Section 8 Housing in St. Louis, MO

Three main housing authorities run Section 8 in the St. Louis metro, and as of mid-2026 all three voucher waitlists are closed. The St. Louis Housing Authority (SLHA) covers the City of St. Louis. Its Housing Choice Voucher list is closed and not accepting applications until further notice. The HCV waitlist is currently closed and not accepting applications until further notice. SLHA last opened that list back in 2014. St. Louis Housing Authority's Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) waiting list was last opened on July 14, 2014 and closed on July 18, 2014. The Housing Authority of St. Louis County (branded "County Housing") covers the suburbs. The Housing Authority of St. Louis County (HASLC) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher waiting list is currently closed. Applications were last accepted from March 2, 2020 at 9:00 am, until March 6, 2020 at 12:00 pm CT. Across the river in Illinois, the East St. Louis authority has its public housing list open but its voucher list closed. Currently, the Public Housing waitlist is open for applications. The HCV waitlist is closed. Both Missouri authorities take applications only through the RentCafe online portal when a list opens. Apply to multiple PHAs, and never pay a fee. It is against HUD policy for an agency to charge for a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher application. If anyone is charging a fee for an application, they are either violating federal law, or a scammer with an empty promise. Do not pay for an application.

Expect a long wait. Households spend an average of 39 months on a waiting list before receiving a voucher in St Louis. Demand dwarfs supply. When SLHA last opened its voucher list in 2014, it drew more than 27,000 applicants. St. Louis Housing Authority's Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) waiting list was last opened on July 14, 2014 and closed on July 18, 2014. SLHA is a large agency. St. Louis Housing Authority provides affordable housing for up to 10,728 low- and moderate-income households through its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher and public housing programs. St. Louis Housing Authority serves 8,194 low-income households. The agency manages 7,380 Housing Choice Vouchers and 2,217 public housing units. County Housing is comparable in size. County Housing provides rental assistance to more than 7,000 low-income households in St. Louis County. Because openings are rare and brief, watch the PHA websites closely. County Housing promises advance notice. When the waitlist reopens for public housing and/or the HCV program, we will post here on our website, through social media channels and partner agencies, and in the newspaper 30 days in advance. If you already hold a voucher, note the clock: The voucher expires after 120 days if a family does not select a unit.

Payment standards are based on HUD's Fair Market Rent for the metro. FY 2025 Fair Market Rent for St. Louis, MO-IL HUD Metro FMR Area. Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom home in St. Louis is $1,215 per month. The local PHA sets the actual payment standard, and under HUD rules it can be anywhere within 10% above or below the FMR by ZIP code. As a tenant, your share is generally about 30% of your income. Rent is typically set at 30% of the tenant's income, with the voucher covering the difference between the tenant's contribution and the market rent. To qualify, your income must fall under HUD's limits. For example, a Very Low Income family of four in the St. Louis, MO-IL HUD Metro FMR Area must not exceed an annual income of $55,700. St. Louis uses ZIP-code-based Small Area Fair Market Rents, so the payment standard is higher in more expensive neighborhoods and lower in cheaper ones. Ask your PHA for the current payment standard for the specific ZIP code where you want to live before you sign a lease.

Whether a landlord can legally reject your voucher depends on which side of the city line you are on. In the City of St. Louis, it is illegal. Ordinance 69953 outlaws discrimination against anyone based on their legal source of income, which includes Section 8. That means a city landlord cannot advertise "no Section 8" or refuse you because of your voucher. But in St. Louis County, there is no such protection. Section 8 voucher-holders in St. Louis County do not have the same protection. A few suburbs, like Clayton, have passed their own bans, and there is no statewide Missouri or federal law forcing landlords to accept vouchers. There is no federal law requiring landlords to accept vouchers, but almost a dozen states and more than 50 cities and counties have enacted similar legislation. Even in the city, enforcement has been thin. EHOC alone has identified more than 100 rental ads in the city that clearly discriminate against Section 8 recipients. The city's never fined or taken a landlord or property manager to court over source-of-income violations. Under the ordinance, the maximum penalty the city could assess per violation is $500. Document everything: save ads, texts, and emails, and report violations promptly.

Voucher use in the region is heavily concentrated. There are 13,060 housing vouchers in use in St. Louis City and County. Most cluster in North County and North City. 42% of vouchers are used in five municipalities in North Saint Louis County: Florissant, Ferguson, Spanish Lake, Jennings, and Bellefontaine Neighbors. Wealthier suburbs have almost none. The largest municipalities that do not have any households that use vouchers are Wildwood, Clayton, Town and Country, Ladue, and Brentwood. Only 9.2% of voucher holders live in census tracts considered High Opportunity Areas. If you want to move to a higher-opportunity area, there is a mobility program to help. AscendSTL is a housing counseling program, now housed at the Housing Authority of Saint Louis County, that seeks to place families with vouchers in High Opportunity Areas. For listings, County Housing points tenants to specific search tools. If you find a home on a site other than AffordableHousing.com or the MHDC Affordable Housing Locator, you should reach out to the property owner and verify that they will accept a Housing Choice Voucher.

If a landlord discriminates, harasses you, or you face eviction, get help fast. For discrimination, contact the fair housing council. If you believe you have been discriminated against in housing based on your voucher, the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Council (EHOC) can help. To reach EHOC, you can call 1-800-555-3951 or 314-534-5800, file a complaint at EHOCSTL.org. For a city discrimination complaint, the Civil Rights Enforcement Agency investigates. CREA St. Louis Civil Rights Enforcement Agency monitors and investigates fair housing, equal employment and public accommodation complaints. For legal representation, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri is the main free provider. In addition to providing legal representation, we hold workshops and presentations on tenant rights, subsidized housing, and fair housing issues. St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Jefferson County and St. Charles County. City renters facing eviction have a right to counsel. City Ordinance 71694, also known as Board Bill #59, created the Right To Counsel legislation, enacted to ensure access to legal representation for City of St. Louis tenants facing eviction. The project named Housing Eviction Law Program (HELP STL City) was started in August of 2024. The City of St. Louis has entered into a contract with Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM).