Does every multifamily have to have a certain portion of units set aside for Section 8?

Christian OsgoodCEO, Multifamily Strategy · CEO at Multifamily Strategy

Do Multifamily have a Set Number to Put Aside for Section 8?

19 Sept 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:04

Christian Osgood explains that multifamily owners have no legal requirement to reserve units for Section 8 voucher holders. Fair housing law only requires landlords to accept qualified applicants who use Section 8, applying the same screening standards as other tenants. Set-asides are required only for properties with certain HUD-backed loans or housing authority contracts, which is rare.

Questions this video answers

No. Fair housing rules only require that if a tenant qualifies for the lease otherwise, you must rent to them even if they use Section 8. There is no mandated percentage of units to set aside, except in very specific cases involving certain HUD loans or long‑term contracts with a housing authority.

Chapters

Does every multifamily, do they have to have a certain portion of units set aside for Section 8?
You do not have a required amount of units to set aside for Section 8. Fair housing rules simply say that if they qualify for the lease otherwise, you need to rent to Section 8. You basically can't use their income specifically to qualify them. You have to— that's the only exception you have to make. So if they have a clean criminal background, they have a great credit score, which almost a lot of Section 8 It doesn't. Uh, you can usually disqualify them if you don't want to work with them based on like the basics. But basically, if someone otherwise would qualify and they're on Section 8, you can't deny them because they're on Section 8. That's the only rule of fair housing. There's not a certain amount that needs to be, uh, unless very specifically you buy a contract, uh, property that has a long-term contract that's usually tied to their debt with the local housing authority. Certain HUD loans have restrictions and do require a certain amount to be set aside. That is a very, very, very, very specific debt product on very specific properties.