The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program is a federal government program that assists very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market. The program provides rental and homeownership assistance to eligible households that remains with the household as long as it remains eligible, even if the voucher holder changes residence.

Here are some key points about the Section 8 voucher program:

• Participants are able to find their own housing, including single-family homes, townhouses, and apartments.
• A family that is issued a housing voucher is responsible for finding a suitable housing unit of the familys choice where the owner agrees to rent under the program.
• Rental units must meet minimum standards of health and safety, as determined by the Public Housing Authority (PHA) .
• The housing voucher family must pay 30% of its monthly adjusted gross income for rent and utilities, and if the unit rent is greater than the payment standard, the family is required to pay the additional amount.
• By law, whenever a family moves to a new unit where the rent exceeds the payment standard, the family may not pay more than 40 percent of its adjusted monthly income for rent.
• The role of the landlord in the voucher program is to provide decent, safe, and sanitary housing to a tenant at a reasonable rent. The dwelling unit must pass the programs housing quality standards and be maintained up to those standards as long as the owner receives housing assistance payments.
• Eligibility for a housing choice voucher is based on total annual gross income and family size. Housing choice vouchers are limited to U.S. citizens and non-citizens who have eligible immigration status.
• Wait lists and long waiting periods for vouchers are common since HUD and the local housing agencies have limited resources. A public housing agency may temporarily close its waiting list when it has more families on the list than it can help.

Overall, the Section 8 voucher program is designed to help low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market.