To move out of a Housing Pierce County owned and managed property, contact your Property Manager. You’ll need to give notice of lease termination and intent to vacate, signed by your head of household, spouse, or co-head. You must give notice at least 20 days before the end of the month to avoid being charged for your next month’s rent.
If your plans change before your move-out date, contact your Property Manager office to make an update. If you live in an HPC unit with a tenant based voucher please see the section below.
If you have a HPC rental assistance voucher:
If you have a tenant-based housing choice voucher, you may be able to take the voucher with you when you move and use it to help pay the rent on your next home or apartment. The steps you must take depend on where you want to live. A HPC Housing Choice Voucher can only be utilized within Pierce County, including within the City of Tacoma.
When looking for a new unit it is important to make sure that your unit can be covered by our Agency. If eligible, you can take the voucher out of HPC’s jurisdiction and even to another state through a process called porting.
Porting to a New Housing Authority
Portability is the process of taking your voucher to another housing authority’s jurisdiction for use in that area. This allows program participants to utilize their housing assistance anywhere in the United States. There are two housing authorities involved in the port process.
- Initial Housing Authority: The housing authority that issued your voucher for the first time. When you submit a request to port, you are asking to leave the jurisdiction of the initial housing authority.
- Receiving Housing Authority: The housing authority that administers vouchers in the jurisdiction where you are requesting to move. When you submit a request to port, you are asking to use your voucher in the jurisdiction of the receiving housing authority, and the receiving housing authority will administer your voucher assistance.
If your request to port is approved, your voucher will either be absorbed or remain in billing status. Here is what this means:
- Absorbing: The receiving housing authority accepts you into their program. Your voucher will be issued by the receiving housing authority, and they will have full control over your housing assistance.
- Billing: The receiving housing authority takes you into their program as a resident and administers your voucher, but they will bill your previous housing authority for its share of your monthly rent. In this situation, the initial housing authority retains some control over your housing assistance.
Frequently Asked Questions about Moving & Portability
While Washington State Law requires a 20-day notice if you plan to move as a voucher holder HPC recommends starting the process 30 to 45 days before you plan to move.
There are six steps if you plan to move with your voucher in Pierce County:
- Decide where you want to live. HPC’s Voucher Payment Standards define the highest amount we will pay each month to help you with rent and utilities. (maybe have a link here to our UA schedules)
- Notify both your landlord and HPC that you plan to move. The notice must be in writing, at least 20 days before the end of the month in which you intend to move. The notice must include your current address and the date you will leave the home. Both you and your landlord must sign the notice. You can use HPC’s Notice to Vacate (PDF).
- Complete the required moving forms. HPC will send you a packet of forms after receiving your notice. Return the packet along with the requested documentation.
- Sign the new voucher. After receiving all forms and verifying your eligibility, HPC will send you a new voucher, along with paperwork to give your new landlord. You must sign the voucher and return it to HPC before it can be used.
- Ask your prospective landlord to complete the Request for Tenancy Approval (RFTA) form included in your moving packet and return it to HPC. If the proposed rent is determined to be reasonable, HPC will schedule a housing inspection with the landlord. Do not move into the unit until it has passed inspection and you have received approval from HPC. Assistance payments can only begin after all program requirements have been met.
- Move out of your current home by the date indicated in the notice provided in Step 3. Return all keys to your landlord and request a receipt documenting the date the keys were returned.
HPC recommends starting this process 30 to 45 days before you plan to move. You are responsible for finishing each of the six steps on time.
You may move out of Pierce County with your voucher if you meet one of these conditions:
- You lived in a part of Pierce County served by HPC when you applied for a voucher.
- You have lived in your current home with a voucher for more than 12 months.
- You must also be in good standing with HPC’s program requirements. This means you may not be under review for termination of assistance, in violation of family obligations, owe money to HPC that is not covered by an active repayment agreement, or be delinquent on a Tenant Repayment Agreement.
If eligible, you may move anywhere in the United States where a Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program operates. Before selecting a new home, contact the housing authority in the area where you plan to move. Payment standards, voucher size determinations, and local program requirements may differ from those in Pierce County and can affect the type of housing available to you. The receiving housing authority can help you understand their requirements before you make your final housing decision.
Once you know where you want to move, fill out the Portability Release Form given to you by HPC. This allows HPC to send your files to the new housing authority.
Because Housing Authorities in different places may have different rules, wait at least 10 business days for them to receive your files, then contact them to learn about the steps you must take to move into their area.
To learn more about moving outside of Pierce County, contact your housing specialist.
Per HPC’s current Administrative Plan, a participant will have 120 days to look for a suitable dwelling unit to rent however this sis subject to change and any days past 60 is at the discretion of HPC. One 30-day extension is available under certain circumstances if required prior to the expiration of the original 120 days.
Please note you are not obligated to move and may remain in your current dwelling if the unit is acceptable under the program and your landlord will agree to participate. To be acceptable under the program, a unit must meet HUD Housing Quality Standards now referred to as NSPIRE and be available for rent within the limits of the program.
We are currently billing for incoming ports. This is subject to change at any time.
Please ask your initial housing authority to send your port packet to:
- Email (preferred): portability@pchawa.org
- Fax: 253-620-5455
- Address:
Housing Pierce County
ATTN: Portability
11515 Canyon Road
Puyallup, WA 98373
No, HPC only assists with rent at this time.
Yes, but HPC strongly advises against this in case the chosen unit doesn’t pass inspection or meet rent reasonable. If either of these things occur, HPC will not be able to pay assistance on your behalf for that unit.
Payment standards and occupancy standards vary between Housing Authorities. HPC will not be able to tell you our portion towards rent until your voucher is issued.
The Housing Choice Voucher Program is an income-based program. This means the amount of your housing assistance depends on your income.
Once your income is verified, you will receive a Subsidy Estimation, or “shopping guide,” that will assist you in selecting an affordable unit.
Our current occupancy standard is two people per bedroom, regardless of age, gender or relationship.
If you are a person with a disability who may need a special accommodation in order to fully participate in HPC’s program you may request a reasonable accommodation.
If HPC denies your request to port, you have the right to request an informal review. This means that a second person at HPC will review your request to ensure the correct decision has been made. Information on requesting an informal review can be found in your denial letter.