Home / Tools / Occupancy Calculator
Section 8 Occupancy Calculator
Estimate how many bedrooms your household may qualify for — your voucher's "family unit size" — based on how many people you're housing.
How Bedroom Size Is Estimated
Count Household Members
Adults and children, plus a pregnant member (counted as two) and any live-in aide.
Apply the ~2-Per-Bedroom Benchmark
Most PHAs' subsidy standards land near HUD's Housing Quality Standards space guidance of roughly two people per bedroom.
Your PHA Confirms the Real Number
Every PHA writes its own subsidy standard under 24 CFR § 982.402 and can grant discretionary exceptions — this estimate is a starting point, not your official determination.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many bedrooms does Section 8 give you based on household size?
There's no single national chart — HUD requires every PHA to write its own "subsidy standards" under 24 CFR § 982.402, as long as they avoid overcrowding and apply consistently to families of similar size and composition. That said, most PHAs default to a similar benchmark rooted in HUD's Housing Quality Standards: roughly two people per bedroom. As one real example, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) assigns 1 bedroom for 1-2 people, 2 bedrooms for 3-4, 3 bedrooms for 5-6, 4 bedrooms for 7-8, and so on. Confirm your exact PHA's subsidy standard chart directly with them, since it can differ from this example.
Does Section 8 require separate bedrooms for children of different sexes or ages?
Not at the federal level. This is a common misconception. 24 CFR § 982.402 lets a PHA grant exceptions to its standard bedroom count "justified by the age, sex, health, handicap, or relationship of family members," but that's a discretionary exception a PHA may allow, not a federal mandate requiring separation. Some PHAs explicitly state the opposite — HACLA's occupancy policy, for example, says it "does not make distinctions based on sex and age of family members, nor the relationship of persons in the family" when assigning bedroom count. Confirm with your own PHA whether its administrative plan applies any age/sex consideration, since policies do vary.
Can I get an extra bedroom for a live-in aide or a medical need?
A live-in aide (someone who lives with you specifically to provide necessary supportive services for a disabled or elderly family member) is counted when your PHA determines your family unit size. Beyond that, a PHA may grant an additional bedroom as a reasonable accommodation — for example, for disability-related overnight care or medical equipment — under 24 CFR § 982.402(b)(8). This isn't automatic: you generally need to request it from your PHA and, in most cases, provide documentation of the disability-related need.
Can I rent an apartment with fewer or more bedrooms than my voucher size?
Yes, both are allowed. You can lease a unit with fewer bedrooms than your assigned voucher size as long as it still meets HUD's Housing Quality Standards space requirements (broadly, no more than two people per bedroom/sleeping room). You can also lease a unit with more bedrooms than your voucher size, but you'll generally pay the difference — HUD's subsidy calculation uses the smaller of your voucher's bedroom size or the unit's actual bedroom size, so a bigger unit than your voucher size doesn't get you a bigger subsidy.
Does a pregnant household member or a foster child count toward my household size?
Yes to both, though the foster-care rule works specifically to your benefit: HUD counts a pregnant woman living alone as a two-person family for occupancy purposes, and if your own child is temporarily away from home because they've been placed in foster care, 24 CFR § 982.402(b)(4) says that child still counts toward your family unit size — so a temporary foster-care placement doesn't shrink the bedroom count your PHA assigns you. Both can affect the number of bedrooms your PHA assigns you.
Is my voucher's bedroom size the same thing as my payment standard dollar amount?
No — they're related but different numbers. Your family unit size (the bedroom count from this guide) determines which bedroom-size column your PHA uses when looking up your area's payment standard. The payment standard itself — the dollar amount your voucher can pay toward rent for that bedroom size in your ZIP code — is a separate figure your PHA sets, typically between 90% and 110% of HUD's published Fair Market Rent for that area. Use our payment standard lookup tool once you know your bedroom size to see an HUD-FMR-based estimate for your area, then confirm the exact figure with your PHA.
What if I think my PHA assigned me the wrong number of bedrooms?
Ask your PHA caseworker to explain, in writing, which subsidy standard provision applies to your household composition, and request a reasonable accommodation if a disability-related need justifies an additional bedroom. PHAs are required to apply their written subsidy standards uniformly to families of similar size and composition, so if you believe you were treated inconsistently with a comparable household, you can raise that directly with your PHA or, if needed, HUD's local Office of Public and Indian Housing.