Section 8 Housing in Tampa, FL

There are four public housing authorities serving this metro, and as of mid-2026 none is taking new Section 8 (Housing Choice Voucher) applications. The Tampa Housing Authority HCV list has been closed since it last opened October 4-8, 2021, when 3,000 people were chosen by random lottery. The St. Petersburg Housing Authority HCV list last opened for four days in February 2021. The Pinellas County Housing Authority HCV list last opened for about three days in late August 2022, again filling 3,000 lottery slots. The Clearwater Housing Authority HCV list is closed, though its public housing family list is open by lottery.

These openings are short, unpredictable, and lottery-based. Winning a lottery slot does not guarantee a voucher, only a place in line. The practical move is to sign up for status alerts at every authority and apply to all of them the instant any list opens, including project-based voucher (PBV) and mainstream lists, which open more often than the main HCV list. Applying is always free. Anyone who charges you a fee to apply is running a scam.

This is the single most important thing a voucher holder here needs to understand. In 2021 Hillsborough County passed a Tenant's Bill of Rights (Ordinance 21-7) that banned landlords from refusing tenants because they pay with a Section 8 voucher, with a $500 fine per violation. That protection is gone. In 2023 the Florida Legislature passed HB 1417, which preempted local rental rules to state law and wiped the Hillsborough ordinance off the books as of July 2023.

Florida state law does not list source of income as a protected class. That means a landlord in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, or anywhere in the metro can legally say 'we don't take Section 8' and turn you away. Even while the local ban existed, enforcement was complaint-driven and weak, with only 25 reported violations in the first year and advocates calling it 'worthless.' You still have federal Fair Housing Act protection against discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, and familial status, so if a refusal is really a cover for one of those, you can file a complaint.

You generally pay about 30 percent of your adjusted monthly income toward rent (no more than 40 percent when you first lease up), and the authority pays the landlord the rest, up to a payment standard. Tampa Housing Authority sets payment standards by zip code at 90 to 110 percent of the HUD Fair Market Rent, then runs a rent-reasonableness test comparing your unit to similar unassisted ones. As a benchmark, Fair Market Rents in Pinellas County run about $1,562 for a one-bedroom, $1,851 for a two-bedroom, and $2,367 for a three-bedroom.

Eligibility is income-based. For the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater MSA the Area Median Income is $98,400, and the Very Low Income (50% AMI) limit for a family of four, the usual cutoff, is $52,150. Most vouchers go to households well below that. Before your subsidy starts, the unit must pass a HUD Housing Quality Standards inspection, which can take a couple of weeks to schedule, so build that time into your housing search.

Because landlords can legally decline vouchers here, focus your search where subsidized housing already exists and where owners are used to the program. South St. Petersburg (the Childs Park and Campbell Park areas) and East Tampa, home to Tampa Housing Authority redevelopment communities like Encore, West River, and Robles Park, have concentrations of voucher and project-based units. The Pinellas County Housing Authority also runs project-based communities such as Landings at Cross Bayou in St. Petersburg where a unit-based subsidy stays with the apartment.

Higher-rent coastal and downtown areas (the Gulf beaches, downtown St. Petersburg, South Tampa) are tough: market rents there routinely exceed voucher payment standards, and with no source-of-income law, landlords freely turn down vouchers. Use FloridaHousingSearch.org to filter by zip code and price, ask the authority for its payment-standard map, and confirm voucher acceptance in writing before you apply.

Free legal help exists across the metro. Bay Area Legal Services covers Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Manatee, and Sarasota counties and handles eviction and landlord-tenant problems; call (800) 625-2257. In Pinellas County, the Community Law Program in St. Petersburg offers free housing legal aid at (727) 582-7480 and runs a Pinellas Eviction Diversion Line at (727) 582-7475. Gulfcoast Legal Services also serves income-eligible tenants across Tampa Bay. For emergencies and referrals to rent assistance, dial 211 (211 Tampa Bay Cares).

If you think a landlord's refusal is really discrimination based on race, disability, family status, or another protected class, you can file with the Florida Commission on Human Relations within 365 days or with HUD at 1-800-669-9777. Keep records of every ad, text, email, and application, since discrimination cases often turn on written proof of inconsistent treatment.