NYCHA Section 8 Payment Standards 2026: What Your Voucher Actually Covers

A NYCHA payment standard is not the rent you can afford. It is the most subsidy NYCHA will pay for an apartment of your voucher size. What you can afford depends on that number, your income, and who pays the utilities. Most of the confusion around "how much will my voucher cover" comes from mixing those three things up.

This guide is for tenants holding a NYCHA Housing Choice Voucher. It gives you the 2026 tables exactly as NYCHA publishes them, explains why there are two schedules this year, shows the utility allowances that quietly shrink your maximum rent, and works the math with a real example. Landlords looking for the rent-increase and rent-reasonableness rules should read our landlord version of the 2026 payment standards.

Last checked: September 24, 2026, against NYCHA's Voucher Payment Standards and Utility Allowance Schedules page and its Payment Standards FAQ. NYCHA changes these schedules, usually in January. Confirm with the Customer Contact Center at 718-707-7771 before you sign a lease. This is general information, not legal advice.

The 2026 NYCHA payment standards

NYCHA's schedules took effect January 1, 2026, and there are two of them. Which one applies to you depends on what you are doing.

If you are renting a new apartment or transferring (moving with your voucher), NYCHA uses the lower schedule:

If you are staying in your apartment and going through annual recertification, NYCHA uses the higher schedule:

The gap is small, $42 to $61 a month depending on size, but it matters in one direction: a household already in place is measured against a slightly more generous number than a household moving in. If you are deciding whether to move, that is one more small reason the apartment you already have is cheaper to keep than to replace.

NYCHA says payment standards "can be set between 90% and 110% of the published FMR," the Fair Market Rent that HUD sets for the New York area each year. That is why the numbers move every January.

Exception payment standards ended July 1, 2026

For years NYCHA paid a higher "exception payment standard" (EPS) in certain ZIP codes, so a voucher went further in higher-rent neighborhoods. That is over for new leases. NYCHA's notice says EPS ZIP codes are discontinued effective July 1, 2026, and that the standard schedule above now applies across all ZIP codes for new rentals, transfers and all special-purpose vouchers (HUD-VASH, Non-Elderly Disabled, Family Unification and Stability vouchers).

What this means in practice:

• If you are searching now, ignore any listing or broker who quotes you an "EPS amount" for a ZIP code. The maximum is the new-rental table above, everywhere in the city.
• If you already live in a former EPS ZIP code, ask NYCHA how your recertification will be handled before your next annual review. The notice covers new rentals and transfers; confirm your own case with NYCHA rather than assuming.
• HPD and HCR run separate Section 8 programs with their own schedules. HPD still publishes exception standards for designated areas. If your voucher is from HPD or HCR, none of the NYCHA tables on this page are yours; see HPD vs NYCHA Section 8.

Your voucher size is set by household size

The tables run by bedrooms, and NYCHA assigns your bedroom count from your household, not from what you want. The FAQ rule is "one bedroom/sleeping area per two people." A single adult gets a studio or one-bedroom standard; a parent with two children generally gets a two-bedroom standard.

You can rent a bigger apartment than your voucher size, but the subsidy is still calculated at your voucher size, so you pay the whole difference. Our post on renting a 2-bedroom with a 1-bedroom voucher works through that math and the 40% cap that limits it. If you need an extra bedroom for a medical reason, that is a reasonable accommodation request, not a negotiation with the landlord.

How the payment standard becomes your rent

Here is the calculation NYCHA runs, in plain terms.

• Your share starts at about 30% of your adjusted monthly income. NYCHA calls this the Total Tenant Payment. It covers rent plus utilities together.
• The subsidy is the payment standard minus your share, or the gross rent minus your share if the gross rent is lower than the standard. Gross rent means the contract rent plus a utility allowance for anything you pay directly.
• If the apartment's gross rent is above the payment standard, you pay the excess on top of your share. NYCHA's FAQ puts it this way: "you can lease an apartment with a rent that is higher than the Voucher Payment Standard; however, you will be responsible for any amount over the Voucher Payment Standard plus your tenant-share portion."
• At initial lease-up there is a ceiling. Your total housing cost "cannot exceed 40% of your family's gross adjusted income." If the rent would push you past 40%, NYCHA will not approve the lease. This is the rule that decides whether an above-standard apartment is possible at all.

A worked example. You hold a 2-bedroom voucher and find an apartment at $2,800 a month where you pay cooking gas and electric. The 2026 utility allowance for that arrangement in a 2-bedroom is $181.

• Gross rent: $2,800 + $181 = $2,981, which is under the $2,997 new-rental standard, so no excess.
• Say 30% of your adjusted income is $900. NYCHA pays the landlord $2,981 minus $900, which is $2,081.
• You pay the landlord $2,800 minus $2,081, which is $719, and you pay your own gas and electric bills. Your share plus your utilities is designed to land near $900.

Change one input and the picture changes. If utilities were included, gross rent would be $2,800, NYCHA would pay $1,900, and you would pay $900 with no separate bills. If the rent were $3,200, gross rent would be $3,381, $384 over the standard, and that $384 would come out of your pocket every month on top of your share, if the 40% test even allows it.

2026 NYCHA utility allowances

When you pay any utility yourself, NYCHA adds a utility allowance to the contract rent to get gross rent, which means a unit with tenant-paid utilities has to rent for less than the payment standard to fit under it. These are NYCHA's allowances effective January 1, 2026, for the three most common arrangements in NYC apartments. NYCHA publishes six schedules in total; the others cover oil heat, electric-only and heat-pump buildings.

You pay cooking gas and electric (heat and hot water included):

You pay gas heat and hot water:

You pay electric heat and hot water:

Two things to know about these numbers. First, they are NYCHA's estimate of a typical bill, not your actual bill; if you use more, you pay more. Second, if someone in your household has a disability that raises utility use, for example medical equipment that runs all day, NYCHA must consider a higher allowance as a reasonable accommodation. Our utility allowances guide covers the schedules in detail, and utilities included vs. utility allowance explains which arrangement usually leaves you with more money.

The practical maximum rent for a 2026 search

Because gross rent, not contract rent, is what gets compared to the standard, the highest contract rent that fits under the new-rental standard without any excess depends on who pays utilities. For a 2-bedroom voucher:

Apartments above those numbers are still possible, but every dollar over comes out of your share, and the 40% cap decides whether NYCHA approves it. When you filter listings, filter by the number in the right-hand column for your situation, not by the headline standard. On VoucherMatch you can filter by borough, bedrooms and rent and see which listings already accept NYCHA vouchers.

When new standards reach you

NYCHA updates the schedules in January. If you already have a lease, the new number does not change anything mid-year. It applies at your next annual recertification, when NYCHA re-runs the calculation with the recertification schedule, your current income and the current utility allowance. If the standard went up and your rent did not, your share can go down. If your income went up, your share goes up regardless of the standard.

Recertification is also where most tenants first see the higher schedule in the second table. Our step-by-step guide to NYCHA annual recertification on the Self-Service Portal covers the paperwork.

Moving with your voucher

A transfer uses the new-rental schedule, so a household that has been recertified at the higher number will be measured against the lower one at the new apartment, and, since July 1, 2026, without any ZIP code exception. Since May 1, 2026, NYCHA also only processes non-emergency transfers that are cost-neutral, meaning the new apartment's gross contract rent must be the same as or lower than your current one. Read how to transfer your Section 8 voucher in NYC before you give notice anywhere.

How this compares to CityFHEPS

CityFHEPS uses the same figures as NYCHA's new-rental schedule for 2026: $2,604 studio through $4,689 for five bedrooms, with all utilities included. If you are weighing offers or comparing programs, the NYCHA voucher's advantage is portability and the federal rules behind it; the dollar ceilings for a new apartment are the same.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the NYCHA payment standards for 2026? For new rentals and transfers: $2,604 (studio), $2,734 (1 BR), $2,997 (2 BR), $3,753 (3 BR), $4,077 (4 BR), $4,689 (5 BR). For annual recertifications: $2,646, $2,762, $3,058, $3,811, $4,111 and $4,728. Both effective January 1, 2026.

Why are there two NYCHA payment standard tables? NYCHA published one schedule for new rentals and transfers and a slightly higher one for annual recertifications. Which one applies depends on whether you are moving or staying.

Can I rent an apartment above the payment standard? Yes. You pay everything above the standard plus your normal share, and at initial lease-up your total housing cost cannot exceed 40% of your gross adjusted income. Above that, NYCHA will not approve the lease.

Did NYCHA get rid of exception payment standards? Yes for new leases. EPS ZIP codes were discontinued effective July 1, 2026 for new rentals, transfers and special-purpose vouchers. Ask NYCHA how your own recertification is handled if you live in a former EPS ZIP.

Do the payment standards include utilities? The standard is compared to gross rent, which is contract rent plus a utility allowance for anything you pay yourself. An apartment with utilities included can rent for the full standard; one where you pay utilities has to rent for less.

What is the 2026 NYCHA utility allowance for a 2-bedroom? $181 a month if you pay cooking gas and electric, $121 if you pay gas heat and hot water, $138 if you pay electric heat and hot water.

When do the 2026 numbers apply to me if I already have an apartment? At your next annual recertification, using the recertification schedule.

Are these the HPD or HCR payment standards too? No. HPD and HCR set their own schedules. HPD publishes them on its Subsidy and Payment Standards page and still uses exception standards in designated areas; HCR's Subsidy Services Bureau is at 212-480-6672.

Contacts

• NYCHA Customer Contact Center: 718-707-7771, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• NYCHA Self-Service Portal: selfserve.nycha.info
• Official schedules: Voucher Payment Standards and Utility Allowance Schedules

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