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Tennessee Housing Choice Voucher program and public housing authorities.

Section 8 — now officially called the Housing Choice Voucher program — is the main long-term federal rental assistance program in Tennessee. If you qualify, you get a voucher that covers the difference between roughly 30% of your adjusted monthly income and the rent on a unit you find with a private landlord. Vouchers are issued by local public housing authorities (PHAs) in cities and counties that have one, and by the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) in counties that don't. This page below covers, in a straightforward way, where to apply in Tennessee and all there is to know about Section 8.

Demand exceeds support - therefore expect to wait. The largest voucher lists in the state — Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga, Murfreesboro, Clarksville — are closed most of the time and open only for brief lottery windows, sometimes for as little as a single day. Even after a PHA selects your name from its list, the wait before a voucher is actually issued commonly runs a year or more. Public housing (PHA-owned apartments with rent set at 30% of income) is a separate program with its own list, and in many Tennessee cities the public-housing list is open when the voucher list is closed. If you are struggling to pay your existing rent and need immediate help, look at the guide to rent payment assistance in Tennessee.

How the two voucher types work

Tennessee uses both types of Housing Choice Voucher and the consequences for you as a renter are different in each case.

• With a regular voucher (HUD calls this "tenant-based"), the subsidy belongs to you. When you get the voucher letter from MDHA or KCDC or whichever PHA issued it, you have a fixed window — typically 60 to 120 days — to find a landlord who will accept it, and the landlord's unit has to pass a housing quality inspection. The voucher moves with you if you move. After living in the PHA's jurisdiction for your first year, you can take the voucher to almost any other PHA in the country through a process called portability. See our guide to porting a housing voucher.

• A project-based voucher is the opposite arrangement: the subsidy belongs to the building. You apply directly to the waitlist of a specific apartment complex that has project-based vouchers attached to some or all of its units. When you move in, your rent is subsidized; when you move out, the subsidy stays behind for the next tenant. You do not have to go apartment-hunting with a voucher in hand, which is the hardest part of the tenant-based process in Tennessee given how many landlords refuse vouchers here. The trade-off is that you're committed to that specific building. After twelve months as a project-based tenant, you can request a tenant-based voucher if the PHA has one available, which gives you a path out if you want it later.

Which one you should apply for depends on your situation. If you want flexibility and have time to search, tenant-based is stronger. If you need housing soon and don't want to spend months cold-calling landlords, a project-based property with an open waitlist is often the faster route in Tennessee.

Source-of-income protection in Tennessee: read this before you apply

This is the biggest difference between applying in Tennessee and some other states. Under Tennessee state law, landlords can legally refuse to rent to you because you have a Housing Choice Voucher. You cannot file a state complaint over it, and state courts will not force a landlord to accept a voucher.

Memphis has a local ordinance that bans source-of-income discrimination, including refusals of Section 8 vouchers. In practice, enforcement is weak — testing by civil rights groups in Memphis and Shelby County has found that many landlords still refuse vouchers openly in listings, and the ordinance does not clearly give voucher holders a private right to sue. No other Tennessee city or county currently offers meaningful voucher-holder protection.

What this means for your search: budget significantly more time than a non-voucher tenant would. Ask your PHA whether it keeps a list of landlords who have accepted vouchers before — most do. Apply to multiple PHA lists in parallel if you can live in any of their jurisdictions. Do not be surprised or discouraged if the first ten landlords you call say no; that is the normal experience in Tennessee.

Statewide programs beyond local PHAs

Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA). Andrew Jackson Building, 502 Deaderick Street, Third Floor, Nashville, TN 37243. (615) 815-2200. https://thda.org/. THDA runs the Housing Choice Voucher program directly in the Tennessee counties that don't have their own local PHA — a larger role than many people realize, since much of rural Tennessee falls outside any local authority. Apply to THDA for the county you want to live in, not the county you currently live in. THDA's voucher waitlists are opened one county at a time and announced in local newspapers and on THDA's social media.

• THDA also allocates Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC / Section 42) properties across the state — those are separate income-based apartments, not vouchers, and you apply directly to each property. https://tnhousingsearch.org/ is THDA's searchable list of affordable units; the call center is 1-877-428-8844.

USDA Rural Development. In rural Tennessee communities (population generally under 20,000), USDA runs Section 515 and Section 521 rental assistance at multifamily properties. These are separate from Section 8 vouchers and you apply through the individual property. The USDA Rural Development Tennessee state office (website: https://www.rd.usda.gov/tn) can help you find participating properties.

East Tennessee Human Resource Agency (ETHRA), Southeast Tennessee Human Resource Agency, and regional HRAs. These regional nonprofits administer THDA vouchers and other rental programs across several counties each. ETHRA covers 16 counties in East Tennessee from its Knoxville office; Southeast Tennessee HRA covers the Chattanooga-area counties from Dunlap. If you live outside a city with its own PHA in East or Southeast Tennessee, start with your regional HRA.

Major PHAs in Tennessee

Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA) — Nashville / Davidson County. 701 South 6th Street, Nashville, TN 37206. Rental Assistance (Section 8) office: 302 Foster Street. Main: (615) 252-8410. Email: [email protected] and website: https://www.nashville-mdha.org/. MDHA runs the largest Section 8 voucher program in Tennessee — several thousand vouchers across Nashville-Davidson County — plus a smaller public-housing portfolio and several project-based properties (Sudekum, CWA Plaza, Cheatham Place, Cumberland View, and others)

• The tenant-based Housing Choice Voucher list has been closed for some time; MDHA announces openings through its website and social media (@NashvilleMDHA). Individual project-based property waitlists open more frequently — often for a few days at a time on a first-come, first-served basis. Local preference goes to Davidson County residents.

Memphis Housing Authority (MHA) — Memphis. 700 Adams Avenue, Memphis, TN 38105. Main: (901) 544-1100. HCV Department: (901) 544-1347. https://www.memphisha.org/. One of the two largest voucher operations in the state. MHA's Housing Choice Voucher waitlist carries thousands of applicants and is closed most of the time; when MHA reopens it, selection is by random lottery. The public-housing waitlist is administered separately (901-544-1107) and moves on its own schedule.

• Memphis is the one Tennessee jurisdiction with a local source-of-income ordinance — so if a Memphis landlord refuses your voucher, you at least have grounds to file a complaint with the city, though enforcement is limited.

Knoxville's Community Development Corporation (KCDC) — Knoxville / Knox County. Main office: 901 North Broadway, Knoxville, TN 37917, (865) 403-1100. Section 8 office: 400 Harriet Tubman Street, Knoxville, TN 37915, (865) 403-1234. https://www.kcdc.org/. KCDC is unusual in Tennessee — and in the country — for keeping its Housing Choice Voucher waitlist application window open every second Wednesday of the month from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., rather than doing rare multi-year lottery openings. Applications are processed by date and time received. KCDC also runs a large public-housing portfolio and dozens of project-based properties with their own waitlists, plus a Section 8 Homeownership program for current voucher holders.

Chattanooga Housing Authority (CHA) — Chattanooga / Hamilton County. 801 North Holtzclaw Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37404. Main: (423) 752-4866. Email: [email protected]. Website: https://www.chahousing.org/. CHA runs several thousand vouchers plus a substantial public-housing portfolio across Hamilton County. The Housing Choice Voucher waitlist is closed most of the time and reopens periodically through short online-only lottery windows — the most recent opening was a single day. Project-based waitlists at specific properties (Emerald Villages, Fairmount, Dogwood, Cromwell Hills) open separately.

Clarksville Housing Authority — Clarksville / Montgomery County. 721 Richardson Street, Clarksville, TN 37040. (931) 647-2303. cha-tn.org. Important distinction: Clarksville Housing Authority does not administer Housing Choice Vouchers. It runs public housing and project-based properties only. For a Section 8 voucher in Clarksville or anywhere in Montgomery County, you apply through THDA when that county's waitlist opens.

Murfreesboro Housing Authority (MHA) — Murfreesboro / Rutherford County. 415 North Maple Street, Murfreesboro, TN 37130. (615) 893-9414. https://mha-tn.org/. Runs about a thousand vouchers and a public-housing portfolio across Rutherford County. The Housing Choice Voucher list opens rarely and typically for only a few days at a time. Local preference goes to Rutherford County residents employed in the area.

Johnson City Housing Authority (JCHA) — Johnson City / Washington County. 901 Pardee Street, Johnson City, TN 37601. (423) 232-4784. https://www.jchousing.org/. JCHA administers vouchers for Johnson City and operates eight public-housing neighborhoods. It also manages several project-based properties including Pinecrest Apartments and Dunbar Apartments, plus Myrtle Court for residents in recovery from opioid addiction (referral required). Project-based waitlists at specific buildings sometimes open when the main voucher list is closed — worth checking.

Kingsport Housing and Redevelopment Authority — Kingsport. 906 East Sevier Avenue, Kingsport, TN 37660. (423) 245-0135. Covers Kingsport in the Tri-Cities area. Administers vouchers and public housing.

Franklin Housing Authority — Franklin / Williamson County. 200 Spring Street, Franklin, TN 37064. (615) 794-1247. Administers vouchers and low-income housing for Franklin and parts of Williamson County. Williamson County is one of the highest-cost rental markets in the state, which makes voucher use particularly competitive here.

Jackson Housing Authority — Jackson / Madison County. 125 Preston Street, Jackson, TN 38301. (731) 422-1671. Covers Jackson and surrounding West Tennessee. Both voucher and public-housing programs.

Oak Ridge Housing Authority — Oak Ridge. 10 Van Hicks Lane, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. (865) 482-1006. Administers vouchers and public housing for Oak Ridge, in Anderson County.

Bristol Housing — Bristol. 204 Bluff City Highway, Bristol, TN 37620. (423) 274-8150. Covers Bristol and Sullivan County. Both vouchers and public housing.

Smaller, local housing authorities: full Tennessee directory

The full list of Tennessee housing authorities — including every small-town and county PHA across the state — is noted below, which is also available as a downloadable Excel file alongside this page. It includes each authority's current name, address, phone, and type (whether it issues vouchers, rents its own apartments, or does both). Contact information for smaller PHAs changes periodically, so call before visiting any office in person.

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