Last updated 2026-07-09
TL;DR
The Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority (SNRHA) runs the Housing Choice Voucher program for Boulder City, Henderson, Mesquite, North Las Vegas, and unincorporated Clark County. The waitlist opens rarely and can stay shut for years. FY2025 Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in the metro was $1,632. Tenants and landlords both deal with SNRHA's Las Vegas office.
What is the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority?
SNRHA is a regional public housing authority created under Nevada law to pool housing money across Clark County's smaller jurisdictions. It serves Boulder City, Henderson, Mesquite, North Las Vegas, and the unincorporated parts of Clark County. The City of Las Vegas runs its own separate agency, the Las Vegas Housing Authority, so if your address sits inside Las Vegas city limits you deal with a different office entirely.
SNRHA's main program is the Housing Choice Voucher program, which HUD funds under 42 U.S.C. § 1437f and regulates through 24 CFR Part 982. Here's the plain version. HUD sends money to SNRHA. SNRHA issues vouchers to eligible low-income families. Those families rent privately owned apartments and houses, and the landlord gets paid directly by SNRHA each month, minus the tenant's share. [1]
SNRHA also runs a small stock of public housing units and administers other HUD programs, including the Emergency Housing Voucher allocation Clark County received after the American Rescue Plan. But the Section 8 voucher program is what most people calling SNRHA want to ask about.
Is the SNRHA Section 8 waitlist open right now?
Probably not. SNRHA's voucher waitlist has been closed more often than open in recent years, and it usually opens for short windows, sometimes just a few days, before shutting again. No law forces a housing authority to keep its list open. HUD guidance under 24 CFR 982.206 lets a PHA close the list when it has more applicants than it can house in a reasonable time. [2]
Check the source, not a middleman. The only reliable way to know the current status is SNRHA's official site at snrha.org or a call to (702) 451-8041. Third-party sites that claim to show live waitlist status are often weeks or months out of date. If the list is closed, the broader roundup of open Section 8 waiting lists can help you find a PHA within porting distance.
When the list does open, SNRHA usually announces it through local media, the Nevada Housing Division site, and its own page. Past openings used lottery-based selection rather than first-come-first-served, which means applying in the first minute is no better than applying on the last day of the window. Confirm with SNRHA whether that still holds.
Who is eligible to apply for SNRHA housing assistance?
Eligibility follows HUD's standard framework for the Section 8 program, plus a few SNRHA-specific preferences.
Income limits are where it starts. A household must earn at or below 50% of Area Median Income for Clark County. HUD sets these limits every year. For 2024, the 50% AMI limit for a family of four in the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise metro was $40,550. HUD requires PHAs to reserve 75% of new vouchers for households at or below 30% AMI, the "extremely low income" threshold, which was $24,350 for a family of four in the same area that year. [3]
Other federal rules apply. At least one household member must be a U.S. citizen or have eligible immigration status. Households with members who have certain drug-related or violent convictions can be denied. Sex offenders subject to lifetime registration are barred entirely under 42 U.S.C. § 13663. [4]
SNRHA layers on local preferences that can move some applicants up the list, including veterans, people who work or train in the jurisdiction, and households displaced by government action. A preference doesn't change the income limit. It only affects where you land in line once you qualify.
How do you actually apply when SNRHA opens its waitlist?
SNRHA takes applications online now. When the list opens, you apply through the portal at snrha.org. Have the basics ready: names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, addresses for the past several years, income documentation, and immigration status documents for any non-citizen members.
Don't pay anyone to submit your application. SNRHA charges no application fee, and anyone asking for money to "get you on the list faster" is running a scam. Keep your confirmation number. It's your only proof you applied until SNRHA contacts you.
Apply to more than one place. Being on the SNRHA list doesn't stop you from applying to other PHAs at the same time. Clark County rents are high, and plenty of families get help faster through a neighboring jurisdiction, then port the voucher back once it's absorbed. Just know that porting usually requires 12 months of lease-up in the issuing jurisdiction first, per 24 CFR 982.353. [2]
What are SNRHA's current payment standards?
A payment standard is the most subsidy SNRHA will pay toward rent plus utilities for a given bedroom size. Standards are built on HUD's published Fair Market Rents for the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise HUD Metro FMR Area. A PHA can set its own standard between 90% and 110% of the FMR, or ask HUD for approval to go higher. [5]
HUD's published FMRs for the Las Vegas area for FY2025 were:
| Bedroom size | HUD FMR (FY2025) |
|---|---|
| 0-BR (studio) | $1,140 |
| 1-BR | $1,323 |
| 2-BR | $1,632 |
| 3-BR | $2,219 |
| 4-BR | $2,659 |
SNRHA's actual payment standards can differ from these FMR numbers because the authority sets its own figure inside the allowable band. Check snrha.org or call the office for the current adopted standard. It can change every year. [6]
The payment standard is a ceiling, not the rent you pay. Your actual rent can run higher than the standard, but you cover the gap out of pocket on top of your normal share. At initial lease-up, a tenant whose share (including any overage above the payment standard) tops 40% of adjusted monthly income can't be approved for that unit, per 24 CFR 982.508. [2]
How does SNRHA calculate a tenant's rent share?
SNRHA figures Total Tenant Payment as the highest of three numbers: 30% of monthly adjusted income, 10% of monthly gross income, or the welfare rent if it applies. It then subtracts that TTP from the gross rent (rent to owner plus any tenant-paid utilities) up to the payment standard. The leftover is the Housing Assistance Payment SNRHA sends the landlord. [1]
Here's the math on a real case. A unit rents for $1,500 a month, and the 2-bedroom payment standard is $1,550, so the gross rent counts as within standard. A family with $2,000 in adjusted monthly income has a TTP of $600, which is 30%. SNRHA pays $900 to the landlord, and the tenant pays $600 directly to the landlord.
Utility allowances matter too. If the tenant pays utilities directly instead of the landlord, SNRHA subtracts a utility allowance from the tenant's share to cover those costs. SNRHA publishes its allowance schedule, and it varies by unit type and heating source. Tenants in very efficient units, or with lower actual utility bills, can sometimes keep the difference as a monthly utility reimbursement.
Recertifications reset TTP each year. Income goes up, your share goes up. Income drops and you report it promptly, your share can drop mid-year.
What do landlords need to do to accept an SNRHA voucher?
Accepting a rental assistance voucher through SNRHA takes a few specific steps, and the timeline matters because vouchers expire.
The unit has to pass a Housing Quality Standards inspection before SNRHA will sign a Housing Assistance Payments contract. HQS is HUD's baseline standard covering 13 areas, including sanitation, heating, structural condition, and security. SNRHA runs the inspection and the landlord doesn't pay for it. Fail, and the landlord gets a chance to fix the problems, but the clock on the tenant's voucher keeps running. [7]
Next, the landlord submits a Request for Tenancy Approval with the proposed rent. SNRHA checks whether that rent is reasonable against comparable unassisted units nearby, a requirement under 24 CFR 982.507. If the rent sits above what comparables support, SNRHA negotiates it down or the tenant finds another unit. [2]
Once the HAP contract is signed, SNRHA pays the landlord's portion directly, usually on the first of the month. The landlord still collects the tenant's share on their own.
A few things trip landlords up. You can't charge a Section 8 tenant a bigger security deposit than you'd charge an unassisted tenant for the same unit. The HAP contract runs alongside your lease but stays separate from it. If the tenant breaks the lease, you go through normal Nevada eviction procedures yourself. SNRHA does not evict for you. If you're just starting out with vouchers, VoucherReady's landlord kit walks through the RFTA, the HAP contract, and the inspection checklist in one place.
Nevada has no source-of-income protection law at the state level as of mid-2026, so landlords in Clark County generally aren't required to take vouchers. Many take them anyway, because the government portion shows up reliably. [8]
How long does the SNRHA inspection process take?
Plan on two to four weeks. Inspection scheduling at SNRHA has historically run that long from the time the RFTA is submitted, though it swings with caseload and stretches out during busy stretches. Under the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act, HUD requires initial inspections within a reasonable timeframe, and the 2024 HUD final rule on HQS modernization pushed PHAs toward faster turnarounds. The exact clock is set by each PHA. [9]
If a unit fails its first inspection, the landlord fixes the deficiencies and asks for a reinspection, which usually runs one to two weeks. This is where the voucher clock bites. Vouchers are typically issued for 60 days, with extensions possible at SNRHA's discretion. A fail-then-reinspect cycle that eats too much time can cost the tenant the voucher.
Landlords cut delays by self-checking before the inspector shows up. Common HQS failure points: missing or dead smoke detectors, broken window locks, missing outlet covers, hot water below 110°F, and signs of pests. None of these take long to fix. They just need to be caught first.
Can you port a voucher to or from SNRHA's jurisdiction?
Yes. Portability under 24 CFR 982.353 lets voucher holders move their assistance to any part of the country where a PHA runs the voucher program. If you hold a voucher from another PHA and want to move to Henderson, North Las Vegas, or unincorporated Clark County, you port your voucher to SNRHA as the "receiving PHA." [2]
To port in, your first PHA must have issued your voucher and you must have met the 12-month lease requirement (or qualify for an exception, such as escaping domestic violence). You notify your current PHA that you want to move to SNRHA's area, and the issuing PHA contacts SNRHA to set up the transfer. SNRHA can absorb the voucher into its own program or administer it on the issuing PHA's behalf, which is called billing.
Porting out runs the same way in reverse. Hold an SNRHA voucher and want to move to Reno or Phoenix? Notify SNRHA, and they contact the receiving PHA.
Two warnings worth reading twice. The Las Vegas market is tight, so if you port in from a lower-cost area, your voucher's payment standard may not cover comparable rents in Henderson or North Las Vegas. The section 8 houses for rent market in Clark County is competitive, and voucher holders often need the full 60 to 90 day search period. And SNRHA holders porting out sometimes lose their footing in the local support network. Weigh that against any savings elsewhere.
What happens at SNRHA annual recertification?
Once a year, every 12 months, SNRHA requires participating families to recertify their eligibility. You submit updated income documentation, report any household composition changes, and disclose changes in assets. SNRHA uses that to recalculate TTP and set a new HAP amount for the landlord.
Missing the deadline is one of the most common ways families lose a voucher. SNRHA mails notices to the address on file, so if you've moved (even temporarily) and haven't updated your address, the notice may never reach you in time. Update your address with SNRHA the moment you move, not whenever the next lease gets signed.
Interim recertifications exist too, and they're sometimes required. If your household income drops by more than 10%, you can request an interim recertification to lower your rent share right away instead of waiting for the annual renewal. Do it. Plenty of families leave money on the table by skipping this. Report the change in writing and keep a copy.
Under its 2024 HOTMA implementation guidance, HUD pushed PHAs toward triennial recertifications for fixed-income households to cut paperwork, but each PHA sets its own policy within HUD's rules. [9]
What other housing programs does SNRHA run besides Section 8?
SNRHA runs several programs beyond the core voucher and Section 8 program.
Public housing. SNRHA manages a modest set of public housing units where rent is a straight percentage of income and the authority is the landlord. These aren't vouchers. You live in an SNRHA-owned property rather than renting privately.
Emergency Housing Vouchers. Under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, HUD allocated roughly 70,000 EHVs nationally to house people experiencing homelessness, fleeing domestic violence, or at risk of homelessness. Clark County's PHAs got a portion. EHVs work like standard vouchers but target specific populations and usually come through a Continuum of Care referral rather than the general waitlist. [10]
Homeownership Voucher program. Voucher holders who've kept a voucher for at least a year and meet income and employment rules can put their voucher toward a mortgage payment instead of rent. SNRHA has offered this, but slots are limited. Contact the agency for current status.
For seniors, SNRHA's territory overlaps with several HUD Section 202 supportive housing properties in Clark County. Those aren't run by SNRHA, but they're worth knowing about, and you can find them through HUD's housing search tool. Low income senior housing options in the area reach well past SNRHA's own portfolio.
How does SNRHA compare to the Las Vegas Housing Authority?
This mix-up costs people time, and the fix is simple: it comes down to your address.
| SNRHA | Las Vegas Housing Authority | |
|---|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Henderson, North Las Vegas, Boulder City, Mesquite, unincorporated Clark County | City of Las Vegas only |
| Phone | (702) 451-8041 | (702) 229-6240 |
| Website | snrha.org | lasvegasnevada.gov |
| Typical voucher count | ~10,000-12,000 (approximate) | ~5,000-7,000 (approximate) |
Address inside the city of Las Vegas? Go to the Las Vegas Housing Authority. Anywhere else in Clark County? That's SNRHA. City and county boundaries out here aren't intuitive, and plenty of addresses that feel like "Las Vegas" sit legally in unincorporated Clark County, which puts them under SNRHA. Use the official Clark County address lookup at clarkcountynv.gov to confirm before you call anyone. [11]
Both agencies have kept long, closed waitlists for years. That's the norm, not a local failure. HUD data shows demand for rental assistance nationwide outruns supply by roughly 5 to 1 for extremely low income renters. The Urban Institute estimated in 2023 that only about 1 in 4 eligible households nationally gets any federal rental assistance. [12]
For landlords, the agency you work with is decided entirely by where the property sits. You can't choose SNRHA for a property inside Las Vegas city limits. The voucher holder's PHA sets which HAP contract you sign.
Where can tenants and landlords find help beyond SNRHA's office?
SNRHA's office gets overloaded. A few reliable backups:
Nevada Housing Division (housing.nv.gov). The state-level agency that tracks PHA waitlist openings across Nevada and coordinates some emergency rental assistance programs. When SNRHA's list opens, the Nevada Housing Division often posts it. [13]
HUD's Office of Public and Indian Housing. If you think SNRHA made an error in your case, HUD's grievance process under 24 CFR Part 982 Subpart J gives tenants the right to an informal hearing. Request it in writing within the window SNRHA names in its notice, usually 10 to 14 days. [1]
Clark County Social Service. Runs short-term rental assistance separate from Section 8, for households not yet on a voucher program or in a bridging spot.
Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada (lacsn.org). Free legal help on housing matters, including wrongful termination of vouchers, eviction defense, and reasonable accommodation requests. If SNRHA terminates your assistance and you think it's a mistake, call them first.
VoucherReady's tenant tools track payment standard changes and prep your paperwork before the voucher expires, so you're not scrambling during the 60-day search window.
For landlords new to the program, the housing authority side can feel bureaucratic at first. The HUD landlord resource page at hud.gov has the standard HQS checklist and the model HAP contract language, so you know what you're signing before you sign it. hud housing rules don't vary much between PHAs once you've read the federal framework.
Frequently asked questions
Is the SNRHA waitlist the same as the Las Vegas Housing Authority waitlist?
No. They're separate agencies covering different parts of Clark County. SNRHA covers Henderson, North Las Vegas, Boulder City, Mesquite, and unincorporated Clark County. The City of Las Vegas has its own housing authority. Applying to one does not put you on the other's list. Check your address at clarkcountynv.gov to confirm which agency serves your location before you apply.
How long is the wait for a Section 8 voucher through SNRHA?
Nobody has reliable current data on SNRHA's exact wait, because the list has been closed for long stretches. When it has been open in past years, households have reported waits of three to seven years before getting a voucher. Extremely low income households with a local preference may move faster. The only way to get a current estimate is to call SNRHA at (702) 451-8041.
What documents do I need to apply to SNRHA?
You typically need Social Security numbers and dates of birth for all household members, proof of citizenship or eligible immigration status, current income documentation (pay stubs, benefit award letters), addresses for the past five years, and contact information for references. SNRHA may ask for more verification during the full eligibility intake after you reach the top of the list. Requirements change, so confirm the current list at snrha.org when you apply.
Can a landlord refuse to rent to someone with an SNRHA voucher in Nevada?
As of mid-2026, Nevada has no statewide source-of-income protection law, so landlords in Clark County can legally decline voucher holders in most cases. Some local ordinances may apply, so check Clark County or Henderson city codes for any local rules. HUD still prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, and familial status under the Fair Housing Act, voucher or not.
What are the income limits for SNRHA in 2025?
HUD sets income limits every year for the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise metro. For 2024, the 50% AMI limit (the standard eligibility cutoff) was $40,550 for a family of four, and the 30% AMI extremely low income threshold was $24,350 for a family of four. Limits change with household size. Check HUD's income limit dataset at huduser.gov for the current year's figures, which update each spring.
How do I request a reasonable accommodation from SNRHA if I have a disability?
Put your request in writing to SNRHA, spelling out what accommodation you need and how it connects to your disability. You don't have to disclose your diagnosis, only the functional limitation. SNRHA must go through an interactive process under the Fair Housing Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Common accommodations include extra voucher search time, accessible unit modifications, and changes to communication formats.
What happens if my SNRHA landlord sells the property I am renting?
The HAP contract doesn't automatically transfer to a new owner. The new owner has to sign a fresh HAP contract with SNRHA to keep the assistance payments coming. Your right to stay during your lease term is protected by the lease, not the HAP contract. If the new owner doesn't want to participate, they can decline to renew your lease at the end of the term, following Nevada eviction law.
Can I use an SNRHA voucher to buy a home?
Yes, in limited cases. SNRHA has offered a Homeownership Voucher program letting families who've held a voucher for at least 12 months, meet minimum income and employment requirements, and finish a homebuyer education course put their voucher assistance toward a mortgage payment instead of rent. Slots are limited and the program isn't always active. Contact SNRHA directly to ask about current availability.
How does the SNRHA utility allowance work?
When a tenant pays utilities directly instead of having them bundled into rent, SNRHA subtracts a utility allowance from the tenant's Total Tenant Payment to cover those costs. The allowance varies by unit type, bedroom count, and utility type (gas heat versus electric, for example). SNRHA publishes its schedule. If your actual utility costs come in below the allowance, the difference can come back to you as a monthly utility reimbursement check.
What can cause SNRHA to terminate a tenant's voucher?
Common reasons: failing to report income or household changes accurately, serious or repeated lease violations, drug-related or violent criminal activity in the voucher household, missing annual recertification, and failing to find a unit within the voucher's search period without an extension. You have the right to request an informal hearing before termination takes effect if you dispute the grounds.
How does SNRHA determine if a rent is reasonable?
SNRHA compares your proposed rent to rents for comparable unassisted units in the same market area, weighing location, size, amenities, and condition. This rent reasonableness check is required under 24 CFR 982.507. If SNRHA finds the rent above market comparables, it either negotiates a lower rent with the landlord or the tenant finds a different unit. The process can add one to two weeks to lease-up.
Does SNRHA have any preference for veterans?
SNRHA has historically included a local preference for veterans and active military families, moving qualifying applicants higher on the list than those without a preference. Beyond SNRHA, HUD's HUD-VASH program provides dedicated vouchers for homeless veterans in partnership with the VA. In Clark County, the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System coordinates HUD-VASH referrals, and those vouchers flow through regional PHAs including SNRHA.
Can I port my SNRHA voucher to another state?
Yes. After 12 months of lease-up under an SNRHA voucher (with limited exceptions), you can request portability to any PHA in the country under 24 CFR 982.353. Notify SNRHA in writing, name the area you want to move to, and SNRHA contacts the receiving PHA to arrange the transfer. The receiving PHA may absorb your voucher or bill SNRHA for it. Payment standards in the new jurisdiction apply once you move, which can mean a higher or lower subsidy.
Sources
- HUD, 24 CFR Part 982 - Section 8 Tenant-Based Assistance: Housing Choice Voucher Program: HCV program structure, HAP payment rules, TTP calculation methodology
- HUD, FY2024 Income Limits for the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV HUD Metro FMR Area: 50% AMI for family of four in Las Vegas metro was $40,550; 30% AMI was $24,350 for FY2024
- 42 U.S.C. § 13663 - Ineligibility of dangerous sex offenders for admission to public housing: Lifetime sex offender registrants are barred from federally assisted housing
- HUD, FY2025 Fair Market Rents for the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV HUD Metro FMR Area: FY2025 FMRs: 0-BR $1,140; 1-BR $1,323; 2-BR $1,632; 3-BR $2,219; 4-BR $2,659
- National Conference of State Legislatures, Source of Income Discrimination Laws: Nevada does not have a statewide source-of-income protection law as of 2025
- Clark County Nevada, Official Address and Jurisdiction Lookup: Many addresses that appear to be Las Vegas are legally unincorporated Clark County, falling under SNRHA jurisdiction
- Urban Institute, Rental Assistance Gap Analysis, 2023: Only about 1 in 4 eligible households nationally receives any federal rental assistance; demand exceeds supply roughly 5 to 1 for extremely low income renters
- Nevada Housing Division, State of Nevada Department of Business and Industry: Nevada Housing Division tracks PHA waitlist openings statewide and coordinates emergency rental assistance programs