Do unemployment benefits affect Section 8 and Public Housing income requirements during coronavirus?

Answer

No, the temporary federal enhancement to unemployment ($600 weekly) provided by the CARES Act is not included as annual income for Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher and Public Housing tenants. However, regular unemployment payments issued by the state that are not part of the CARES Act stimulus package are counted as income and should be reported to the housing authority.

State paid unemployment benefits have always been considered as annual income for the Housing Choice Voucher and Public Housing Programs. Temporary, non-recurring payments are not counted as annual income for those housing programs.

The Housing Choice Voucher and Public Housing federal regulation addressing excluded income can be found here. Also see page 10, Question 5 in HUD’s Questions and Answers for Multi-Family Housing Stakeholders, found here.

For information on similar questions, read: Are Section 8 tenants required to report their income from the government stimulus check?

More Coronavirus FAQs from Low Income Households

  • Do I have to do anything if I’m on a rental subsidy program and become unemployed or lose hours from coronavirus?
  • Are housing authorities still open during the coronavirus outbreak?
  • Can I be evicted if I can't pay rent because of coronavirus?
  • Are there coronavirus assistance programs for landlords?
  • Do I have to pay all of my back rent when the CDC moratorium ends?