Section 8 Housing in Virginia
43,129 active Housing Choice Vouchers across 7 markets. Rent limits, housing authorities, waitlist status, and voucher rights for every metro in Virginia.
Voucher-friendly listings in Virginia
2 listings
Can a landlord refuse Section 8 in Virginia?
No. Virginia law prohibits landlords from refusing a renter because they pay with a Section 8 voucher. That protection applies in Virginia. If you were turned away for having a voucher, that refusal may be illegal.
Virginia Fair Housing Law (HB 6, 2020)
Virginia's HB 6 (2020) added source of income to the list of protected classes under the Virginia Fair Housing Law. Applies statewide to all landlords regardless of unit count. Enforcement via Virginia DPOR / Virginia Fair Housing Office.
View statute →Informational only, not legal advice. Laws change, so verify current status before acting on a rejection or making a leasing decision.
Local voucher discrimination laws in Virginia
Virginia protects voucher holders statewide. These cities and counties also have their own ordinance, which can add a local agency to complain to.
- AlexandriaAlexandria Human Rights Ordinance
- Arlington CountyArlington County Human Rights Ordinance
Source: PRRAC, Appendix B: State, Local, and Federal Laws Barring Source of Income Discrimination (updated March 2026), plus the ordinances linked above. Informational only, not legal advice.
Landlord and investor tools for Virginia
RentalCalcsFree calculators and guides from RentalCalcs, built by the VoucherMatch team, for landlords deciding whether to accept vouchers.
- Section 8 rent analyzerHUD rent benchmarks and modeled comparisons for Virginia ZIP codes. Confirm adopted amounts with the agency.
- Compare HUD benchmarks with market rent in VirginiaExplore modeled ZIP comparisons; these do not establish an approved rent or agency payment.
- Average rent in VirginiaMarket rent versus HUD fair market rent by city and bedroom count.
- How Section 8 rent is calculatedFair market rent, payment standards and rent reasonableness, step by step.
- Section 8 landlord math for 2026What the payment standard changes mean for cash flow this year.
All Section 8 markets in Virginia
Sorted by active voucher count. Each metro page has HUD Fair Market Rent by bedroom, the housing authorities that administer vouchers there, and waitlist status.
Virginia Beach, VA
Metropolitan Statistical Area · CBSA 47260
20,222 vouchersRichmond, VA
Metropolitan Statistical Area · CBSA 40060
16,169 vouchersRoanoke, VA
Metropolitan Statistical Area · CBSA 40220
2,579 vouchersLynchburg, VA
Metropolitan Statistical Area · CBSA 31340
1,224 vouchersCharlottesville, VA
Metropolitan Statistical Area · CBSA 16820
1,217 vouchersHarrisonburg, VA
Metropolitan Statistical Area · CBSA 25500
979 vouchersStaunton, VA
Metropolitan Statistical Area · CBSA 44420
739 vouchers
Section 8 by county in Virginia
County pages show the local voucher count, housing authorities, and metro rollup. Useful when you are looking at a specific address.
- Richmond City14,504 vouchers
- Norfolk City5,464 vouchers
- Fairfax County5,329 vouchers
- Hampton City3,259 vouchers
- Newport News City3,125 vouchers
- Portsmouth City2,719 vouchers
- Roanoke City2,579 vouchers
- Alexandria City2,482 vouchers
- Prince William County2,223 vouchers
- Virginia Beach City2,204 vouchers
- Chesapeake City2,011 vouchers
- Arlington County1,827 vouchers
- Pittsylvania County1,772 vouchers
- Suffolk City1,245 vouchers
- Campbell County1,224 vouchers
- Albemarle County1,217 vouchers
- Dinwiddie County1,054 vouchers
- Wise County1,030 vouchers
- Rockingham County979 vouchers
- Loudoun County817 vouchers
- Augusta County739 vouchers
- Prince George County611 vouchers
- Accomack County570 vouchers
- Lee County532 vouchers
- Southampton County366 vouchers
- Bristol City346 vouchers
- Washington County289 vouchers
- Smyth County250 vouchers
- Scott County201 vouchers
- James City County195 vouchers
- Wythe County160 vouchers
- Buckingham County137 vouchers
- Alleghany County62 vouchers
- Amelia County
- Amherst County
- Appomattox County
- Bath County
- Bedford County
- Bland County
- Botetourt County
- Brunswick County
- Buchanan County
- Buena Vista City
- Caroline County
- Carroll County
- Charles City County
- Charlotte County
- Charlottesville City
- Chesterfield County
- Clarke County
- Colonial Heights City
- Covington City
- Craig County
- Culpeper County
- Cumberland County
- Danville City
- Dickenson County
- Emporia City
- Essex County
- Fairfax City
- Falls Church City
- Fauquier County
- Floyd County
- Fluvanna County
- Franklin City
- Franklin County
- Frederick County
- Fredericksburg City
- Galax City
- Giles County
- Gloucester County
- Goochland County
- Grayson County
- Greene County
- Greensville County
- Halifax County
- Hanover County
- Harrisonburg City
- Henrico County
- Henry County
- Highland County
- Hopewell City
- Isle of Wight County
- King and Queen County
- King George County
- King William County
- Lancaster County
- Lexington City
- Louisa County
- Lunenburg County
- Lynchburg City
- Madison County
- Manassas City
- Manassas Park City
- Martinsville City
- Mathews County
- Mecklenburg County
- Middlesex County
- Montgomery County
- Nelson County
- New Kent County
- Northampton County
- Northumberland County
- Norton City
- Nottoway County
- Orange County
- Page County
- Patrick County
- Petersburg City
- Poquoson City
- Powhatan County
- Prince Edward County
- Pulaski County
- Radford City
- Rappahannock County
- Richmond County
- Roanoke County
- Rockbridge County
- Russell County
- Salem City
- Shenandoah County
- Spotsylvania County
- Stafford County
- Staunton City
- Surry County
- Sussex County
- Tazewell County
- Warren County
- Waynesboro City
- Westmoreland County
- Williamsburg City
- Winchester City
- York County
Section 8 in Virginia: common questions
- Can a landlord refuse Section 8 in Virginia?
- No. Virginia law prohibits landlords from refusing a renter because they pay with a Section 8 voucher. That protection applies in Virginia. If you were turned away for having a voucher, that refusal may be illegal.
- Which Virginia cities and counties have their own voucher discrimination law?
- Alexandria and Arlington County have a local source-of-income ordinance on file. The ordinance and its citation are listed on this page.
- How many Section 8 vouchers are there in Virginia?
- HUD data shows about 43,129 Housing Choice Vouchers across the 7 Virginia markets we track, administered by 41 housing authorities statewide.
- How do I apply for Section 8 in Virginia?
- You apply to a local housing authority, not to the state or to HUD. Each of Virginia's housing authorities runs its own waitlist and opens it on its own schedule, and applying is always free. Pick your metro or county on this page to see the housing authorities that serve it and their current waitlist status.
Find Section 8 apartments in Virginia
VoucherMatch connects voucher holders with landlords who accept Section 8, and it is free for renters. The administering housing authority must approve the actual unit, rent and household assistance calculation.