If you're looking for affordable rental housing in California, you have two big federal options: a Housing Choice Voucher that you take to a private landlord, and project-based assistance that's tied to a specific building. The directory above covers the second category. Each entry comes from HUD's public Multifamily Properties (Assisted) dataset and represents a real building that accepts HUD subsidies under one or more federal programs.
To apply, you contact each property's management office directly. Most properties keep their own waiting lists separate from the housing authority's voucher waiting list — applying to a project-based building does not put you on the voucher waiting list, and vice versa. If you want every option open, apply to both.
How to use this California directory:
- Click your city to see the actual buildings, with addresses, unit counts, and the federal programs each one accepts.
- From the property page, copy the management contact's phone number and call them to ask whether their waiting list is open.
- If a building's list is closed, ask when it's expected to reopen — many post a notice 30–60 days before reopening.
- Apply to several buildings in parallel; waits commonly run 1–5 years.
Federal programs active in California
Across the 1,795 assisted properties in California, residents are housed under a mix of federal contract types. The most common in this state are:
- Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance — about 1,322 properties.
- Section 202 / 811 Supportive Housing — about 467 properties.
- PRAC (Project Rental Assistance Contract) — about 416 properties.
- Section 8 LMSA — about 379 properties.
- LMSA — about 371 properties.
- Sec 8 NC — about 317 properties.
If you're new to these acronyms, the short version: Project-Based Section 8 is the classic family/general program; Section 202 is for low-income elderly applicants 62 and older; Section 811 is for adults with disabilities; and PRAC/PAC are the rental-assistance contracts that fund newer 202 and 811 communities. Mixed-finance and RAD properties combine HUD subsidies with state housing finance or Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC).
How to apply for Section 8 in California
The California path looks the same as anywhere else in the country, just with state-specific waiting lists. Start by gathering your documents — government-issued ID, Social Security cards or numbers for everyone in the household, the last 2–3 months of pay stubs or benefit award letters (SSI, SSDI, TANF, unemployment), birth certificates for minors, and the names and addresses of every landlord you've had in the past five years.
Then split your effort between two tracks. Track A is the Housing Choice Voucher: contact the Public Housing Agency (PHA) that covers your county and ask whether the voucher waiting list is open. Most large California PHAs maintain online application portals; smaller agencies may only accept paper applications during open enrollment windows. Track B is project-based: pick the buildings on this page that fit your household and call each management office. Their lists are independent of the PHA list, so being on one does not put you on the other.
Expect waits of 12 months in smaller California markets and 2–5+ years in the largest metros. Senior-only Section 202 properties often move faster than family lists. Keep your contact information current on every list — missed mail is the most common reason applicants are dropped.
The largest concentration of HUD-assisted housing in California is in Los Angeles, but every county in the state has at least some federally subsidized stock — the directory above is the easiest way to find it.
For a deeper walkthrough, see Section 8 explained, the eligibility limits, and the application checklist. To compare with neighboring states, see Oregon, Nevada, Arizona.
Counties represented in California: Alameda, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, and 3 more.