Keep Section 8 Moving From NYC to New Jersey: Port Steps
Quick answerYes. As of October 2026, a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher from NYCHA, HPD or HCR in New York City can move ("port") to New Jersey. Your NYC agency approves the move and sends your file. The New Jersey agency that covers your new town issues its own voucher under its own bedroom, payment and screening rules. Where two agencies cover a town, you choose. Stay in your apartment until the port is approved.
- 101housing agencies on HUD's New Jersey contact list, including the statewide DCA program
- 180 dayshow long NYCHA's portability voucher is valid
- 30 calendar daysminimum the New Jersey voucher must run past your NYC voucher's expiration date
- $2,997 vs. $2,511two-bedroom payment standard, NYCHA vs. Hackensack (07601), both effective January 1, 2026
- 1.5 months' rentNew Jersey's security deposit limit
- January 12, 2026New Jersey's source-of-income law was strengthened
The Basics of Section 8 Portability
Portability is the federal right to use a tenant-based voucher in the area of any housing agency that runs a voucher program, and New Jersey's statewide program covers every county.
- There is no one-year wait for most New Yorkersthe federal 12-month rule covers only families who lived outside the agency's area when they first applied.
- New Jersey cannot turn you away"A receiving PHA cannot refuse to assist incoming portable families or direct them to another neighboring PHA for assistance" (24 CFR 982.355(b)).
- New Jersey's rules replace New York'sonce the receiving agency assists you, "administration of the voucher must be in accordance with the receiving PHA's policies" (982.355(c)(10)). Its waiting list is not used.
This article covers the New Jersey side. The federal rules, deadline by deadline, are in how Section 8 portability works.
How the Process Works from NYC
You ask the NYC agency that issued your voucher, and the request has to name the New Jersey agency. The full NYC procedure, with each agency's forms and conditions, is in Section 8 transfer to another state from NYC.
- 1YouPick the town, find which New Jersey agency covers it, and get that agency's name, address and a contact person.
- 2YouFile the port-out request with your NYC agency. NYCHA uses the Portability tab of its Self-Service Portal. HPD uses its Port Out Request Form.
- 3NYC agencyDecides whether you are eligible to move, then asks the New Jersey agency in writing whether it will bill or absorb.
- 4NYC agencyIssues your voucher to move (NYCHA: valid 180 days) and sends Form HUD-52665, your latest Form HUD-50058 and the verifications to New Jersey.
- 5YouContact the New Jersey agency promptly. Failing to follow its intake steps "may result in denial or termination of the receiving PHA's voucher."
- 6New Jersey agencySets your bedroom size under its own standards, may rescreen you, briefs you where its plan requires it, and issues its own voucher.
- 7YouFind a unit in that agency's area and submit a Request for Tenancy Approval before the voucher expires.
- 8New Jersey agencyProcesses the request under its own policies and tells your NYC agency whether you leased. From then on it bills New York or absorbs you.
What it means: steps 1 and 5 are yours.
Source: 24 CFR 982.355(c); NYCHA's How Portability Works and Transfers pages; HPD Port Out FAQ.
Which New Jersey Agency Covers Your Town?
The agency depends on the town, and a town with its own city or county housing authority also sits inside the statewide program run by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA).
- Open HUD's list. the PHA contact report for New Jersey, from HUD's PHA contact page, is ordered by city and updated weekly.
- Read the type column. HUD marks each agency Section 8, Combined or Low-Rent. The voucher programs are the entries marked Section 8 or Combined.
- Add DCA. DCA's Section 8 page says "The statewide program is available to residents of all New Jersey counties." Its field office directory (updated June 26, 2024) lists 13 offices.
- Check county exceptions. the Housing Authority of Bergen County covers the county "except for the following towns: Cliffside Park, Edgewater, Englewood, Fort Lee, and Lodi," which have their own authorities.
- Compare on VoucherMatch. the housing authority directory lists agencies by state.
Key pointWhere more than one agency serves the area, federal rules say your NYC agency "provides the family with the contact information for the receiving PHAs that serve the area, and the family selects the receiving PHA" (24 CFR 982.355(b)). If you prefer not to choose, the NYC agency chooses for you.
The choice matters. Bergen County's page tells incoming families who want the Family Self-Sufficiency or voucher homeownership programs to port through DCA instead.
Key New Jersey Housing Authorities
VoucherMatch read the plans and pages of six New Jersey agencies near New York City, and what they publish about incoming ports differs widely. The comparison is VoucherMatch's.
| Agency and area | Contact | What its plan or page says about incoming ports | Rent standard basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| NJ DCA, statewide | (609) 292-4080; Hudson field office (201) 217-7256; Essex (973) 266-2822; Bergen/Passaic (973) 225-7146 | Portability coordinator tells the sending agency whether DCA will accept the household into its program or bill. Criminal background check. Field office determines annual income. No port-in briefing sentence found | By county; small area rents in the Bergen-Passaic, Monmouth-Ocean and Camden-area counties |
| Jersey City Housing Authority | Section 8 portability line, (201) 706-4677 or 4678; email on its program page | Will administer "or absorb the Voucher based on the availability of funding." Briefing mandatory. Interview only to verify missing or old documents or changes. No criminal rescreening sentence in the portability section | Small area rents since January 1, 2025 |
| Housing Authority of Bergen County (not Cliffside Park, Edgewater, Englewood, Fort Lee, Lodi) | portability@habcnj.org; 201-336-7600 | Undated notice: "currently BILLING incoming HCV portable vouchers." Takes files only from the sending agency, by email. Moving brief within 10 business days. Says it will not accept a voucher with under 90 days left | By ZIP code |
| Bayonne Housing Authority | 201-339-8700; 549 Avenue A | Will "administer or absorb the Voucher based on the availability of funding." Briefing mandatory. Recertification interview; background and criminal screening "if documents are unavailable or to investigate potential fraud" | Small area rents since October 1, 2024 |
| Newark Housing Authority | hcvcustomerservice@newarkha.org; 973-273-6206 | No portability policy on the page, and no administrative plan was found on its site | One citywide schedule posted, no effective date |
| Housing Authority of the City of Elizabeth | Attn: Portable Officer, 688 Maple Ave, Elizabeth, NJ 07202; 908-965-2400 | Appointment within two weeks of paperwork. Asks for 45 to 60 days of search time left. Will not add household members on arrival | Posted schedule is dated January 1, 2021 |
Source: NJ DCA Administrative Plan, state fiscal year 2025-2026, chapters 12 and 17, unchanged in the proposed 2026-2027 plan; Jersey City Housing Authority Administrative Plan, effective April 1, 2026, chapter 14, and its program page; Housing Authority of Bergen County, Portability; Bayonne Housing Authority Administrative Plan, adopted March 12, 2024, chapter 14; Newark Housing Authority, Housing Choice Voucher Program; Housing Authority of the City of Elizabeth, Application Process.
What it means: no plan here commits to absorbing, and only Bergen County posts a current answer.
Watch outSome New Jersey agencies ask for more voucher time than HUD guidance allows.Bergen County's 90-day floor, and Elizabeth's request for 45 to 60 days, are hard to square with HUD's guidance. A receiving agency may not have "a policy of denying an incoming portability family if there is not a set number of days left on the initial PHA's voucher" (HUD Notice PIH 2016-09, section 10.a).
Billing vs. Absorbing: What Happens to Your Voucher?
The New Jersey agency either bills your NYC agency for your subsidy or absorbs you into its own program, and the choice can decide whether New York approves the move.
- BillingNew Jersey runs your voucher and New York pays. If the move is into a higher cost area, your NYC agency "may deny the move if it does not have sufficient funding" (982.355(c)(5)).
- AbsorbingNew Jersey pays from its own funds, and the move cannot be denied for funding.
- Who asksfinding out is "the responsibility of the initial PHA, not the family" (PIH 2016-09, section 9.d).
Watch outAn agency's absorb-or-bill status can change with no dated notice.Treat any absorb-or-bill statement as dated. Bergen County's page said "ABSORBING" in an Internet Archive capture of April 29, 2026 and says "BILLING" on October 7, 2026, with no date on the notice either time.
New Jersey Payment Standards Compared With New York City's
New Jersey does not pay less everywhere: the payment standard is below New York City's in Newark and Hackensack and above it in parts of northern Bergen County.
View the data table
| Place and agency | One-bedroom | Two-bedroom | Three-bedroom |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tenafly 07670 (Bergen County) | $3,053 | $3,505 | $4,278 |
| New York City (NYCHA) | $2,734 | $2,997 | $3,753 |
| Hackensack 07601 (Bergen County) | $2,189 | $2,511 | $3,063 |
| Newark (Newark Housing Authority) | $1,822 | $2,205 | $2,761 |
What it means: by VoucherMatch's arithmetic, the two-bedroom standard is $486 (16.2 percent) lower than NYCHA's in Hackensack, $792 (26.4 percent) lower in Newark and $508 (17.0 percent) higher in Tenafly.
Source: NYCHA Voucher Payment Standards, new rentals and transfers, effective January 1, 2026; Housing Authority of Bergen County payment standards, effective January 1, 2026; Newark Housing Authority, posted with no effective date.
- ZIP codes matter in Bergen Countyits two-bedroom standard runs from $1,490 in Moonachie (07074) to $3,505 in Tenafly, and 19 of the 67 ZIP code rows on its schedule are above NYCHA's $2,997 (VoucherMatch's count).
- Your share depends on the rent you findif the gross rent is above the standard you pay the difference, capped at move-in at 40 percent of adjusted monthly income (24 CFR 982.508).
- A higher standard can slow approvalit makes the town a higher cost area under the billing rule above.
- Not every agency posts a schedulenone was found for DCA, Jersey City or Bayonne, and Elizabeth's is from 2021.
HPD and HCR set their own standards: see NYC Section 8 payment standards. The federal benchmark each New Jersey agency starts from is in Fair Market Rent for every New Jersey county.
Important Differences to Expect in New Jersey
Three parts of your subsidy are set again by the New Jersey agency.
- Voucher sizethe receiving agency "must determine the family unit size" under its own subsidy standards (982.355(c)(12)). See renting a bigger unit than your voucher size.
- Utility allowanceeach agency has its own schedule. It changes your share when you pay utilities yourself: see how the utility allowance works.
- ScreeningDCA runs a criminal background check on incoming families, and HPD warns that the receiving agency "may conduct its own criminal background check." The grounds are in what disqualifies you from Section 8.
Timeline and What to Expect
No agency in New York or New Jersey publishes an end-to-end time for this move, and the separate clocks that are published cannot be added into one.
- Within two weeks of a complete fileHUD's expectation for the New Jersey agency's voucher. It is in a notice; the regulation sets no number of days.
- Within 10 business days of paperworkBergen County schedules the moving brief. Elizabeth says two weeks.
- 45 to 60 dayswhat Bergen County says a lease-up runs.
- 30 calendar days past your NYC voucher's expirationthe earliest the New Jersey voucher may expire.
What it means: the 30 days is a floor set by the regulation.
Source: NYCHA Transfers; PIH 2016-09, section 10.f; 24 CFR 982.355(c)(13); agency pages and plans linked above.
If time runs short while your file is still in New York, see how to get a Section 8 voucher extension in NYC.
Do Not Vacate Until Approved
Stay in your New York apartment until your NYC agency has approved the port. NYCHA's page heads this instruction "Do Not Vacate your Unit Until Approved!" HPD adds that until you move into an assisted unit in New Jersey, "you must continue to pay your rent in NYC."
- Tell your owner and your NYC agency your move-out date.
- Return your keys and, as NYCHA advises, "Get a written confirmation when you return your keys!"
- If you change your mind, tell the New Jersey agency, which returns your voucher to NYCHA.
Can a New Jersey Landlord Refuse a Section 8 Voucher?
No. New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination makes it unlawful to refuse to rent "because of the source of any lawful income received by the person or the source of any lawful rent payment" (N.J.S.A. 10:5-12(g), as amended by the law signed January 12, 2026). The definition names "Section 8 housing choice vouchers."
- Refusals"a landlord cannot refuse to rent to someone because they plan to pay with a Section 8 voucher."
- Listingsa listing cannot say "Section 8 not accepted."
- Income testsany minimum income requirement "must be calculated based only on the portion of the rent to be paid by the tenant, rather than the entire monthly rent."
What it means: the income-test rule is the one that changed in 2026. Complaints go to the Division at NJCivilRights.gov or 866-405-3050.
Source: New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, Discrimination in Housing, which says the January 12, 2026 amendments "took effect immediately."
Tenant Protections That Differ in New Jersey
Two New Jersey rules differ from New York's at move-in: the deposit limit is higher, and a landlord's criminal history check follows a state statute in place of New York City's local law.
| Rule | New York | New Jersey |
|---|---|---|
| Security deposit limit | One month's rent | One and one-half times one month's rent |
| Landlord asks about criminal history | New York City's Fair Chance Housing Act, in effect since January 1, 2025 | With some exceptions, not before a conditional offer |
What it means: budget up to a month and a half of rent for the deposit.
Source: New York General Obligations Law 7-108(1-a) and the NYC Commission on Human Rights' Fair Chance Housing page; N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.2 as stated in DCA's Truth in Renting guide; Division on Civil Rights, Fair Chance in Housing Act.
- Before an offerwith some exceptions, it is unlawful to ask about criminal history "on their initial application materials, in an interview, or in any other way before making an offer."
- After a conditional offeronly listed convictions count, with look-backs of 6 years for a first degree offense, 4 years for second or third degree and 1 year for fourth degree.
Can CityFHEPS, FHEPS or HASA Move to New Jersey?
No option to use any of the three in New Jersey is published. All three are New York programs, and portability is a feature of the federal voucher.
- CityFHEPS"pays part of eligible tenants monthly rent anywhere in New York State" (HRA, CityFHEPS). New Jersey is outside it. For moves inside the state, see moving to a new apartment with CityFHEPS.
- FHEPSa rent supplement for families with "an active Cash Assistance (CA) case" (HRA, FHEPS). The page describes no use outside New York.
- HASA"All NYC residents diagnosed with HIV or AIDS are eligible for case management services" (HRA, HASA). The page describes no rental assistance outside the city.
If You Have an HPD or HCR Voucher
HPD and HCR vouchers port the same way, and each agency has its own request route. Not sure which agency you have? See HPD vs NYCHA Section 8.
- HPDcomplete the Port Out Request Form and return it to Portability@hpd.nyc.gov, by fax to 212-863-7103 or in person at 100 Gold Street, Room 1-O. Questions: 917-286-4300. HPD approves ports "as funding allows" (HPD Port Out FAQ).
- HCRno public page was found that tells an HCR voucher holder in NYC how to request a port-out. Start with your case manager or the call center at 833-791-2748.
VASH Vouchers (Veterans)
A veteran with a HUD-VASH voucher from NYCHA starts with the VA. NYCHA's page says you must have completed your initial lease term and "must first contact the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)." If the VA approves, it gives NYCHA a Port Request Form and a recommendation letter and helps coordinate the move. The HUD-VASH guide for NYC covers the program.
Questions to Ask Both Agencies
Each question below matches something the rules leave to one agency. Get the answers in writing where you can.
- Do you cover this address, and does another agency cover it too?
- Are you billing or absorbing incoming ports this month?
- What bedroom size will you issue for my household?
- What are your payment standard and utility allowance for this ZIP code, and what date did they take effect?
- Do you run a criminal background check or a new income review on arrivals?
- Is a briefing required, and how soon?
- How many days must be left on my NYC voucher when the file arrives?
- Which New Jersey agencies serve this town, and can I have their contacts?
- If New Jersey bills and the payment standard there is higher, will you approve the move?
- What date does my portability voucher expire?
- If I do not lease in New Jersey, do I keep my assistance here?
Resources
Three documents worth saving.
- HUD PHA contact report for New Jersey
- NYCHA, How Portability Works; Customer Contact Center 718-707-7771
- HUD Notice PIH 2016-09, with a handout for families
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use my NYC Section 8 voucher in New Jersey? Yes. A tenant-based voucher from NYCHA, HPD or HCR can be ported to the New Jersey agency that covers your new town.
How long do I have to live in NYC before I can port my Section 8 voucher out? No federal wait applies if you lived in the city when you applied.
- NYCHA: takes a request once your initial lease term has expired.
- HPD: requires 12 months in your unit.
How do I request portability from NYCHA? Use the Portability tab of the NYCHA Self-Service Portal, or call 718-707-7771 for Form 059.723.
How long does it take to port a Section 8 voucher from NYC to New Jersey? No agency publishes a total.
- The published figures are under "Timeline and What to Expect" above.
Will my voucher size and payment amount stay the same in New Jersey? Not necessarily. The New Jersey agency sets both: see the payment standard chart above.
Can I move out of my NYC apartment before NYCHA approves my port-out? No. NYCHA's instruction is "Do Not Vacate your Unit Until Approved!"
Can I move back to New York City later? Yes, as a new port into the city.
- NYCHA has billed the sending agency for all incoming ports since August 1, 2025: see porting a voucher into NYC.
Next step: look up the agencies that cover your town in the housing authority directory, call each with the questions above, then file your request in New York. If the answers keep you in the city, browse NYC listings that accept vouchers.
How this article was checked
Last checked: October 7, 2026, against 24 CFR 982.355; HUD Notice PIH 2016-09; HUD's PHA contact list for New Jersey; the New Jersey DCA, Jersey City and Bayonne administrative plans; the Bergen County, Newark and Elizabeth housing authority pages; NYCHA's portability and payment standard pages; HPD's Port Out FAQ; the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights' housing pages; and HRA's CityFHEPS, FHEPS and HASA pages. General information, not legal advice.
Sources for this article (28)
- 24 CFR 982.355(b) (ecfr.gov)
- How Portability Works (nyc.gov)
- Transfers (nyc.gov)
- HPD Port Out FAQ (nyc.gov)
- PHA contact report for New Jersey (hud.gov)
- HUD's PHA contact page (hud.gov)
- Section 8 page (nj.gov)
- field office directory (nj.gov)
- NJ DCA Administrative Plan, state fiscal year 2025-2026 (nj.gov)
- proposed 2026-2027 plan (nj.gov)
- Jersey City Housing Authority Administrative Plan (jerseycityha.org)
- program page (jerseycityha.org)
- Housing Authority of Bergen County, Portability (habcnj.org)
- Bayonne Housing Authority Administrative Plan (bayonneha.org)
- Newark Housing Authority, Housing Choice Voucher Program (newarkha.org)
- Housing Authority of the City of Elizabeth, Application Process (hacenj.com)
- HUD Notice PIH 2016-09 (hud.gov)
- NYCHA Voucher Payment Standards (nyc.gov)
- Housing Authority of Bergen County payment standards (cms9files.revize.com)
- 24 CFR 982.508 (ecfr.gov)
- law signed January 12, 2026 (pub.njleg.state.nj.us)
- Discrimination in Housing (njoag.gov)
- Fair Chance Housing page (nyc.gov)
- Truth in Renting (nj.gov)
- Fair Chance in Housing Act (njoag.gov)
- HRA, CityFHEPS (nyc.gov)
- HRA, FHEPS (nyc.gov)
- HRA, HASA (nyc.gov)
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