The Walker Settlement Voucher in Dallas: Who Qualifies, Where You Can Live, and What It Pays

The most common question about the Walker Settlement Voucher is the one on the Dallas Housing Authority's own form: what area of the Dallas metroplex can you live in? The answer is specific. A Walker voucher can be used only in a "Walker Eligible Census Tract," a neighborhood in one of seven North Texas counties that has low poverty and is not a minority-concentrated area, and DHA publishes a map tool that tells you whether a given address qualifies.

The rest of the program is unusual too. It exists because of a lawsuit, it is limited to Black households, it pays a higher rent standard than a regular Housing Choice Voucher, and it comes with money for application fees, deposits and moving costs. This guide covers where it came from, who qualifies, where you can live, what it pays, and how to use it without losing it.

Last checked: September 24, 2026, against DHA's Housing Choice Voucher overview, Walker participation page, Walker assistance page, Home Search Tool and payment standards FAQ, the Inclusive Communities Project's Opportunity Moves FAQ, and the case history published by Daniel & Beshara, P.C., plaintiffs' counsel in Walker v. HUD. Confirm current rules with DHA before you rely on them. This is general information, not legal advice.

Where the voucher came from

In 1985 Debra Walker, a Dallas public housing resident, sued the Dallas Housing Authority and HUD over a segregated public housing system. The court record from the case found that "2,876 (92%) of the 3,116 black households in DHA's non-elderly public housing projects reside in predominantly black or minority concentrated projects" in high-poverty neighborhoods. A 1987 consent decree required DHA to replace demolished West Dallas units and to help Black families use Section 8 assistance to move to non-minority areas.

When building 3,200 replacement units in white areas proved impossible, HUD substituted vouchers: "HUD proposed the 3,200 unit Settlement Voucher program along with a $9.95 million dollar fund for mobility assistance." HUD allocated the vouchers in 2001 and 2006. The case never fully closed. A 2019 amended final judgment continued the program and authorized DHA to reissue roughly 1,000 vouchers that had gone unused; about 1,600 were in use at that time.

That history explains every rule below. The voucher is a remedy for segregation, so it is restricted to the class the lawsuit was brought for, and it works only in the kinds of neighborhoods the lawsuit was trying to open up.

Who qualifies

DHA's overview states the eligibility rule in one sentence: "Walker Settlement Vouchers are allocated for Class Members only (African-Americans), who agree to live in a Walker Eligible Census Tract (ECT) with low poverty that is not a minority neighborhood."

Three parts to that:

• Class membership. The head of household must be African-American. This is a court-ordered remedy for a specific class, which is why a race-based eligibility rule exists here when it would not in an ordinary voucher program.
• Income. Regular Housing Choice Voucher income limits apply, set as a share of the Dallas-area median income by household size. DHA publishes the current limits; ask for them when you apply.
• Agreement to live in an eligible tract. You accept the voucher on the condition that you use it in a qualifying neighborhood. Decline that, and the voucher is not for you.

Existing DHA voucher holders who are class members can also move onto the Walker program. DHA's participation page describes the process for current participants: identify a home in a qualifying tract and complete DHA's form, with the move happening at the end of your current lease or by your next annual re-examination, and extensions possible "for good cause, such as waiting until the end of a school year."

Where you can live: the seven counties and the tract test

The Walker voucher is not limited to the city of Dallas. It can be used in Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Kaufman, Rockwall and Tarrant counties. Inside those counties, only certain census tracts qualify.

The Inclusive Communities Project, the nonprofit that provides mobility counseling under the settlement, publishes the current test. Walker Targeted Areas are census tracts where, per the most recent Census data, "the poverty rate is 22.3% or lower; the Black population is 25.7% or lower; and there is no public housing." DHA's own pages describe the same areas as "court targeted" tracts under the 2022 census.

You do not have to work that out yourself. DHA's Home Search Tool lets you type an address and see whether it falls in an eligible area. Eligible tracts show in teal and ineligible ones in dark grey. DHA adds a caution worth repeating: the map is a guide, and "the final determination will be made when DHA reviews your Request For Tenant Assistance packet." Check the address before you fall in love with the apartment, and check it again before the landlord fills out the packet.

In practice, eligible tracts cluster in the northern suburbs and outer-ring communities, and the higher payment standard below is designed to make rents there reachable. Our Dallas Section 8 guide and the Dallas rent limits post show HUD's ZIP-by-ZIP rent limits across the metro, which is the base the Walker standard is built on.

What it pays: 125% of the small-area rent limit

A regular DHA voucher uses a payment standard tied to HUD's Fair Market Rents. The Walker voucher gets its own schedule. DHA's FAQ: Walker participants use "a Payment Standard Schedule specifically for their housing voucher type, which is set at 125% of the Fair Market Rents (FMRs) by ZIP code by voucher size."

Two things make that generous:

• It is ZIP-based. HUD publishes small-area FMRs for the Dallas metro, so the limit already rises in higher-rent ZIP codes. The Walker standard sits 25% above that.
• It is a subsidy ceiling, not a rent cap. As with any voucher, you pay roughly 30% of your adjusted income and the voucher covers the rest up to the standard. A higher standard means more of the rent in a high-cost suburb is covered.

An illustration, not a quote from DHA's schedule: if HUD's small-area FMR for a two-bedroom in a given ZIP were $2,000, the Walker standard for that ZIP would be $2,500. Ask DHA for the current Walker schedule for the ZIP codes you are considering; the payment standards FAQ links the download.

DHA describes the purpose plainly: the Walker standard exists "to enhance racial equity, offering African American clients more options to high-value areas rather than more options in impoverished areas."

Moving help: what DHA and ICP pay for

Moving to a suburb you have never lived in costs money up front, and the settlement funds that. DHA's Walker assistance page lists financial help for households moving into an eligible tract covering "application fees, moving expenses, security deposits, landlord incentive payments and utility connection fees." Details from the page:

• Utility deposits are "paid to tenant as reimbursement once unit passes inspection."
• The landlord incentive "may be up to $1,000 or first month's rent, whichever is lower," and bonuses are "subject to availability, and at DHA's discretion."
• You request the help after you have found a unit in an eligible tract, by completing DHA's relocation assistance form.

Separately, the Inclusive Communities Project runs the mobility counseling side: housing search counseling, landlord negotiations, fair housing counseling, and support after the move. ICP's FAQ also notes that Walker voucher holders "may qualify for DHA funds" and points to DHA at (214) 640-6837 for details. ICP's Mobility Assistance Program is at (214) 658-1330 or map@inclusivecommunities.net.

Use both. ICP knows which suburban landlords have leased to Walker families before, and a landlord who has been through the packet once is far more likely to say yes.

How to apply

DHA opened the Walker Settlement Voucher waiting list, together with its Mainstream voucher list, on January 21, 2020, describing it as a "new continuous Open Enrollment process." Applications were taken online at dhantx.com, at a kiosk at DHA's office at 2575 Lone Star Drive, Dallas, TX 75212, and at Dallas Public Library branches.

Whether the list is still taking new preliminary applications is the one thing on this page you must confirm directly. As of late 2025 at least one third-party waiting-list tracker lists the Walker list as closed, while DHA's own pages do not state a status. Call DHA's Housing Choice Voucher line at 469-965-1961, or ask for the Walker/Special Programs Coordinator, before you assume either way.

If you already hold a DHA voucher and are a class member, you do not need the waiting list at all: use the participation process above.

Keeping the voucher

The condition that makes the Walker voucher valuable is also the one that ends it if ignored. You must live in an eligible tract. If you move to a non-eligible area, you are no longer using a Walker voucher on Walker terms. Before any move, run the new address through the Home Search Tool and confirm with DHA in writing. Everything else follows ordinary voucher rules: annual re-examination, reporting income and household changes, keeping the unit in good condition, and paying your share on time.

For landlords in the seven counties

If your property sits in an eligible tract, a Walker tenant comes with a payment standard 25% above the regular small-area limit, a possible landlord incentive of up to $1,000 or one month's rent, deposits and application fees covered by the program, and a mobility counselor who stays involved after move-in. Texas has no statewide law requiring you to accept vouchers, so the decision is yours, but the economics here are better than for a standard voucher. Check your address on DHA's map, then list the unit on VoucherMatch so Walker and other DHA voucher holders can find it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What area of the Dallas metroplex can I live in with a Walker Settlement Voucher? Any census tract in Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Kaufman, Rockwall or Tarrant County that meets the Walker test: poverty rate at or below 22.3%, Black population at or below 25.7%, and no public housing. DHA's Home Search Tool shows whether a specific address qualifies.

Who is eligible for a Walker Settlement Voucher? Members of the Walker class, meaning households with an African-American head of household, who meet the income limits and agree to live in an eligible tract. The restriction comes from the court settlement in Walker v. HUD.

How much does the Walker voucher pay? Its payment standard is 125% of HUD's small-area Fair Market Rent for the ZIP code and voucher size. You still pay about 30% of your adjusted income; the voucher covers the rest up to that standard.

Does the Walker program pay my security deposit and moving costs? DHA lists financial assistance for application fees, moving expenses, security deposits, utility connection fees and a landlord incentive of up to $1,000 or one month's rent, whichever is lower, subject to availability. Request it after you find a unit in an eligible tract.

Is the Walker Settlement Voucher waiting list open? DHA opened it on January 21, 2020 as continuous enrollment. A third-party tracker listed it as closed as of late 2025, and DHA's pages do not state a current status. Call DHA at 469-965-1961 to confirm.

Can I use a Walker voucher in the city of Dallas? Yes, if the specific census tract qualifies. Eligibility is by tract, not by city limits, and many Dallas tracts do not meet the test while many suburban tracts do.

What happens if I move to a neighborhood that is not eligible? You would no longer be using the voucher within the program's rules. Check every prospective address with DHA before signing anything.

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Holding a DHA or Walker voucher and searching in North Texas? Browse Section 8 apartments in Dallas from landlords who already accept vouchers.

Landlord in an eligible tract? List your property free and reach voucher holders whose rent is paid directly by DHA.