Section 8 assistance is available only to U.S. citizens, non-citizens with legal immigration status, and "mixed families" (families in which at least one, but not all members have eligible immigration status). Assistance to mixed families will be prorated. The same program rules and regulations for determining eligibility status for Section 8 rental assistance apply to everyone.
To be eligible, the household must be either a family or a single person whose income does not exceed the area limits as set by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD establishes annual income limits by family size as:
- Extremely Low Income = Income does not exceed the higher of the federal poverty level or 30% of area median income
- Very Low Income = 50% of area median income
- Low Income = 80% of area median income.
HUD's income limits for the Los Angeles area are in the table below. Only families meeting Extremely Low and Very Low-Income standards are eligible for Section 8 assistance. Low Income standards are used only when, under certain circumstances, owners convert from a project-based to a tenant-based program. Congress requires that 75% of new admissions to the tenant-based program and 40% of new admissions to the project-based programs be Extremely Low Income. The remaining new admissions may not exceed the Very Low-Income limit.
