Housing Choice Voucher Program

The Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) administers the Federal Housing Choice Voucher rental subsidy program (formerly knows as the Section 8 Program) for Fairfax County, and for the City of Falls Church, the City of Fairfax, and the Town of Herndon. 



Due to the high cost of rental units, the gap between what working poor, elderly and disabled people can afford in the rental market and what rents are has grown exponentially. Participants in the Housing Choice Voucher Program receive assistance to rent privately-owned housing units that are located in apartment complexes, condominiums, townhouses, or single-family homes. Priority is given to serving households with incomes at or below 30 percent of the median income for the Washington, DC Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).



HCD screens applicants for eligibility under HUD rules and applies local preferences and ranking to determine the waiting list position. When an applicant's name comes to the top of the list, approved applicants are given a Voucher which entitles them to look for housing in the private market.



Before a unit can be leased under the Housing Choice Voucher Program, HCD checks to ensure that rents charged are reasonable for the area in which the unit is located and that the unit meets basic Housing Quality Standards. Participants must find a landlord/owner willing to rent to a household receiving Voucher assistance. The selection criteria used by private landlords vary. Each landlord uses their own criteria and is encouraged to verify income information and do a thorough check of credit, past rental references and police records. HCD currently performs national criminal record checks to determine whether applicants have a prior criminal history. HCD will provide prospective landlords with the name and address of an applicant's current and prior landlord and disclose whether any prior damage claims have been paid on behalf of the tenant. Applicants must also qualify by income, based on household size. Below are maximum income limits, however, 75 percent of new admissions must be below the very very low-income limits.