A hospital, rehab or nursing home stay starts an absence clock on a parent's Section 8 voucher or HUD senior apartment, and who sets that clock depends on the housing program. If Mom is asking, "Will I lose my Section 8 if I go to a nursing home?", the answer is not right away, but you have work to do this week. With a Housing Choice Voucher, the housing agency's plan sets the limit, and federal rules cap it at 180 consecutive days. In a Section 202 or other HUD-assisted building, the owner's house rules and state and local law decide, and HUD's 60- and 180-day figures are only a guideline an owner may adopt.

In This Guide

Which Kind of Subsidized Housing Does Mom Have?

When a parent lands in the hospital, the apartment can feel like the one thing that's still steady. It may have taken years on a waiting list to get. So it's worth ten minutes to pin down exactly which program pays her rent, because the absence rules are different for each one, and "Section 8" on a letter doesn't always mean the same thing.

  • A Housing Choice Voucher (often called Section 8). Her rent help runs through a housing assistance payments (HAP) contract and an assisted lease, and the voucher rules call her apartment her assisted unit. Her voucher paperwork comes from the housing agency.
  • A Section 202 or other HUD-subsidized building. For a HUD-subsidized building like Section 202 housing for the elderly, the owner takes applications, picks tenants and keeps the waiting list, not HUD. Her lease and house rules come from the building's management.
  • Public housing. HUD's public housing program is run by local housing agencies with federal aid from HUD, so the housing agency is her landlord.

One more wrinkle: "Section 202" covers several funding types. HUD's occupancy handbook lists Section 202/8 (Section 202 projects with Section 8 assistance), Section 202 PAC, Section 202 PRAC and Section 202 without assistance as separate program types with different income limits. That's why a building that says "Section 8" may not involve a voucher at all. If you can't tell from her lease, ask the building manager which HUD program the property runs under. If you don't know which housing agency serves her area, HUD's help line for finding a local public housing authority is (800) 955-2232.

Will She Lose Her Section 8 or Senior Apartment in a Nursing Home? The Rules by Program

Here's who decides how long a parent can be away in each program, and where the actual rule is written down.

Program Who sets the absence limit Federal limit or HUD guideline What to read
Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) The housing agency, in its administrative plan Never more than 180 consecutive calendar days, for any reason; the agency may set less The agency's administrative plan
Section 202 and other HUD-assisted multifamily buildings The owner, if it chooses to adopt a house rule, consistent with state and local law HUD's guideline: an owner may define extended absence as over 60 continuous days, or over 180 continuous days for medical reasons, and may allow exceptions The house rules attached to her lease
Public housing Ask the local housing agency Ask the local housing agency The agency's written policy and her lease

The voucher row comes from 24 CFR 982.312. The building row comes from HUD's Multifamily Occupancy Handbook 4350.3, which also notes that not all of its requirements apply to all properties or tenants. The public housing row is blank on purpose: the sources behind this guide don't give a public housing absence rule, so the agency's own policy is the place to look.

If She Has a Section 8 Voucher and Goes to a Nursing Home

If Mom has a Housing Choice Voucher, her clock is set by the housing agency, not her landlord. Under 24 CFR 982.312, the agency's administrative plan says how long a family may be away from its assisted unit, but the family may not be away for more than 180 consecutive calendar days in any circumstance or for any reason. The agency may allow less.

So 180 days is the outer edge, not a promise. Her agency's limit could be shorter, and the only way to know is to read its plan. The plan must spell out the agency's absence policy, for example for hospitalization, and any provision for resuming assistance after an absence. Ask for the section on absences by name.

Here's what's at stake: if a Housing Choice Voucher family is away longer than the housing agency's limit, housing assistance payments stop and the HAP contract and assisted lease end. That's the outcome you're working to prevent, or at least to see coming.

Two details matter for a family in the middle of this:

  • "Absence" has a specific meaning. Under the voucher rule, absence means no member of the family is living in the unit.
  • Reporting is her job. The family must promptly notify the housing agency of an absence, including any information the agency asks for about it. If Mom can't do it herself, help her do it.

You may have heard that agencies could keep paying past 180 days during the pandemic. That's over. A COVID-19 waiver that let agencies keep paying beyond 180 days for extenuating circumstances such as hospitalization or extended nursing home stays ended on June 30, 2021.

If Mom's apartment is in a tax credit building and she pays it with a voucher, the voucher's absence limit still governs her voucher. Our guide to tax credit (LIHTC) senior apartments explains how those buildings work.

If She Lives in a Section 202 or Other HUD-Assisted Building

For a Section 202 building or another HUD-assisted building, the rules sit with the owner, and that can feel less certain. It also means there's room to talk. Under HUD's occupancy handbook, an owner may, as part of the property's house rules, set rules for when tenants give up their right to occupancy because of extended absence or abandonment, and the decision to have such rules rests solely with the owner.

If a HUD-assisted building's owner adopts extended-absence house rules, those rules must be consistent with state and local law. HUD's guideline is that an owner may define extended absence as being away longer than 60 continuous days, or longer than 180 continuous days for medical reasons, and may allow exceptions for extenuating circumstances.

Every word in that guideline is a "may." HUD's handbook doesn't hand Section 202 tenants a fixed number of days; the building's own house rules and your state's law decide. Under HUD's occupancy handbook, owners of HUD-assisted multifamily buildings such as Section 202 must attach house rules to the lease and give tenants 30 days' written notice before new house rules take effect. So the first thing to find is that attachment to Mom's lease.

Abandonment is different from absence, and the difference is in your hands. HUD's handbook says abandonment is distinguished from an absence by the tenant's failure to pay the rent due and failure to respond to the owner's notices about the overdue rent. Keeping her rent current and answering the owner's mail keeps a hospital stay from looking like an abandoned apartment.

If the absence runs past what the house rules allow, the owner can act. An owner may terminate tenancy for material noncompliance with the lease, which includes extended absence or abandonment as defined in the property's house rules or in state or local law. That's why asking early about an exception for a medical stay matters so much.

Section 202 properties usually include a service coordinator, a person who links residents to supportive services in the community. HUD's handbook describes the coordinator as linking tenants to supportive or medical services from public agencies or private practitioners. If Mom's building has one, that's a good person to call while you sort out her stay and her return.

If She Lives in Public Housing

If Mom lives in public housing, her building is run by the local housing agency, with federal aid from HUD. Call the agency, tell them she's in the hospital or a nursing home, and ask what its policy says about a hospital or nursing home stay. Ask for that answer in writing, and put your report of her absence in writing too.

Is It Rehab or a Long Nursing Home Stay?

Whether Mom is in a nursing home for a few weeks of rehab or for the long haul changes how worried you need to be about the clock. Medicare's coverage gives you a clue. Medicare Part A covers skilled nursing facility care only on a short-term, post-acute basis, up to 100 days per benefit period, and it doesn't pay for long-term custodial care.

So if the plan is skilled rehab after a hospital stay, ask the nursing home's social worker or discharge planner what the goal is and when they expect her to go home. If the talk turns to ongoing help with everyday tasks like bathing and dressing, that's long-term custodial care, which Medicare doesn't pay for, and the housing question becomes more urgent. Either way, bring the date you expect her home to the housing agency or building manager when you report the absence.

What to Do in the First Week

You don't have to solve everything at once. These steps protect her home while you figure out the rest.

1
Step 1

Report the absence in writing

A voucher family must promptly tell the housing agency about an absence. For a Section 202 or public housing apartment, write to the building manager or the agency too. Keep a copy and note the date.

2
Step 2

Get the rule that applies to her

For a voucher, ask the agency for the absence section of its administrative plan. For a HUD-assisted building, get the house rules attached to her lease.

3
Step 3

Ask about exceptions for a medical stay

HUD's guideline lets an owner allow exceptions for extenuating circumstances, and a voucher agency's plan must state any provision for resuming assistance after an absence.,

4
Step 4

Keep the rent paid and open her mail

Unpaid rent plus unanswered notices is how HUD's handbook describes abandonment. Have someone check her mailbox every few days.

5
Step 5

Write down her limit and count the days

Put the date she left and her program's limit on a calendar, and check in with the agency or owner well before it arrives.

6
Step 6

Talk to the service coordinator, if her building has one

The coordinator links tenants to services in the community.

If a Live-In Aide or Family Member Lives With Her

If someone lives with Mom, the answer depends on who they are on her lease, and this is where families most often need to ask rather than assume.

A live-in aide is someone who lives in the unit only to provide the supportive services she needs. In HUD-assisted multifamily housing such as Section 202 buildings, an aide qualifies for occupancy only as long as the person needing services requires them and remains a tenant, and an aide may not qualify for continued occupancy as a remaining family member. If Mom moves out for good, her aide can't count on staying.

For a spouse, an adult child or another relative on her lease or voucher, the rules depend on the program and on the agency's or owner's policies. Ask the housing agency or the building owner directly, in writing, what happens to that person's housing if Mom doesn't come back. If Mom dies, see whether family can stay in a parent's subsidized apartment after they die. Our affordable senior housing guide explains how each program works.

If She Isn't Coming Home

Sometimes the hospital stay becomes a permanent move. That's a hard thing to face, and it's okay to take a breath before you deal with the housing side.

The voucher regulation bars tenant-based assistance in nursing homes, board and care homes, and facilities providing continual psychiatric, medical or nursing services, so the voucher can't pay for a nursing home. If assisted living could work for her instead, a housing agency may let a voucher pay the rent portion of an assisted living unit, though not the care. Our guide to using a Section 8 voucher in assisted living walks through how that works.

And "not coming home" isn't always final. A state's Money Follows the Person (MFP) demonstration has its own entry rule: to be eligible, a person must have lived in an inpatient facility such as a hospital or nursing facility for at least 60 consecutive days, with Medicaid paying for that care. That stay is one requirement among several. If Mom might use MFP to move back to the community, raise it with her housing agency or building owner early, since her stay could run up against the absence limit. Our guide on how to get a parent out of a nursing home covers the next steps.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a landlord evict a senior who is in a nursing home?

In a HUD-assisted building, an owner may terminate tenancy for extended absence or abandonment as defined in the property's house rules or in state or local law, so the answer depends on those rules. For a voucher, the HAP contract and the assisted lease end if the family is away longer than the agency's limit. Reporting the absence, keeping the rent paid and asking about exceptions early are your best protections.

How long can you be away from Section 8 housing in the hospital?

It depends on her housing agency's administrative plan, which must spell out the agency's absence policy, for example for hospitalization, within the voucher rule's federal ceiling of 180 consecutive calendar days. When you call, ask three things: what the plan says about a hospital or nursing home stay, how many days that leaves her, and what written report the agency wants from you.

Does the 180-day rule apply to a Section 202 apartment?

Only if her building's owner has adopted it. In a Section 202 or other HUD-assisted building, the 180-day medical figure is part of a HUD guideline an owner may use in its house rules. If the owner wants to add or change a house rule while Mom is away, HUD's occupancy handbook requires 30 days' written notice to tenants before the new rule takes effect, so keep watching her mail.

Can my mom get her voucher back after a long nursing home stay?

The agency's administrative plan must state any provision for resuming assistance after an absence. Ask the housing agency what its plan says before the limit runs out, not after.

Learn More

Care TypesAffordable Senior Housing: HUD Section 202, Public Housing and Rental Help for Older AdultsSection 202, public housing and Section 8 vouchers cut rent for low-income older adults. See who qualifies, what rent costs and how to get on a waiting list. Care TypesCan You Use a Section 8 Voucher in Assisted Living?Yes, if your housing agency allows it, but a Section 8 voucher pays only the rent, never the care. What Medicaid covers, what you'll owe and the steps. Care TypesHow to Get a Parent Out of a Nursing Home: Start With a Section Q ReferralHow to get a parent out of a nursing home: ask staff for a Section Q referral to the local contact agency. What happens next, who decides, and how to pay. Care TypesCan a Nursing Home Kick Out a Resident? Discharge Rights and AppealsCan a nursing home kick you out? Only for one of six federal reasons, with written notice, and an appeal usually stops the move. Here is what to do this week. Care TypesTax Credit (LIHTC) Senior Apartments: Income Limits, Rent and VouchersRent in tax credit apartments for seniors is capped by the unit's income limit, not your income, so it can top 30%. How it's set and how a voucher helps.

Find personalized help keeping your parent's subsidized apartment through a hospital or nursing home stay at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.

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