You cannot hand the unit or lease to someone. Under 24 CFR 982.551(h), "the family must not sublease or let the unit" and "the family must not assign the lease or transfer the unit." The same section says "no other person [i.e., nobody but members of the assisted family] may reside in the unit" without housing authority approval, and "the family must promptly notify the PHA if any family member no longer resides in the unit."

When a family breaks up, the housing authority decides who keeps it. 24 CFR 982.315: "The PHA has discretion to determine which members of an assisted family continue to receive assistance in the program if the family breaks up. The PHA Administrative Plan must state PHA policies on how to decide who remains in the program." The factors it may weigh include "whether the assistance should remain with family members remaining in the original assisted unit" and "the interest of minor children or of ill, elderly, or disabled family members." Two things are not discretionary:

• If the break-up results from domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, "the PHA must ensure that the victim retains assistance."
• If a court divides property in a divorce or separation, "the PHA is bound by the court's determination of which family members continue to receive assistance."

What Housing Authorities Add

Because 982.315 leaves the policy to each agency, the answer to "can my daughter keep the voucher" varies widely. Here is what five large agencies' administrative plans actually say.

Sources: Chicago HCV Administrative Plan effective June 1, 2025, section 3-I.A; Philadelphia Administrative Plan, June 15, 2023, section 16.20; NYCHA HCV Administrative Plan effective May 2026, "Succession to the Voucher"; NJ DCA HCV Administrative Plan SFY2026, definitions; HACLA Section 8 Administrative Plan October 2022, section 6.20. Links at the end.

New Jersey's plan adds a line worth reading exactly: "Members of the household who are not part of the assisted household (not listed on the current Family Report and owner's lease) for more than 1 year at the time of family break-up are not entitled to be considered to succeed as the Voucher holder." In plain terms, being on the paperwork is what counts.

Every agency above agrees on one point. Live-in aides and foster children or foster adults cannot take over the voucher. Chicago: "Household members such as live-in aides, foster children, and foster adults do not qualify as remaining members of a family to assume the voucher." Philadelphia: foster children and adults "are never considered remaining family members and have no rights to the voucher." HACLA is the partial exception: when only foster children remain, it "may provide continued assistance" through the new foster parent the county designates.

"Can I Transfer My Section 8 to My Child?"

This is the most common version of the question, and the answer depends on where your child lives.

• Your child lives with you and is on the voucher. They are a household member. If you die or move out, they can ask to become the head of household, as long as they are an adult (or have a guardian), pass your agency's screening, and meet its time-in-household rule. Chicago requires that they were on the voucher before you died or left; Philadelphia requires at least one year in the household.
• Your adult child lives elsewhere. You cannot give them your voucher. They would have to apply for their own when a waiting list opens. Moving them in shortly before you leave, just so they can take over, is exactly what the time-in-household rules are written to stop, and they would still need approval to move in.
• Your child is a minor. A minor cannot hold a voucher alone. Agencies look for a guardian. NYCHA requires the guardian to "submit a court order or written permission of the parent or other legal guardian," pass a criminal background check, and sign the lease. Philadelphia requires either a court-ordered emancipation or that "Social Services and/or the Juvenile Court has arranged for another adult to be brought into the assisted unit to care for the child(ren)." HACLA may let a relative take over. New Jersey treats an informal caretaker as a visitor for 90 days before considering them a family member.

How to Protect Someone Who May Need to Take Over

You cannot transfer the voucher, but you can make sure the right person qualifies to continue it.

• Put them on the voucher now. Request housing authority approval to add them as a household member, as 982.551(h)(2) requires. Chicago only recognizes someone who was on the voucher before the head of household died or left, and Philadelphia's one-year rule counts time as a household member, so an unapproved person living with you gets no credit. See can my boyfriend or girlfriend live with me on Section 8 for how the add-a-member request works and what it does to your rent.
• Keep them on the lease with the landlord too. New Jersey looks at both the Family Report and the owner's lease.
• Keep the household in compliance. The successor has to pass screening in Chicago, and Philadelphia requires the remaining adult to be "in compliance with all program rules." An unreported income or an unauthorized occupant can cost the successor as well as you.
• Report changes on time. Federal rules require you to notify the agency promptly when a member leaves, and NYCHA wants the death certificate within 30 days. Late reporting is itself a program violation.
• Plan for minor children. If your children would be left without an adult on the voucher, a formal guardianship arrangement decided in advance makes the housing authority's decision far easier.
• If there is abuse, say so. A victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking keeps the assistance under federal law, whoever's name was first.

If the Housing Authority Says No

A denial of succession is a decision you can challenge. For participants, 24 CFR 982.555 provides an informal hearing for the decisions it lists, and many agencies write their own review into the plan. NYCHA's is explicit: "A Remaining Family Member (RFM) may challenge the denial of succession to the HOH's voucher by requesting an informal conference," and NYCHA must issue a written determination within 30 days of the conference. Ask for the reason in writing, request the hearing or conference by the deadline on the notice, and bring proof of how long you have been an approved member.

What Happens If You Try to Transfer It Anyway

Letting someone else live in the unit on your voucher after you have moved out, or taking money to "sell" the unit, breaks the rules against subletting and assigning the lease in 982.551(h). It is grounds to end assistance for the whole family under 24 CFR 982.552, and fraud can lead to repayment demands or prosecution. The person who moved in gains nothing: they are not an approved family member and have no right to the subsidy. What can make you lose your Section 8 voucher covers the termination process.

What Landlords Should Know

• When a head of household dies or leaves, the HAP contract continues only if the housing authority approves a remaining member as the new head. Some agencies ask for a new lease with the new head of household.
• A new adult occupant who is not approved is an unauthorized occupant. Report it to the housing authority rather than accepting rent from them informally.
• If a court divides the household in a divorce, the agency follows the court. Ask the agency, not the tenants, who the family is.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I give my Section 8 voucher to my daughter?

Not directly. If she is an approved adult member of your household, she may be able to continue the assistance when you leave or die, subject to your housing authority's rules, which can require a minimum time in the household (one year in Philadelphia). If she lives elsewhere, she needs her own voucher.

Can a voucher be transferred to someone who does not live with me?

No. Only members of the assisted family can continue the assistance, and federal rules forbid assigning the lease or transferring the unit.

What happens to a Section 8 voucher when the head of household dies?

A remaining adult family member can usually ask to become the new head of household. They must report the death promptly (NYCHA wants the death certificate within 30 days), meet the agency's eligibility and screening rules, and in some agencies have lived there as an authorized member for a set period. For how this works in New York City, see Section 8 succession when the head of household dies.

Who keeps the voucher in a divorce?

If a court decides it in the divorce or separation, the housing authority must follow the court. Otherwise the agency applies its written policy, which often favors the parent with custody of minor children. More in can you be married on Section 8.

Can my live-in aide take over my voucher?

No. Live-in aides are excluded from remaining-family-member status at every agency reviewed here.

Can I transfer my voucher to a different apartment?

Yes, that is a move, not a transfer to another person. Families can move with continued assistance under the program's moving rules. In New York City, see how to transfer your Section 8 voucher to a new apartment.

Can I sell or rent out my Section 8 apartment?

No. Subletting or assigning the unit is a program violation that can end your assistance and lead to a fraud referral.

Sources

• 24 CFR 5.403, Definitions (family)
• 24 CFR 982.315, Family break-up
• 24 CFR 982.551, Obligations of participant
• 24 CFR 982.552, PHA denial or termination of assistance for family
• 24 CFR 982.555, Informal hearing for participant
• Chicago Housing Authority HCV Administrative Plan, effective June 1, 2025
• Philadelphia Housing Authority Administrative Plan, June 15, 2023
• NYCHA Housing Choice Voucher Program Administrative Plan, effective May 2026
• New Jersey DCA Housing Choice Voucher Administrative Plan, State Fiscal Year 2026
• Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, Section 8 Administrative Plan, October 2022

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