Can Section 8 Pass to Family When the Head of Household Dies?
Quick answerIn New York City, as of October 2026, a Section 8 voucher cannot be left to someone, but it can stay with family already approved to live in the apartment. NYCHA requires the survivor to hold permanent household status and asks for the death certificate within 30 days. HPD requires 180 days as an authorized member. If the person who died lived alone, the voucher ends that month.
Last checked: October 4, 2026, against NYCHA's Housing Choice Voucher Administrative Plan (effective May 2026), HPD's Administrative Plan (April 15, 2025) and Form 3, NYS HCR's Administrative Plan Version 2026-2 (October 1, 2026), 24 CFR 5.403, 982.311, 982.315 and 982.551, HUD Notice PIH 2012-4, NYCHA's public housing occupancy policy, and HCR Fact Sheet 30.
- 30 daysNYCHA's deadline to send the death certificate
- 12 monthshow long a conditional NYCHA member waits to become permanent
- 180 daystime on the voucher HPD requires before the death
- 10 business daysHCR's deadline to report that a member is gone
- End of the monthwhen payments stop if the person lived alone
- 718-707-7771NYCHA Customer Contact Center, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Who Counts as a Remaining Family Member
A remaining family member is someone the agency had already approved to live in the apartment, who is still there after the head of household dies or leaves. Federal rules count "the remaining member of a tenant family" as a family, then leave each agency to write its own test.
| Question | NYCHA | HPD | NYS HCR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who can keep the voucher | "An active household member with permanent status" when the head dies or leaves | A member HPD authorized, living there at least 180 days before the death or departure | No fixed period. The local administrator decides case by case |
| Extra conditions | Legal capacity to sign a lease, and still eligible for the subsidy | In compliance with program rules and eligible | Head must have legal capacity to sign a lease |
| Who is shut out | Conditional members, court-appointed guardians, foster children and adults, live-in aides, home attendants | Live-in aides | Live-in aides, foster children, foster adults |
| Deadline to report | Death certificate within 30 days of the death | Within 30 days, or at annual recertification if sooner | Within 10 business days |
What it means: the agency on your paperwork decides which column applies, and the three tests are not the same.
Source: NYCHA Administrative Plan, effective May 2026, section V and Appendix B; HPD Administrative Plan, April 15, 2025, sections 5.1.1, 5.1.4 and 13.3.5; HCR Administrative Plan Version 2026-2, sections 3-I.C, 3-I.D and 11-II.B; 24 CFR 5.403 and 982.315.
HCR's plan is dated October 1, 2026 and says new policies take effect sixty calendar days after publication. Which of its policies are new could not be determined.
NYCHA sorts every household member into a category, and only permanent members can succeed to the voucher.
- Permanentmembers since admission, and people added by birth, adoption of a minor, marriage or domestic partnership. They can succeed.
- Conditionalan adult child who moved back, a returning former member, or "any other individual" the head added. They become permanent after 12 consecutive months from the approval notice. Until then they cannot succeed.
- Court-appointed guardianincome counts, but no succession rights.
- Temporaryfoster children and adults, live-in aides, home attendants. No succession rights.
What it means: an adult child approved eight months ago is on the voucher but is still conditional, so under the plan's wording that person cannot take it over.
Where the household breaks up because of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking, 24 CFR 982.315 says the agency "must ensure that the victim retains assistance." For how housing authorities outside New York decide who keeps the voucher, see can you transfer a Section 8 voucher to another person.
You Must Already Be on the Voucher
Nobody can be added to a voucher after the head of household has died, with one exception for an adult who steps in to care for the children. At NYCHA a request to add a person must come from the voucher holder, who must be living in the apartment on the date of the request. A voucher also cannot be willed or handed to a relative living elsewhere: federal rules say the family "must not assign the lease or transfer the unit" (24 CFR 982.551).
- Spouse or child on the voucher since it beganYes at NYCHA (permanent status). Yes at HPD after 180 days as an authorized member.
- Adult added later with approvalAt NYCHA, only once 12 months have passed since the approval notice. At HPD, after 180 days.
- Relative who lived there but was never approvedNo. NYCHA allows only members "listed on the Affidavit of Income" to live in the unit.
- Live-in aideNo, at every agency, even when the aide is a relative. HUD says an agency "may not designate the live-in aide as the new HOH."
What it means: the time to protect a relative is while the head of household can still file the request.
Source: NYCHA Administrative Plan, sections V.C, XX and Appendix B; HPD Administrative Plan, sections 5.1.1 and 5.1.4; HUD Notice PIH 2012-4, section 10.
Key pointIf family members live with you and are not on the voucher, the head of household is the only person who can add them. The guide to adding someone to your Section 8 voucher in NYC covers the forms and screening.
When the only people left are children
A child under 18 can keep the voucher only with an adult who takes legal responsibility. This is the one case where a new adult may come into the household after the death.
- NYCHA: the child needs an "acceptable guardian": a parent, relative or other responsible adult who is of age, submits a court order or the written permission of the parent or legal guardian, passes a criminal background check, signs the lease for the child, and stays on as guardian until the child turns 18.
- HPD: an adult who has custody of the children "is eligible to become the new Head of Household," subject to HPD's eligibility rules. Otherwise the minor must be emancipated by a court, or HPD must verify that Social Services or the Juvenile Court has arranged for another adult to move in.
- HCR: a caretaker placed by an agency is not treated as a family member until custody or guardianship is decided. A caretaker who steps in without an agency is a visitor for 90 days. Once custody or guardianship is awarded, "the housing choice voucher will be transferred to the caretaker."
Source: NYCHA Administrative Plan, Appendix B, sections A and G; HPD Administrative Plan, sections 5.1.1 and 5.1.4.1; HCR Administrative Plan, section 6-I.B.
If the Person Who Died Lived Alone
A voucher held by one person ends when that person dies. HUD requires agencies to "immediately terminate program assistance for deceased single member households," and the same applies when the only other occupant is a live-in aide (HUD Notice PIH 2012-4, issued January 1, 2012).
- NYCHA: ends payments "at the end of the month in which the Section 8 participant died" when no eligible family member remains.
- HPD: "the tenant-based voucher cannot be transferred," and termination takes effect at the end of the month of death without the usual 30 days' notice.
- The landlord: keeps the full subsidy payment for the month of the death and is owed nothing after it.
Source: NYCHA Administrative Plan, section XVI.B; HPD Administrative Plan, sections 5.1.4.1 and 15.6.
What to Do in the First 30 Days
Report the death to the agency in writing, with the death certificate, name the adult who will be the new head of household, and keep paying the tenant share of the rent. Your voucher paperwork says whether the agency is NYCHA, HPD or NYS HCR, the three agencies that run Section 8 in NYC.
- 1Report itFile an interim recertification on the NYCHA Self-Service Portal, or call 718-707-7771 for the paper Voucher Holder's Request for Interim Change.
- 2Send the death certificateNYCHA wants a copy "within 30 days of the date of the death."
- 3Name the new head of householdThat person submits a signed Affidavit of Income for the head of household, a Request for Interim Change, or a written statement.
- 4If the family does not chooseNYCHA "will default to the eldest, eligible household member."
- 5Report the lost incomeIf the person who died had income, ask for the rent share to be recalculated in the same filing.
Source: NYCHA Administrative Plan, Appendix B, section G, and section XIX; NYCHA, Reporting Changes to Income and Family Composition.
- HPDUse Form 3, Request to Remove a Household Member, with the death certificate or the date of death, which HPD "will verify with the Social Security Administration." Client Services is 917-286-4300. HPD's forms page gives DTRAI@hpd.nyc.gov for documents when you are unsure where to send them.
- NYS HCRTell your local administrator within 10 business days. The HCR call center is 833-791-2748, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. HCR publishes no form for reporting a death.
What it means: Form 3 is written for the head of household to sign, and HPD publishes no separate version for a survivor, so call Client Services and ask who should sign.
Source: HPD Section 8 forms page; HCR Section 8 page, read October 2026.
Watch outKeep paying the tenant share on time, and keep a dated copy of everything you send. Unpaid rent gives the landlord a separate nonpayment case that the voucher question will not stop.
A head of household who is alive but leaving follows a different step at NYCHA: the current voucher holder must ask in writing to be removed and surrender the voucher. NYCHA's checklist accepts a letter from a medical facility as proof. For other departures, see removing someone from your Section 8 household in NYC.
What Happens to the Rent and Voucher Size
Your share of the rent can go down once the income of the person who died is removed, and the voucher size can shrink later.
- End of the month of deathpayments to the landlord stop only if no eligible family member remains.
- Within 30 daysreport the death and the lost income with documents.
- First of the following montha lower tenant share takes effect, if you reported within 30 days. Report late and it starts the month after NYCHA receives your documents.
- Next annual recertificationthe smaller household's voucher size sets the payment standard. If the apartment is larger than the new size, the household pays any cost above the payment standard.
What it means: reporting within 30 days is what makes the lower rent start the next month.
Source: NYCHA Administrative Plan, sections IX.C, XVI.B and XIX.A.
HPD works differently. A decrease in the tenant share is backdated to the first of the month after you reported the change, provided the documents arrive within 90 days. The new voucher size applies "beginning at the one-year anniversary of the regularly scheduled annual certification," and an "overhoused" family must then move to a right-sized unit or pay the extra cost (HPD plan, sections 13.3.2 and 13.3.5). See reporting an income change to Section 8 in NYC for the filing.
How the Agency Decides
The agency confirms the death, checks its own records for who was an authorized member and for how long, and confirms that the proposed new head of household is eligible and can sign a lease.
- Confirming the death: agencies receive Social Security death data through HUD. When it flags a death, HUD tells the agency to write to the household to confirm it and to notify the landlord in writing.
- Checking status: NYCHA looks for permanent status on the date of death. HPD counts 180 days as an authorized member.
- Eligibility: NYCHA says the remaining members "must be eligible to continue receiving subsidy." HPD requires that the adult is "in compliance with all program rules and regulations."
- HCR: with no agreement or court decision, the local administrator weighs seven factors, among them the interest of minor children and of ill, elderly or disabled members, who was head of household, and who remains in the unit.
What it means: the decision turns on what was filed before the death.
Source: HUD Notice PIH 2012-4, section 7; NYCHA, HPD and HCR plans as cited above.
None of the three agencies publishes how long this decision takes.
HUD-VASH vouchers also stay with the family: HPD's plan says the voucher "will transfer to the remaining household members" when the veteran is no longer in the program.
If the Agency Says No
You can challenge a refusal, and the route depends on the agency.
- NYCHAAsk for an informal conference. It is held by a Leased Housing Department employee at Assistant Manager level or higher, and NYCHA must issue a written determination within 30 days of it. The plan gives no deadline for asking and does not say whether an impartial hearing follows.
- HPDYou may ask for a conference within 15 calendar days of a notice. A request for an informal hearing must be in writing and reach HPD within 30 calendar days of the date on the notice. HPD does not take hearing requests by phone.
- NYS HCRA termination can go to an informal hearing. The request deadline was not found in HCR's plan, so read your notice.
What it means: ask in writing as soon as the notice arrives, because NYCHA's deadline is not published.
Source: NYCHA Administrative Plan, Appendix B, section H; HPD Administrative Plan, chapter 16; HCR Administrative Plan, chapter 16.
Watch outHPD's and HCR's plans list termination of assistance as a decision you can take to a hearing. Neither says that a refusal of remaining-family-member status, on its own, is one.
If NYCHA moves to terminate the subsidy, payments continue while a hearing you asked for on time is pending. See appealing a Section 8 termination in NYC for the notices and hearings. For advice on your own case, contact The Legal Aid Society or search LawHelpNY before the deadline on your notice.
Public Housing and Rent-Stabilized Apartments Follow Other Rules
Two nearby sets of rules are often confused with Section 8 succession, and neither decides who keeps a voucher.
- NYCHA public housing: a remaining family member must have lived in the apartment at least 12 months from the date permanent permission was granted in writing, and at least 12 months immediately before the tenant died or moved out. Disputes go to NYCHA's grievance process (NYCHA occupancy policy, chapter 6, effective January 1, 2024).
- Rent-stabilized and rent-controlled apartments: a family member who lived with the tenant as a primary resident for two years immediately before the death, or one year for a senior citizen or disabled person, may have a right to a renewal lease under state rent law (HCR Fact Sheet 30, November 2023). That right concerns the lease.
What Landlords Should Know
When a tenant reports that the head of household has died, the subsidy continues if an eligible family member remains, and the agency tells you in writing who the new head of household is.
- Surviving household: payments are made "while the family is residing in the unit." If you start an eviction and the household still lives there, NYCHA must keep paying until you have a court determination.
- Sole tenant: you keep the payment for the month of the death. Anything paid for later months is an overpayment. HUD's notice has you repay within 30 days or have it deducted from later payments, and NYCHA recoups overpayments "with or without notice to the landlord."
- HPD units: you must notify HPD within 30 days of learning that the family has moved out.
What it means: wait for the agency's written notice before treating the tenancy or the subsidy as over.
Source: 24 CFR 982.311; NYCHA Administrative Plan, section XVI; HPD Administrative Plan, section 11.3.4; HUD Notice PIH 2012-4.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep the Section 8 voucher if the head of household dies? Yes, if you meet your agency's test. A live-in aide cannot keep it at any agency.
- NYCHA: permanent household status on the date of death
- HPD: at least 180 days as an authorized member
- HCR: decided case by case
Can Section 8 be passed down or transferred to another family member after death? No. A voucher cannot be left in a will. It stays only with a family member the agency had already approved to live in the apartment, and it ends if the person who died lived alone.
What counts as proof that the head of household left? For a death, the death certificate; HPD also accepts the date of death and checks it with Social Security. For a head who moved out, HPD's Form 3 asks for a lease or utility bill from the new address.
How long do I have to tell the agency? It depends on the agency. At HPD, reporting late can lead to back charges or termination.
- NYCHA: 30 days from the death to send the death certificate
- HPD: 30 days, or your annual recertification if that comes first
- HCR: 10 business days
What if the agency denies my succession claim? Challenge it in writing. NYCHA offers an informal conference with a written decision within 30 days afterward. HPD takes written hearing requests received within 30 calendar days of the notice date.
Should I keep paying rent while the agency reviews my case? Yes. Pay the tenant share on time and report the lost income so the share can be lowered. Unpaid rent can bring a nonpayment case that is separate from the voucher decision.
Does this apply to FHEPS or CityFHEPS? No. Those are rent supplements run through HRA, with their own rules. VoucherMatch did not check what happens to them when the head of household dies, so ask HRA or your caseworker.
Next step: if relatives live with you and are not yet on the voucher, add them to your Section 8 household while the head of household can still make the request. At NYCHA, the 12 months toward permanent status start with the approval notice.
Sources for this article (17)
- NYCHA Administrative Plan, effective May 2026, section V and Appendix B (nyc.gov)
- HPD Administrative Plan, April 15, 2025, sections 5.1.1, 5.1.4 and 13.3.5 (nyc.gov)
- HCR Administrative Plan Version 2026-2, sections 3-I.C, 3-I.D and 11-II.B (hcr.ny.gov)
- 24 CFR 5.403 (ecfr.gov)
- 982.315 (ecfr.gov)
- 24 CFR 982.551 (ecfr.gov)
- HUD Notice PIH 2012-4, section 10 (hud.gov)
- NYCHA Self-Service Portal (selfserve.nycha.info)
- NYCHA, Reporting Changes to Income and Family Composition (nyc.gov)
- Form 3, Request to Remove a Household Member (nyc.gov)
- HPD Section 8 forms page (nyc.gov)
- HCR Section 8 page (hcr.ny.gov)
- The Legal Aid Society (legalaidnyc.org)
- LawHelpNY (lawhelpny.org)
- NYCHA occupancy policy, chapter 6 (nyc.gov)
- HCR Fact Sheet 30 (hcr.ny.gov)
- 24 CFR 982.311 (ecfr.gov)
Stay Updated on Housing
Get the latest on fair market rents, voucher programs, and finding housing.
No spam, ever. Unsubscribe anytime.
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
Find apartments
Listings on VoucherMatch come from landlords who say up front which vouchers they accept.
Related Articles
Can You Rent From a Family Member With Section 8?
Can you rent from a family member with Section 8? Not from a parent, child, grandparent or sibling, unless a disability exception applies. Rule and exceptions.
8 min readWhat Happens to Section 8 If Your Income Goes Up?
After you receive a voucher, a raise does not end it. Your share rises about 30 cents per added dollar. See when to report, the 2027 rule and the 180-day clock.
18 min readCan You Be Married on Section 8? What Happens If You Get Married
Yes. Marriage never ends a voucher. Your spouse must be approved and screened, and their income counts. What is federal and what your agency decides.
15 min readHow to Remove Someone from Your Section 8 Household in NYC
The head of household removes a member by written request: 30 days at NYCHA and HPD, 10 business days at HCR. What proof each agency asks for.
6 min readMulti-Family Section 8 in NYC: Owner Extranet, Rents, PBV
Section 8 for multi-family owners in NYC: the owner extranet and other portals, rent rules for units in one building, inspections and project-based vouchers.
13 min readHow Much Does Section 8 Pay in Louisville? (LMHA Standards and Household Costs)
Use LMHA’s adopted standards, utility allowance and household calculation to budget for a Louisville voucher rental, with current agency contacts.
5 min readFind Your Next Home
Explore section 8 apartments and local rental guidance.