Maybe. In most cases, you will not pay more, but it depends on the type of housing. Let’s take a look:
Vouchers – Move to New Home
When the number of bedrooms on your voucher raises, your voucher amount raises. You can move to a larger apartment. The Housing Authority pays more. Your share of the rent you pay does not change.
Vouchers – Stay in Current Home
If you get approved for an extra bedroom, but you already have an extra bedroom where you are currently living, no need to move! In some cases, this extra bedroom may have been adding an extra expense onto your rent. After your accommodation is approved, this extra expense will go away. The Housing Authority pays more. Your share of the rent you pay goes down.
Subsidized Apartments – Transfer Apartments
These apartments are subsidized by HUD or USDA. In subsidized apartments, rent is not based on number of bedrooms. Rent is set at 30% of your income.
You can request a transfer to a new apartment in the same building. If your building does not have any larger apartments, you can request a transfer to a different building owned by the same agency or landlord. Your share of the rent you pay does not change.
Income Restricted Buildings – Transfer Apartments
These buildings are sometimes called “low income tax credit housing.” Rent is based on income plus number of bedrooms.
You can request a transfer to a new apartment in the same building. If your building does not have any larger apartments, you can request a transfer to a different building owned by the same agency or landlord.
If you have a voucher: Your share of the rent you pay does not change.
If you do not have a voucher: The amount of rent you pay goes up.
Learn More
🌸 This page is part of the free online guide: Epic Master List of Disability Accommodation Letters
🌸 Facebook Group: HUD and Section 8 Disabled Residents & Family Members
🌸 Art on this page by Robin Mead and Elizabeth D’Angelo.
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How to Get On 
I’m sure I’ll be approved for a 1berm. But they are hard to find in my area. Ca n I rent a 2bdrm and pay the difference?
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Your housing authority will let you pay a small amount extra, only if you have income. The amount you can pay is specific to your case so please research the rules using the links above, or speak with your housing worker. It is no problem to rent a two bedroom with a one bedroom voucher, it’s just a question of whether the rent is too high for you to be allowed to pay it.
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I got approved for a extra bedroom from section 8 and I put in a request to be transferred from my 2 bedroom to a 3 bedroom at my apartment complex. Will
I have fill out a new application and income verification if I have only been living at my apartment complex for 7 months and just got approved for the extra bedroom a couple of weeks ago? I find anything online about the process of the extra bedroom/ transfer to larger unit.
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If I move into a 3bdrm 2 bath low income approved unit and then my name gets pulled from the waiting lis and will then be put on HUD WILL I STILL QUALIFY FOR MY HUD OR WILL I HAVE TO MOVE INTO A SMALLER UNIT TO QUALIFY?
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Every program has their own rules on how many bedrooms you can get. What you move into now won’t impact the number of bedrooms you get in the future.
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