Section 8 Housing in Sacramento, CA

If you want to live in Roseville, Rocklin, or unincorporated Placer County, SHRA is not your agency.

The Roseville Housing Authority (RHA) Section 8 waiting list is closed; it last accepted applications June 22-26, 2020, with no announced reopening. RHA's jurisdiction covers the cities of Roseville and Rocklin. When it opens, you apply online at waitlistcheck.com and placement is by computer lottery. RHA's phone is (916) 774-5270.

The Placer County Housing Authority covers all of Placer County except the City of Roseville, which has its own authority, and the Placer County waiting list is currently closed.

One warning for anyone holding an Emergency Housing Voucher: HUD's EHV funding is ending years early, Placer County estimates its EHV payments are covered only until about June 2026, and it does not have additional vouchers to assist households after EHV ends. If you have an EHV, contact your PHA now about your options.

Sacramento uses ZIP-code-based payment standards, which matters a lot for where you can afford to live. HUD requires the Housing Authority of Sacramento County to use Small Area Fair Market Rents (SAFMRs) based on ZIP codes, so the maximum assistance varies by ZIP, and the payment standard is not the maximum rent a landlord may charge.

This means your voucher stretches further in higher-cost ZIP codes than it used to under a single county-wide standard. SHRA's 2025 EHV payment standards show ZIP 95610 at $2,172 for a 1-bedroom and $2,700 for a 2-bedroom, versus lower-cost ZIP 95615 at $1,248 for a 1-bedroom and $1,548 for a 2-bedroom. Check the current payment standard for the specific ZIP you want before you sign a lease.

Under AB 1482, the maximum rent increase in Sacramento County is 7.7% or 10%, whichever is lower, and HUD has confirmed AB 1482 applies to HCV participants. Keep that in mind if a landlord tries to raise your rent sharply.

California law is on your side here. SB 329, signed October 8, 2019 and effective January 1, 2020, amended the Fair Employment and Housing Act to classify a Section 8 voucher as a protected source of income, making it illegal to reject a tenant solely because they use a voucher. A listing that says "No Section 8" is a red flag for an illegal blanket policy.

The law is not a blank check, though. Screening criteria applied to a voucher holder must match those applied to other applicants, and any income standard must be based on the tenant's portion of the rent rather than the full contract rent. A landlord can still check credit and rental history. But there is more protection: effective January 1, 2024, SB 267 limits a landlord's ability to run credit checks on applicants who use housing subsidies.

If a landlord refuses you because of your voucher, that is a fair-housing violation you can report and pursue.

Sacramento's housing patterns still reflect decades of segregation, and that shapes where vouchers get used. The Census Bureau recognizes several racially concentrated areas of poverty in Sacramento, located in North Sacramento and South Sacramento. Neighborhoods like Oak Park, North Sacramento and South Sacramento are a diverse mix of Black, Asian and Hispanic residents, while Curtis Park, Land Park and East Sacramento are heavily white.

Because SHRA now uses ZIP-code payment standards, your voucher can go further in higher-cost, higher-opportunity ZIPs than it did before. Don't limit your search to the lowest-rent neighborhoods out of habit. With source-of-income protection now the law, landlords in areas like Folsom, Roseville, Elk Grove and suburban Sacramento cannot legally turn you away just for using a voucher. Use SHRA's rental listing resources and the affordability calculator to test units across a range of ZIP codes.

The last two years have been rough on the local program. In May 2024, SHRA officials told the City Council that starting April 1 the agency stopped issuing new vouchers and accepting referrals with few exceptions because HUD funding was insufficient to keep current families housed if new families were added, with program cost near $16 million per month.

Federal cuts loom too. A January 2026 report noted a House proposal to fund Section 8 at 2025 levels with no increase for rising rents could result in more than 400,000 fewer people receiving vouchers nationwide, per the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

There is also short-term payment turbulence. SHRA reported it received its Housing Assistance Payments funding on June 2, 2026 after HUD warned of a possible one-day delay, and it has updated its voucher extension policy due to recent funding constraints. If you have a voucher and need to lease up, treat extension deadlines as firm.