Tampa Section 8 does not pay one fixed amount for every household. Tampa Housing Authority (THA) publishes payment standards by ZIP code and bedroom size. THA calculates your assistance using the payment standard, your household income, rent and utilities, and must approve the home.
For example, THA’s published two-bedroom standard for 33607 is $2,430 per month in the schedule reviewed October 15, 2026. That is a comparison figure, not a promise that THA will pay $2,430 to your landlord. Start with the Tampa Housing Authority guide and ZIP lookup if you have a rental address in mind.
Tampa Housing Authority payment standards by ZIP
THA’s payment-standard overview identifies a November 1, 2025 effective date and instructs households to use the lower of the voucher bedroom size and the actual unit bedroom size. These examples come from its linked ZIP pages, checked October 15, 2026:
| Rental ZIP | Studio | 1 bedroom | 2 bedrooms | 3 bedrooms | 4 bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33602 | $2,390 | $2,550 | $2,970 | $3,800 | $4,620 |
| 33607 | $1,960 | $2,080 | $2,430 | $3,110 | $3,780 |
| 33610 | $1,390 | $1,480 | $1,730 | $2,210 | $2,690 |
Use THA’s official payment-standard map for the complete source schedule. Our 48-ZIP comparison tool reproduces the geographic ZIP entries and links each result to THA. Postal-only entries are excluded. Ask THA whether it serves the rental address. The table does not show available or approved homes.
If your voucher comes from a different authority, ask that authority which schedule applies before using this table. The Tampa Bay metro area crosses several agencies; a nearby ZIP alone does not identify your case administrator.
Include utilities before comparing an apartment
Compare gross rent: the landlord’s requested rent plus the agency’s allowance for tenant-paid utilities. The allowance is a program figure, not necessarily your last electric bill. Confirm the home type, bedroom size, fuels and which services you would pay for. THA publishes separate utility-allowance resources.
Here is an illustration using a two-bedroom voucher and two-bedroom home in 33607:
| Item | Monthly amount |
|---|---|
| Example asking rent | $2,250 |
| Example utility allowance | $180 |
| Gross rent | $2,430 |
| THA two-bedroom ZIP standard reviewed above | $2,430 |
Rent plus the example allowance equals the payment standard. THA still needs to calculate your share and approve the rent and home. Being above or below the standard alone does not decide approval. Ask THA what you would pay before committing to nonrefundable costs.
Why FY2027 HUD figures are different
HUD publishes Fair Market Rents and ZIP-level Small Area Fair Market Rents as benchmarks. An agency’s adopted payment standard has its own amount, effective date and applicability. A new HUD fiscal year does not, by itself, change your individual voucher or approved rent.
For comparison, these FY2027 HUD Small Area FMR examples appear in VoucherMatch’s HUD data:
| ZIP | HUD 1-bedroom benchmark | HUD 2-bedroom benchmark | HUD 3-bedroom benchmark |
|---|---|---|---|
| 33527 | $1,010 | $1,170 | $1,490 |
| 33763 | $1,500 | $1,750 | $2,240 |
| 34654 | $1,660 | $1,930 | $2,470 |
| 33619 | $1,810 | $2,100 | $2,680 |
| 33786 | $2,480 | $2,880 | $3,680 |
These selected Tampa Bay ZIPs are HUD benchmarks, not THA payment standards or a map of THA service boundaries. See HUD’s FMR and Small Area FMR datasets and the Tampa area guide for broader context. Do not combine one agency’s allowance with another agency’s payment standard.
Before asking a landlord to complete the packet
- Confirm the agency administering your voucher and whether a move requires portability approval.
- Get the rental address, bedroom count, asking rent and tenant-paid utilities in writing.
- Use the applicable adopted schedule and ask the agency to explain your estimated share.
- Follow THA’s lease-up process, including the tenancy request and required reviews.
- Confirm the assistance start date with THA. A landlord’s acceptance or an application receipt is not the agency’s approval.
Browse Tampa rental listings with those questions ready. Confirm the individual listing’s availability and program requirements directly; a city search result is not proof of approval.
Help with move-in costs
A rent comparison does not include every move-in expense. Before budgeting for a deposit, check the Tampa guide’s local housing help. It points to the city’s program rules and flags conflicting instructions that voucher households should confirm with the city.
Applying for help and resolving a problem
At the October 15, 2026 check, THA’s tenant-based HCV waiting list was closed. Property-based applications are separate. Use our program-by-program application guide for the agency’s application instructions. Existing voucher holders should contact Assisted Housing at 813-253-0551 about their case.
Florida’s residential-tenancy preemption statute affects local rental regulation. It is not a sufficient basis to declare every voucher refusal lawful: other legal protections and property-specific obligations can matter. Keep the advertisement, messages and denial notice and contact Bay Area Legal Services, 800-625-2257, for an assessment of your circumstances.
Common rent questions
Is the payment standard my landlord’s maximum rent?
No. It is an input to the assistance calculation. Rent reasonableness, your household share and the rest of the approval process still matter. THA’s rent-calculation guidance explains the components.
Does a two-bedroom voucher let me use the two-bedroom standard for a one-bedroom home?
THA’s published rule uses the lower bedroom size. In that example, use the one-bedroom column, then ask THA to confirm the calculation for your household.
Can I use these amounts for St. Petersburg or Clearwater?
Do not assume so. Ask the agency handling your voucher which schedule to use. THA’s ZIP table is not a universal Tampa Bay schedule.
Does a closed HCV list mean I cannot seek any affordable housing?
No. Property-based and other affordable housing applications have their own rules and notices. Check the named program instead of treating a tenant-based voucher status as the status of every property.
Agency schedules and application sources reviewed October 15, 2026. Published amounts and status can change; verify the current official notice before acting.
Sources for this article (9)
- payment-standard overview (tampaha.org)
- official payment-standard map (tampaha.org)
- utility-allowance resources (tampaha.org)
- HUD’s FMR and Small Area FMR datasets (huduser.gov)
- lease-up process (tampaha.org)
- tenant-based HCV waiting list (tampaha.org)
- residential-tenancy preemption statute (flsenate.gov)
- Bay Area Legal Services (bals.org)
- rent-calculation guidance (tampaha.org)
VoucherMatch Editorial Team
Every rule, date and dollar amount in this article is checked against the agency document it comes from, and the sources are listed above. How VoucherMatch articles are researched and corrected
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