There is no single federal limit. HUD's rules say only that a guest is someone "temporarily staying" in your unit. The actual number of days comes from your housing authority's administrative plan and from your lease, and it varies a lot: Chicago caps a single visit at 14 consecutive days, while Philadelphia allows up to 30 consecutive days and 90 days total in a year.
If someone stays past your local limit, the housing authority can treat them as an unauthorized occupant, and that puts your voucher at risk. So the number is worth looking up before a relative comes for the summer.
This is general information, not legal advice. Your housing authority's administrative plan and your lease control the details.
The Rule
Two federal provisions set the frame.
Who counts as a guest. 24 CFR 5.100 defines a guest as "a person temporarily staying in the unit with the consent of a tenant or other member of the household who has express or implied authority to so consent on behalf of the tenant." You are allowed to have guests. The regulation does not put a number on "temporarily."
Who may live in the unit. 24 CFR 982.551(h)(2) says the housing authority must approve the composition of the family living in the unit, and that "no other person" may reside there except an approved foster child or live-in aide. The same section says the unit must be the family's only residence and may not be sublet.
Put together: visiting is fine, living there is not, and the housing authority gets to define where one turns into the other. Federal rules require every housing authority to write its policies down in an administrative plan (24 CFR 982.54), and the guest limit is almost always in it.
What Real Housing Authorities Allow
These limits are quoted from each agency's own published policy.
| Housing authority | Guest limit | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Housing Authority | 30 calendar days total in a calendar year, and no visit longer than 14 consecutive days. A visit means an overnight stay. Extensions can be requested. | HCV Administrative Plan, effective June 1, 2025, Chapter 12 |
| Philadelphia Housing Authority | No more than 30 consecutive days or 90 cumulative days in any 12-month period, unless PHA grants a written exception | Administrative Plan, June 15, 2023, section 16.21 |
| New Jersey DCA (statewide program) | 30 days cumulative during the 12-month certification period | Administrative Plan, State Fiscal Year 2026 |
| Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency | No more than 30 consecutive days or a total of 30 days in a 12-month period | SHRA participant FAQ |
Two patterns show up. Many agencies use a 30-day yearly total. Others follow a more generous model of 30 consecutive days and 90 days a year. A few, like Chicago, also cap the length of any one visit. You cannot guess which one applies to you.
Common exceptions
- Children who visit under a custody arrangement. Philadelphia's plan says children in a joint custody or visitation arrangement who live elsewhere more than half the year are not subject to the guest time limits. Many plans have similar language.
- Caregivers. Los Angeles's plan treats occasional or rotating caregivers as guests, and lists an exception to the guest policy for rotating caregivers as an example of a reasonable accommodation. If you need overnight care because of a disability, ask for an accommodation in writing. See our guide to reasonable accommodation requests.
- Extensions. Chicago and Philadelphia both allow you to ask for more time. Ask before the limit runs out, in writing, and keep a copy.
How to Find Your Own Limit
1. Search your housing authority's administrative plan. Look for it on the agency website under "policies," "plans" or "HCV administrative plan." It is a long PDF. Search for the words "guest" and "visitor."
2. Check your voucher briefing packet. The family obligations page often states the guest limit in one sentence.
3. Read your lease. Many private leases have their own guest clause, often shorter than the housing authority's. The housing authority's limit and the lease limit both apply, so the stricter one is the one that matters in practice.
4. Ask your caseworker in writing. An email reply stating the limit is worth keeping.
How a Guest Becomes an Unauthorized Occupant
Housing authorities rarely count nights. They look for signs that a person lives with you. Chicago's plan says unauthorized occupancy can be established through government-issued IDs or reports, utility bills for the assisted unit, property sign-in logs, and other documentation or investigations. In practice that means:
- The person uses your address for a driver's license, benefits, a job, probation or parole, or a child's school
- Utility, phone or cable accounts at your address are in their name
- Mail arrives for them regularly
- A landlord, neighbor or property manager reports that they are there every day
If your guest has a home of their own and can show it with a lease or bills at another address, most of these problems never start.
What Happens If a Guest Overstays
An unapproved resident is a violation of your family obligations. Under 24 CFR 982.552(c)(1)(i) the housing authority may terminate your assistance for that. It is a "may," not a "must." The housing authority can weigh how serious the situation is, whether you corrected it, and what losing the voucher would do to the rest of your family.
Before any termination takes effect you are entitled to an informal hearing under 24 CFR 982.555. Bring proof that your guest lives somewhere else. If the person had income and the housing authority decides they were really a household member, you may also be billed for the rent you would have owed with their income counted.
If the person should be living with you, the fix is to add them properly: request approval, have them screened, and get their income counted. The NYC walkthrough on adding someone to your Section 8 lease follows the same federal steps every housing authority uses. If the guest is a partner, can my boyfriend or girlfriend live with me on Section 8 covers what adding them does to your rent.
You Are Responsible for What Guests Do
This is the part people miss. The family obligations bar drug-related and violent criminal activity by household members, and the lease your landlord signs with you makes you answerable for guests too. Damage a guest causes can be charged to you, and New York City's plan lists illegal drug use in the unit by "any household member or guest" as a ground for termination. A short visit from the wrong person can cost more than a long visit from the right one.
One protection matters here: if the trouble was domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking directed at you, federal rules say it cannot be treated as your lease violation or used as the reason to end your assistance.
What Landlords Should Know
- Put a clear guest clause in the lease. The housing authority's limit does not replace yours.
- If you believe someone has moved in, talk to the tenant first and point them to the household addition process. An approved addition keeps your payments flowing. A termination empties your unit.
- Report facts, not guesses. Housing authorities act on documentation such as mail, vehicles registered to the address, or sign-in logs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my guest stay for two weeks?
Almost everywhere, yes. Fourteen days is within every limit quoted above. Check your lease, since some private leases are stricter than the housing authority.
Do overnight stays and daytime visits count the same?
Policies are generally written around overnight stays. Chicago's plan says so directly: "A visit is defined as an overnight stay." Someone who is at your home all day, every day, can still raise questions.
Do the days reset every year?
It depends on how the policy is written. Chicago counts by calendar year. Philadelphia and New Jersey count a rolling or certification-year 12-month period.
Can my child's father stay over on weekends?
Weekend stays add up fast: two nights a week is about 100 nights a year, which is over every limit in the table. If the stays are that regular, talk to your caseworker about an exception or about adding him to the household.
Can my guest receive mail at my address?
It is not banned, but it is the most common piece of evidence used to show someone lives with you. A guest should keep their mail and ID at their own address.
Will my housing authority really find out?
Most cases start with a tip from a neighbor, a landlord report, or a data match showing someone else using your address. Annual recertification and inspections are the other moments when it surfaces.
Sources
- 24 CFR 5.100, Definitions (guest)
- 24 CFR 982.551, Obligations of participant
- 24 CFR 982.552, Denial or termination of assistance
- Chicago Housing Authority HCV Administrative Plan, effective June 1, 2025
- Philadelphia Housing Authority Administrative Plan, June 15, 2023
- New Jersey DCA Housing Choice Voucher Administrative Plan, State Fiscal Year 2026
- Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, HCV participant FAQ
- Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, Section 8 Administrative Plan
- NYCHA Housing Choice Voucher Program Administrative Plan, effective May 2026
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