Can You Get Section 8 With a Felony? 2026 HUD Rules

You have a felony on your record, and you need help with rent. Can you still apply for Section 8? Many websites say “maybe” and stop there. The federal rules are more specific than that — and they never use the word “felony.”

This guide explains the federal rules for 2026 that apply in every state. It also shows how two real housing agencies use those rules. Local rules vary a lot. Your own agency’s plan is what decides your case.

The Short Answer

• A felony does not automatically block Section 8. Federal rules force a denial only in a few cases (listed below).
• Everything else is up to your local housing agency. It “may” deny you for drug, violent or other dangerous criminal activity within a “reasonable time.” Each agency picks that time.
• You have the right to see and dispute the record before you are denied. The agency cannot charge you for the background check.
• The landlord screens you too. Getting a voucher is step one. Finding a landlord who accepts you is step two.

The 4 Cases Where Federal Rules Require a Denial

Section 8 vouchers are run by local public housing agencies (PHAs). The federal rule they follow is 24 CFR 982.553. It says the agency must deny admission in these cases:

Situation	How long
Anyone in the household is “subject to a lifetime registration requirement under a State sex offender registration program”	As long as the lifetime registration applies
Anyone “has ever been convicted of drug-related criminal activity for manufacture or production of methamphetamine on the premises of federally assisted housing”	Permanent
Anyone was evicted from federally assisted housing for drug-related criminal activity	3 years from the eviction date — unless the person finished an approved rehab program or “the circumstances leading to eviction no longer exist”
The agency finds someone is “currently engaging in illegal use of a drug,” or has reasonable cause to believe drug use or alcohol abuse may threaten other residents	While it is current

Public housing has the same required denials (24 CFR 960.204).

Notice what is not on this list: felony theft, burglary, assault, a drug possession conviction, or any felony “in general.” Those fall under the next section.

Everything Else: “May” Deny, Within a “Reasonable Time”

For other crimes, the federal rule uses the word “may.” The agency may deny you if anyone in the household “is currently engaged in, or has engaged in during a reasonable time before the admission”:

1. Drug-related criminal activity
2. Violent criminal activity
3. Other criminal activity that may threaten the health, safety or peaceful enjoyment of other residents or neighbors
4. Other criminal activity that may threaten the owner, property staff or agency workers

The rule then says the agency “may establish a period” — the “reasonable time.” The federal rules do not set a number of years. Each agency writes its own number into a document called the Administrative Plan.

HUD’s definitions matter here (24 CFR 5.100):

• Drug-related criminal activity means “the illegal manufacture, sale, distribution, or use of a drug, or the possession of a drug with intent to manufacture, sell, distribute or use the drug.”
• Violent criminal activity means a crime that has “the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force substantial enough to cause, or be reasonably likely to cause, serious bodily injury or property damage” as one of its elements.

Two real agencies, two different answers

Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Housing Authority’s Administrative Plan effective January 1, 2026 has a chart of offenses with look-back years. A few rows:

Offense type (Philadelphia chart)	Felony conviction	Other conviction
Assault-related offenses	10 years	3 years
Drug/narcotic-related offenses	10 years	3 years
Larceny/theft-related offenses	5 years	3 years
1st degree murder	20 years	—
Meth production in federally assisted housing; lifetime sex offender registrant	Lifetime ban	Lifetime ban

Philadelphia also adds something the federal rule does not require: it treats a homicide-related conviction within its time frames as a mandatory denial. On the other side, it says it “uses convictions, not arrest records,” and lists mitigating factors such as a reentry program, “Satisfactory completion of probation,” and work or volunteer history.

New Orleans. The Housing Authority of New Orleans says in its flyer: “An applicant with a criminal conviction is not automatically denied housing assistance unless otherwise barred by federal law.” Applicants with convictions get to speak with a review panel. “Arrests will not prevent admission to the program.” The flyer is dated July 2019, so confirm the current policy with the agency.

Same federal rule. Very different local results. That is why the most useful thing you can do is read your own agency’s plan.

How to Find Your Agency’s Rule

1. Find your housing agency. Use HUD’s list of public housing agencies or call 211.
2. Ask for the Administrative Plan for the Housing Choice Voucher program. Many agencies post it online. For public housing, the document is usually called the “ACOP” (Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy).
3. Look for the chapter on denial of assistance or criminal background screening. Find the look-back years for your type of offense.
4. Count from the right date. Check whether your agency counts from the conviction date, the release date, or the screening date. Plans differ.
5. Gather proof of change before you apply (see below). You can apply even if you think you might be denied.

For how to get on a waiting list in the first place, see our main Section 8 guide. Public housing uses the same required denials; see our public housing guide.

What Can Help Your Case

The federal rule 24 CFR 982.552 says the agency “may consider all relevant circumstances,” including:

• “the seriousness of the case”
• “the extent of participation or culpability of individual family members”
• “mitigating circumstances related to the disability of a family member”
• “the effects of denial” on family members who were not involved
• whether the person “has otherwise been rehabilitated successfully”

The word is “may,” so an agency is not forced to weigh these. But it is allowed to. Bring paper:

• Proof you finished probation or parole
• A certificate from a treatment or reentry program
• Pay stubs or a letter from an employer
• Letters from a landlord, case worker or probation officer
• School or job training certificates

The rule even names who can vouch for you. If an agency denied you before, it may reconsider if you show you have not been involved in criminal activity for a reasonable period. “Sufficient evidence” can be your own written statement plus “supporting information from such sources as a probation officer, a landlord, neighbors, social service agency workers and criminal records.”

If a family member has the record: the agency may approve the rest of the household on the condition that the person involved “will not reside in the unit.”

If you have a disability linked to the past conduct, you can ask for a reasonable accommodation. The rule says the decision “is subject to consideration of reasonable accommodation.”

Veterans: HUD-VASH vouchers work differently. The agency gives up most of its power to deny for criminal history. See our HUD-VASH guide.

Your Rights if the Agency Wants to Deny You

These rules apply in every state:

• You get a copy of the record. If the agency plans to deny you “for criminal activity as shown by a criminal record,” it “must provide the subject of the record and the applicant with a copy of the criminal record.”
• You can dispute it. You get “an opportunity to dispute the accuracy and relevance of that record.” Accuracy means: is it really you, and is it right? Relevance means: does it matter under the agency’s own rules — for example, is it older than the look-back period?
• No charge. “The PHA may not pass along to the tenant the costs of a criminal records check.”
• Written notice with reasons. Under 24 CFR 982.554, the agency must give “prompt notice” with “a brief statement of the reasons” and explain how to ask for an informal review.
• A fair reviewer. The review must be run by someone “other than a person who made or approved the decision under review or a subordinate of this person.” You can present “written or oral objections.”

Watch the deadline on your denial letter. The federal rule does not set the number of days to request a review; your agency’s plan does. Ask for the review in writing and keep a copy.

A free lawyer can make a real difference here. See our guide to free legal aid.

Step Two: The Landlord’s Own Screening

A voucher is not a lease. Under 24 CFR 982.307, “The owner is responsible for screening and selection of the family.” The owner may consider “Drug-related criminal activity or other criminal activity that is a threat to the health, safety or property of others.”

So even after the housing agency approves you, a landlord may still say no. Some states and cities limit how landlords can use criminal records. Ask a legal aid office what the rules are where you live.

Your voucher also has a time limit for finding a place. If your search is taking long, read what to do before your voucher expires.

The 2024 Proposal That Was Withdrawn

You may read online that HUD is limiting look-back periods. In April 2024, HUD proposed a rule called “Reducing Barriers to HUD-Assisted Housing.” It was withdrawn. The Federal Register notice of January 16, 2025 says the proposal “is withdrawn as of January 16, 2025” and “HUD does not intend for a final rule to be issued.” The rules in this guide are the ones in effect.

Other Places to Turn

• Dial 211 for local housing help and reentry programs. See our 211 guide.
• Families with children who have no place to stay: see Family Promise.
• Have a past eviction too? See Can you get Section 8 with an eviction?

How We Checked This

We read every source below on October 15, 2026.

• Federal rules, through the eCFR’s official versioner API (title 24, issue of September 28, 2026): 24 CFR 982.553, 982.552, 982.554, 982.555, 982.307 and 982.310; 24 CFR 960.204; 24 CFR 5.100, 5.903 and 5.905. We also searched the full text of parts 982 and 960. The version history shows 982.553 and 960.204 were last changed on December 22, 2016.
• Federal law: 42 U.S.C. 13661 and 13663 (United States Code, 2024 edition, from govinfo.gov).
• Federal Register: the April 10, 2024 proposed rule (89 FR 25332) and its January 16, 2025 withdrawal (90 FR 4686), through the Federal Register’s API.
• Local examples: the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s HCV Administrative Plan effective January 1, 2026 (Section 4.19 and Appendix D), and the Housing Authority of New Orleans flyer dated July 2019.

Where common belief and the rules do not line up:

1. “A felony disqualifies you from Section 8.” The word “felony” does not appear in the federal admission rules at all. In the whole Section 8 voucher rulebook (24 CFR part 982), it appears only once — in the clause on when a landlord can end the lease of a “Fugitive felon or parole violator” (982.310). Required denials are tied to specific conduct, not to whether a crime was a felony.
2. “There is a 7-year (or 5-year) look-back.” There is no federal number. The rule says the agency “may establish a period.” Philadelphia, for example, uses 3, 5, 10 or 20 years depending on the offense.
3. “Only federal law can make a denial mandatory.” Federal law sets the minimum list. Philadelphia’s 2026 plan adds homicide-related convictions as a mandatory denial within its time frames.
4. “HUD changed the rules in 2024.” HUD proposed changes in 2024 but withdrew the proposal in January 2025. The 2016 text is still in effect.
5. “Arrests never count.” The federal rule lets agencies act on evidence of criminal activity “regardless of whether the household member has been arrested or convicted” when ending assistance. Many agencies limit themselves to convictions, but that is a local policy.

What we did not do: we did not call any housing agency. We could not open HUD’s own website (hud.gov blocked our requests), so we did not read HUD’s guidebooks or notices on criminal records, and we linked HUD’s agency list without re-checking it today. We read only two local agencies’ documents, and the New Orleans flyer is from 2019. Philadelphia’s chart is a large table in a PDF; we read the rows quoted above through text extraction. We did not review state or city laws on landlord screening. This guide does not decide any person’s case.

If something here does not match what your housing agency tells you, follow the agency’s written plan for your own case, ask a legal aid office, and let us know so we can re-check this guide.

Last updated: October 15, 2026

This is general information, not legal or financial advice.