Households that receive help with their rent through the federal Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance program can move with their rental assistance to any rental unit anywhere in the United States.
The process of moving into the San Diego Housing Commission’s (SDHC) jurisdiction, which is the City of San Diego (City), is known as “porting in.”
Moving from the City to a location outside of the City is known as “porting out.”
Rental assistance recipients who are thinking about moving should consider:
- If a participant is in the first year of his or her lease, the move may not be approved.
- A new landlord can ask for up to two months’ rent for a security deposit.
- A new landlord can ask for the full rent for the first month at move-in.
- A participant may need to pay to hook up utilities like water and electricity.
If a rental assistance recipient would like to move from their current unit, the first step is to submit to his or her assigned Housing Assistant a request to move. He or she also must submit a notice to move to the landlord, as well as provide a copy to SDHC.
The Housing Assistant will review whether or not the participant is eligible to move according to SDHC’s policies. If necessary, the Housing Assistant also will request additional information to begin the move process. The rental assistance recipient will be required to submit any pending verification, including a copy of the notice to vacate that was submitted to the landlord to provide appropriate notice of the intent to move.
To qualify to move with their rental assistance either within the City or outside of the City, the rental assistance recipient:
- Must have been a rental assistance participant for at least 12 months
- Cannot have moved within that 12-month period
- Must not be in violation of any program rules
- Must not have any outstanding payments owed to SDHC
Path to Success Initiative
SDHC’s Path to Success initiative modified the method SDHC uses to determine how much a household pays toward rent.
Under Path to Success, SDHC identifies families as able to work (Work-Able) or Elderly/Disabled.
Work-Able families are households with at least one adult who is under 55, not disabled, and not a full-time student ages 18-23.
Work-Able families may only move to another jurisdiction with their rental assistance if they request and receive an exception.
Exceptions include:
- Employment opportunities;
- Post-secondary education;
- Safety reasons;
- A medical/disability need; or
- Other exceptions determined on a case-by-case basis.
This policy does not affect Elderly/Disabled households, in which all adults are disabled, 55 years or older, and/or a full-time student ages 18 to 23.
For a printable version the step-by-step guide to moving with your voucher that is described below, CLICK HERE.
