Can you screen a Section 8 applicant? What the regulation says the owner decides
Yes. Under 24 CFR 982.307, the owner is responsible for screening and selecting the family, and the housing authority has no liability for the family's behavior or suitability. You may consider rent and utility payment history, care of a unit, respect for neighbors, drug-related or other criminal activity that threatens others, and compliance with essential lease conditions. A voucher is a source of income, so many states and cities also bar refusing it.
Who does the screening, you or the housing authority?
You do. Section 982.307(a)(2) says the owner is responsible for screening and selection of the family to occupy the unit, and that at or before approving the tenancy the PHA must inform the owner of this. The PHA may screen applicants for family behavior or suitability under its own administrative plan, but 982.307(a)(1) says it has no liability or responsibility to the owner or anyone else for the family's behavior or suitability for tenancy. A voucher means the family qualified for the subsidy. It does not mean the family qualifies for your unit.
What may you look at?
Section 982.307(a)(3) says the owner may consider a family's background with respect to:
- payment of rent and utility bills
- caring for a unit and premises
- respecting the rights of other residents to the peaceful enjoyment of their housing
- drug-related criminal activity or other criminal activity that is a threat to the health, safety or property of others
- compliance with other essential conditions of tenancy
Notice what is not on the list: the type of income. For a voucher family, the housing authority pays its share, so the useful question is whether the family has paid its own share and utilities on time before. Many owners ask previous landlords. The PHA must give you the family's current and prior address and the name and address of the landlords at those addresses, if known (982.307(b)(1)), and may offer more, such as tenancy history information, under a policy it applies the same way to all owners.
How do income requirements work with a voucher?
Rules differ by state. Washington, for example, requires a landlord with an income threshold to subtract the voucher from the rent before applying it (RCW 59.18.255). In other places an income multiple on the full rent may still be allowed, or may be treated as discrimination. Before you apply a multiple to a voucher holder, check the state and city list in source of income laws and housing vouchers.
Example a made-up screening rule asks for income of three times the tenant's own share of rent. The tenant's share is $420 a month, so the rule asks for $1,260 in monthly income, the same test an unassisted applicant with a $420 rent would face. Whether your state allows that approach or requires a different one is a question for your state's statute.
What guardrails apply?
- Write your criteria down before you take applications and apply them to everyone in the same order. See written tenant screening criteria.
- Do not use the voucher as a reason to refuse where your state or city bans it. If you are not sure, assume it is covered and look up the statute.
- Treat criminal history as the regulation does: activity that threatens the health, safety or property of others, not any record at all. See criminal background checks and fair housing.
- For an applicant who is a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking, 24 CFR 982.307(b)(4) says the protections in 24 CFR part 5, subpart L apply. Ask your housing authority how they affect what you may consider.
- Keep the application, your decision date and the written reason.
What happens after you choose a family?
The family submits a request for tenancy approval, the unit is inspected, the authority decides whether the rent is reasonable, and the lease must include the tenancy addendum (24 CFR 982.305). You cannot require the tenant to pay more than their share, so build that into the lease. The steps are in renting to housing choice voucher tenants.
How DoorKeeping handles it
DoorKeeping keeps your written screening rule, each application and the dates and reasons for your decisions in one place, so every applicant faces the same checklist. You decide; DoorKeeping never recommends approving or denying an applicant. It does not evaluate vouchers or contact housing authorities. Applicants pay screening at cost where state law allows.
This is general information, not legal advice. Housing authorities (PHAs) set many details in their own administrative plans, so ask yours before you rely on a number or a deadline.
Sources
- 24 CFR 982.307, Housing Choice Voucher Program (eCFR), read Oct 31, 2026
- 24 CFR 982.305, Housing Choice Voucher Program (eCFR), read Oct 31, 2026
- RCW 59.18.255, Source of income (Washington State Legislature), read Oct 31, 2026
Questions
- Can I run a credit check on a Section 8 applicant?
- The regulation lets owners consider rent and utility payment history, among other tenancy factors (24 CFR 982.307). Apply the same written criteria to everyone and check your state's source-of-income law.
- Does the housing authority screen tenants for me?
- It may screen for its own purposes, but it has no liability for the family's suitability, and screening for your unit is the owner's responsibility.
- What information does the housing authority give me?
- At least the family's current and prior addresses and the names and addresses of those landlords, if known. It may offer more under a policy it applies to all owners.