Tenant-Based Rental Assistance: How HOME TBRA Works, Who Qualifies, and Where to Apply

What tenant-based rental assistance means

Housing aid comes in two basic forms. Project-based help is attached to a building: if you move out, the help stays with the apartment. Tenant-based help is attached to the household: if you move to another approved unit, the help can come with you, within the program's rules.

The best-known tenant-based program is the Housing Choice Voucher, often called Section 8. But Section 8 waiting lists are long, so many communities use a second tool. HUD's own program model describes HOME TBRA as a way to help individual households rather than subsidize particular rental projects. When a caseworker, shelter, or city website mentions "TBRA," this is almost always what they mean.

This page focuses on HOME TBRA. For how regular vouchers work, see our housing choice voucher program guide.

The HOME program behind local TBRA

The HOME Investment Partnerships Program sends yearly formula grants from HUD to states and to eligible cities, counties, and groups of local governments. HUD's rules call these grantees participating jurisdictions. Each one decides how to split its HOME money among building new affordable rentals, fixing up homes, helping buyers, and tenant-based rental assistance.

A jurisdiction can offer TBRA only if it says so in its consolidated plan and explains the local market conditions that make rent help a good choice. That is why TBRA exists in some places and not others, and why it can appear or disappear from one year to the next.

The jurisdiction may run the program itself or contract with a public housing agency or another organization that can run rental assistance. In practice, you may apply at a city housing office, a county human services department, a housing authority, or a nonprofit partner.

HOME TBRA and Section 8 vouchers side by side

Both programs pay a private landlord part of your rent, but the rules differ in ways that matter.

Some families receive TBRA while they wait for a voucher. Ask your local program whether it can work alongside other rent help, since many will not pay on top of another ongoing rent subsidy.

Income limits and target groups

HOME TBRA may go only to very low-income and low-income families. Under HUD's definition, low income means annual income at or below 80 percent of the median for your area, adjusted for family size. The program must check your income before help starts and again before any renewal.

There is a second, stricter rule for the program as a whole: at least 90 percent of the families a jurisdiction helps with TBRA in a year must have incomes at or below 60 percent of area median. So if your income is between 60 and 80 percent, you can qualify, but most slots go to lower-income households. You can look up your county's figures on HUD's income limits page.

Within those limits, each jurisdiction writes its own tenant selection policy based on local needs. HOME rules let programs give preference to:

• People with special needs, such as people who are homeless or elderly.
• People with disabilities, including a specific disability group if the local plan shows unmet need.
• Families living in buildings that will be repaired or bought with HOME funds.
• Tenants identified as future buyers through a lease-purchase plan.

A program may also require you to join a self-sufficiency program, such as job training or financial coaching, as a condition of selection. Dropping out cannot be the reason your help is cut during the contract, but it can affect renewal.

These targets line up with the households described in our guide to low income housing for single mothers, where short-term rent help often bridges the gap to a voucher.

How the monthly payment is set

HOME rules cap the subsidy at the difference between the program's rent standard for your unit size and 30 percent of your monthly adjusted income. The jurisdiction sets the rent standard based on local market conditions or on the area's Section 8 payment standard.

Here is a simple example with round numbers. Suppose the rent standard for a two-bedroom is $1,400 and your adjusted monthly income is $1,500. Thirty percent of $1,500 is $450. The most the program could pay is $1,400 minus $450, or $950 a month, and you would pay the rest of the rent to the landlord.

Every program must also set a minimum tenant payment, so you will always pay something toward rent. Programs may reduce or waive that minimum during a financial hardship if their written policy allows it. If your income drops, ask about this right away.

How long does TBRA last?

A HOME rental assistance contract may last no more than 24 months. Within that term, it can be amended, for example when your lease is renewed or you move to another unit in the same building with the same household size. After it expires, the program may sign a new contract with you if HOME funds are available and you are still income eligible.

There is one longer path. For a tenant in a lease-purchase plan, HOME TBRA can pay rent for up to 36 months, meaning 24 months plus a 12-month renewal. The rent help itself cannot be saved toward a down payment, but part of your own rent payment can be set aside under the lease-purchase agreement.

Renewal is never automatic. Some programs are designed as short bridges of 6 to 12 months; others renew for years. Ask at intake how long most families stay and what happens at the end.

Security and utility deposit help

Move-in costs stop many people from leasing even when they can afford the monthly rent. HOME rules allow a jurisdiction to help with security deposits, either alongside rent help or as a stand-alone benefit. The deposit help can be a grant or a loan, and it cannot be more than two months' rent for the unit. Only the tenant can apply, though the money may be paid to you or straight to the landlord.

Utility deposits are also eligible, but only when they come with rent help or security deposit help. Programs may not use surety bonds or deposit insurance in place of a real deposit for TBRA tenants.

Choosing a unit and getting it approved

With TBRA, you usually find the apartment yourself, though some programs keep lists of landlords who have worked with them before. Before payments start, the program must:

• Check that the rent is reasonable compared with similar unassisted units nearby, and turn down the lease if it is not.
• Inspect the unit to confirm it meets local property standards, and inspect it again every year.
• Approve the lease, which must follow HOME tenant protection rules, plus a TBRA addendum.
• Sign a rental assistance contract with you and the landlord, either together or separately.

The jurisdiction can limit where you use the help, often to its own city or county. Our low income apartments guide explains other kinds of affordable units you might combine this search with.

Finding a TBRA program near you

There is no national TBRA application. These are the most direct ways to find a program:

1. Call your city or county housing department. Ask whether it receives HOME funds and offers tenant-based rental assistance, and who runs it.
2. Check your state housing agency. In smaller towns and rural counties, the state is usually the HOME grantee and may fund TBRA through regional partners.
3. Read the consolidated or annual action plan. Jurisdictions post these online. Search the plan for "tenant-based rental assistance" or "TBRA" to see whether money was set aside this year and which agency runs it.
4. Dial 211. Ask for rental assistance programs, and mention TBRA by name.
5. Ask homeless and disability service providers. Many TBRA slots are filled by referral from shelters, coordinated entry, or case management agencies.
6. Contact your public housing agency. Some PHAs run TBRA for the city or county.

What the application usually asks for

Because the program must confirm your income before signing a contract, expect to show recent pay stubs or benefit letters for every adult, photo ID, and Social Security numbers or other identity papers the program requests. If a preference applies, bring proof, such as a shelter letter or disability verification. Make copies, and keep the originals with you.

Programs often fill slots quickly and close intake until funds return. If one is closed, ask to be told when it reopens.

Planning for when the help ends

Because HOME TBRA is time-limited, the best time to plan for the end is the first month. Useful steps include:

• Apply to every open Section 8 and public housing list while you have stable rent. Our guide on the fastest way to get Section 8 explains how preferences and multiple lists work.
• Use any required self-sufficiency program to raise income or reduce debt.
• Ask your caseworker, at least 90 days before the contract ends, whether renewal is likely.
• Talk with your landlord early if the full rent will be out of reach, so you can plan a move rather than face an eviction.

Getting TBRA, step by step

1. Check your income against your county's HUD limits.
2. Call your city, county, or state housing agency, or 211, and ask for tenant-based rental assistance.
3. Ask who qualifies first and whether you need a referral.
4. Gather income and ID papers for every adult in the home.
5. Find a unit with a reasonable rent and a landlord willing to sign the program's paperwork.
6. Pass the inspection and sign the lease and rental assistance contract.
7. Start your exit plan right away, including housing waitlists.

Related guides

• Charities that help with deposit for rent
• Programs to help pay rent
• Low income housing with no waiting list
• Salvation Army security deposit assistance

Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information. TBRA availability, preferences, and length are set by each local HOME program and depend on yearly funding. National Relief Program is an independent website and is not affiliated with HUD or any government agency.