Section 8 Housing in California

Is Section 8 open in California?

No large California agency had an open voucher list on October 22, 2026. There is no statewide list: about 90 local agencies run vouchers, and each opens and closes its own (California State Auditor, Report 2024-104). Here is what the largest agencies post, in their own words.

What you can apply for now

San Bernardino County’s housing authority lists nine open project-based waiting lists, where the subsidy stays with the building: Ivy at College Park in Chino (3 bedrooms), Redlands RAD units (4 and 5 bedrooms), scattered sites in Joshua Tree, Twentynine Palms and Yucca Valley (3 bedrooms), Horizons at Yucaipa (55+, 1 and 2 bedrooms), and senior buildings in Barstow, Colton, Fontana, Redlands and Yucaipa (HACSB). Santa Clara County also takes interest-list sign-ups online.

Track openings on our verified waiting-list page, and use the California housing authority directory for every agency’s contact details.

Why California lists stay closed

California’s State Auditor reviewed voucher waits in March 2026 and found applicants “will often wait years or even decades.” Riverside County had left its list open for ten years and estimated “about 26 years to work through” it. Orange County’s 2023 opening, its first in eleven years, drew more than 57,000 applications in twelve days. The Auditor also warned that about 2,300 households on Emergency Housing Vouchers were at risk of losing help in the move to regular vouchers (Report 2024-104).

• Apply to every list you qualify for when it opens: an agency where you do not live can still take your application, though some give a local-residency preference.
• Keep your mailing address, email and phone current with each agency; missed letters are a common reason applicants are dropped.
• Check project-based and property lists too: they open more often than tenant-based lists.

Who qualifies: Section 8 income limits in California

Vouchers go to households at or below 50% of area median income, and most new admissions must be at or below 30%. Because area incomes differ so much, a family of four qualifies at $48,550 in Fresno but up to $105,050 in the San Francisco area.

What a California voucher pays

Each agency sets payment standards from HUD’s Fair Market Rents, so what a voucher covers changes sharply by region: the two-bedroom FMR in the San Francisco area is more than double Kern County’s.

Can a landlord refuse Section 8 in California?

No. Since January 1, 2020, SB 329 has made Section 8 and other housing subsidies a protected “source of income” under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (Gov. Code §§ 12955, 12927(i)). SB 222 added HUD-VASH and veterans’ benefits.

• The Civil Rights Department names “refusing to rent to a tenant with a section 8 voucher” and refusing to “complete required forms, sign documents, or allow inspections” as violations (CRD housing page).
• Minimum-income rules may count only the tenant’s share of the rent (Gov. Code § 12955(o), as explained in the CRD’s source-of-income guidance).
• The only exemption is a homeowner who lives in the home and rents out a single room.
• File a complaint with the Civil Rights Department within one year: 800-884-1684 (relay 711) or online (complaint process).

Under the Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482), most voucher holders also get a cap on rent increases of 5% plus inflation or 10%, whichever is lower, and just-cause protection after 12 months, unless the building is exempt, such as one with a certificate of occupancy issued in the last 15 years (California Attorney General).

General information, not legal advice.

Next steps by region

• Los Angeles: Section 8 in Los Angeles
• San Diego: Section 8 in San Diego
• Bay Area: San Francisco and San Jose, plus the Santa Clara County and Contra Costa County guides
• Inland and Central Valley: Sacramento, Riverside, Fresno and the Merced County guide

Section 8 in California: common questions