Section 8 Housing in Riverside, CA

HACR's office is at 5555 Arlington Avenue, Riverside, phone (951) 351-0700, and it manages 10,212 Housing Choice Vouchers. HACSB is at 191 West Second Street, San Bernardino, CA 92408 and serves approximately 26,000+ people. When a list is closed, HACSB lets you file a pre-application so you are notified when the waitlist reopens; you can do this online or by calling (909) 890-0644. Preferences decide who moves up fastest. At HACR, preferences include eligible veterans, widows of veterans, those 70 and older, elderly (62+), disabled families, and families meeting extremely low (30% AMI) or very low (30-50% AMI) income limits. There is also a residency preference: to meet the Riverside residency preference, a family must live or work in Riverside County. HACSB region lists work differently: applying to a region means a household may be housed in an available, appropriately-sized unit anywhere in that region of the county.

California gives voucher holders strong legal protection. SB 329, signed October 8, 2019 and effective January 1, 2020, classifies the Section 8 voucher as a source of income under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, making it illegal to reject a prospective tenant solely because they use a voucher. That means listings saying No Section 8 are illegal. The law also controls how income is measured: if a landlord requires a minimum income calculated as a multiple of the rent, they can only count the tenant's portion of the rent, not the full market rent. A landlord can still apply normal screening. Nothing in SB 329 prevents a landlord from requiring a tenant to meet other criteria such as credit and rental history, as long as those standards are applied to everyone. These protections apply throughout the tenancy, not just at move-in, and a landlord cannot refuse to renew or terminate because you started using a voucher; you can file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department.

Source-of-income law is being enforced locally, not just on paper. In December 2025 the California Civil Rights Department announced a settlement with San Bernardino County landlord Pierce Projects Inc.: $110,000 went to tenant Angelia Jefferson and $35,000 to the department after she was repeatedly refused when she tried to apply her Section 8 voucher to her existing tenancy. The state is also pursuing one of the region's largest landlords. In 2025 Attorney General Rob Bonta sued Mike Nijjar and his family's property companies, which operate throughout Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire, alleging they discriminated against applicants with Section 8 vouchers by refusing to rent to them. The Nijjar operation controls more than 22,000 units statewide, largely in low-income communities across Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Kern counties. If a landlord refuses your voucher, document it in writing and report it, these cases show complaints can lead to real financial settlements.

This metro is deeply rent-burdened, which is why a voucher is worth the wait. More than half of renters in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties spend more than 30% of their income on housing, and local renters are twice as likely as homeowners to spend more than 50% of income on rent. With a voucher, tenants generally pay 30% of their income toward rent while the Housing Authority covers the rest. Income limits set who qualifies. HACSB reported 2025 maximum eligible income around $52,200 for a 1-person household and $74,550 for a 4-person household. Because demand far outstrips supply, be prepared with documents before a list opens and apply broadly to any open list in the region.

Two organizations are the front line for voucher holders here. Inland Fair Housing and Mediation Board (IFHMB), a nonprofit serving San Bernardino County and parts of Riverside and Imperial Counties since 1980, helps resolve housing discrimination, rental complaints and court disputes through resources, education and mediation. Reach IFHMB at (800) 321-0911, 1500 S. Haven Ave., Ste. 100, Ontario, CA 91761. For legal representation, Inland Counties Legal Services provides free legal help to low-income people, seniors and people with disabilities in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, including housing matters like evictions, habitability and illegal rent increases, reachable toll-free at (888) 245-4257. If you face eviction in San Bernardino, the Legal Aid Society of San Bernardino runs an Eviction Legal Advisory Hotline, community clinics and courtroom advocacy for tenants. Act early: an eviction can cost you both your home and your voucher.