Moving
After your initial lease term expires, you may be able to move to a new unit with continued assistance—that is, you may be able to take your Housing Choice Voucher with you.
If you would like to move, leave a message on Seattle Housing Authority's move request line at 206-239-1592. SHA will then check to see whether you are eligible to move, including whether you owe SHA money or are behind on your public utility bills. If you are eligible, a staff person will contact you within 10 business days to schedule a voucher issuance appointment.
You may request to move with continued assistance by submitting a move request form, available in PDF format (download Adobe Reader):
- Moving With Continued Assistance form (PDF, 76 KB)
Remember to plan ahead and give your landlord notice of your intention to move according to your lease terms. If you plan to move to another unit in Seattle, give yourself at least 30 days to go through the voucher issuance process. If you are planning to move out of Seattle, give yourself at least 60 days.
Portability
Although Seattle Housing Authority vouchers are intended for use within Seattle city limits, you may be able to utilize your voucher outside of Seattle; this is called porting out. Generally speaking, you may take your voucher to any other housing agency in the country that administers a Housing Choice Voucher program.
Similarly, if your voucher was issued by a housing authority in another city, you may be able to use the voucher in Seattle; this is called porting in.
Porting out: Using a Seattle Housing Authority voucher
outside Seattle's city limits
Although Seattle Housing vouchers are intended for use within Seattle city limits, you may be able to utilize your voucher outside of Seattle; this is called porting out. Generally speaking, you may take your voucher to any other housing agency in the country that administers a Housing Choice Voucher program.
If you are an existing Housing Choice Voucher program participant, you may begin the portability process by requesting a voucher to move as stated above ("Moving") and then requesting a Voluntary Portability form to tell Seattle Housing where you plan to move after you're issued a new voucher.
New applicants who live in Seattle at the time they apply for the program may request and complete a Voluntary Portability form telling us where you intend to move after you are issued a voucher. (See "Moving," above.)
However, If you live outside Seattle when you apply, you must lease a unit in Seattle for at least one year before you can act on your request to take your voucher and move into the jurisdiction of another housing agency.
Porting in: Using a voucher issued by
another housing agency within Seattle city limits
A family that would like to use a voucher issued by another housing agency within this housing authority's jurisdiction (Seattle city limits) should contact the Portability Certification Specialist at 206-239-1640 for information regarding the process, which is called porting in.
First, a family must contact the housing agency that issued them their voucher and tell them they would like to port their voucher to Seattle. That housing agency will forward all applicable documents to the Portability Certification Specialist here at Seattle Housing Authority. Then the family must contact the Portability Certification Specialist to schedule an issuance interview. An appointment cannot be scheduled until Seattle Housing receives certain information from the housing agency that issued the voucher. Typically the family will meet with SHA staff one or two weeks from the time we're contacted.
After all documentation is complete, including an acceptable criminal background check, and we've interviewed the porting-in family, the porting-in family will be issued a Seattle Housing Authority voucher and will be given a leasing packet. All vouchers are processed based on SHA’s eligibility criteria for income, Voucher Payment Standards, and bedroom subsidy standards.
Once the family locates a unit in Seattle, the owner must complete the leasing packet and return it to the Porchlight Building. Leasing packets can be mailed, dropped off, or faxed to 206-239-1760. Upon receipt of a complete leasing packet, SHA’s Inspection Scheduler will contact the owner to set up an inspection of the unit.