Section 8 Housing in Austin, TX

As of early 2026, all four public housing authorities serving the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro have closed Housing Choice Voucher waitlists. The Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA) confirms its HCV waitlist is closed and says it administers more than 5,400 vouchers. The Housing Authority of Travis County (HATC), which covers the parts of the metro outside Austin city limits, runs a lottery-based waitlist that is not currently open. The San Marcos Housing Authority is not accepting Section 8 applications. The Round Rock Housing Authority's Section 8 list is closed and last took applications in March 2017.

There is no single metro-wide list. Each authority runs its own program with its own opening schedule. If you want a voucher here, your only realistic path is to watch each authority's website and apply the moment any list opens. Get your documents ready in advance because lottery windows are often short.

HACA works differently from most authorities. It does not take walk-in or direct online Section 8 applications. New referrals come through the local ECHO Coordinated Entry System, the same system used to prioritize people experiencing homelessness. In practice that means the fastest way into HACA's voucher pipeline runs through homelessness services, not a public sign-up form. HACA's HCV waitlist itself remains closed.

HACA also operates 16 Project-Based Rental Assistance properties across Austin where residents pay about 30 percent of household income toward rent, but the welcome page notes there were no open waitlists for those either at last check. If you are at risk of homelessness, call 211 or connect with ECHO to be assessed for coordinated entry. For everyone else, monitor hacanet.org for a waitlist reopening announcement.

Outside the city, HATC selects applicants by random lottery when its list opens, so applying early does not improve your odds; you simply need an application in during the open window. HATC's FAQ says it cannot predict the next opening and points people to 211 for interim housing help.

The San Marcos Housing Authority (Hays County) is not taking Section 8 applications. The Round Rock Housing Authority (Williamson County) has kept its list closed since 2017. Round Rock also is not absorbing portability vouchers right now, so if you hold a voucher from another city and want to move to Round Rock, your original authority must keep paying for it. If you already have a voucher and plan to port into the metro, call the receiving authority first to confirm whether they will absorb or bill your voucher.

This is the hard truth for Austin voucher holders. Texas has no statewide law making it illegal for a landlord to refuse Section 8. Worse, Texas Local Government Code Sec. 250.007 bars cities from passing ordinances that require landlords to accept vouchers. Austin adopted a source-of-income ordinance in 2014, but the state law passed the following year overrode it. So a private landlord in Austin can legally post "no Section 8" and turn you away for holding a voucher alone.

What is still illegal is discrimination based on federally protected classes: race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, and familial status. If a "no voucher" policy is used as a cover to screen out families with children or people with disabilities, that can be a fair-housing violation. Document everything, and file with HUD or the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division if you suspect protected-class discrimination.

Because Central and West Austin rents routinely run above voucher payment standards, and because landlords there can legally refuse vouchers, most voucher holders find units in more affordable pockets: North Austin around Rundberg (78753, 78758), Southeast Austin/Dove Springs (78744), parts of historically Black and Latino East Austin (though gentrification is pushing rents up fast), and suburban Williamson County. Larger apartment complexes and mission-driven affordable properties are generally more receptive than individual single-family landlords.

Start your search where affordable inventory concentrates, give yourself the full voucher search term, and ask up front whether a property accepts HCV before you tour. Keep a written list of every landlord who says no, with dates. Even though a plain "no voucher" refusal is legal in Texas, that record is critical if a refusal turns out to be tied to your family status or disability.