To use the PBV right to move, request continued assistance from your public housing agency (PHA) before giving the owner ordinary lease-termination notice. Completing one year of project-based voucher assistance gives qualifying households an opportunity for continued tenant-based rental assistance; it does not automatically deliver a portable voucher. If assistance is unavailable, the PHA must give you priority for the next available opportunity. 24 CFR 983.261

This guide covers standard, non-RAD PBV assistance as of October 13, 2026. Moves involving domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking have separate protections described below.

Confirm your program and the year that counts

Ask the PHA whether your assistance is PBV, project-based rental assistance (PBRA), or public housing, and whether your property converted through the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD). RAD has additional program-specific requirements, so the ordinary PBV moving rule should not be applied across every subsidized property. HUD’s RAD guidance explains its separate framework; our housing assistance programs coverage provides broader context.

For ordinary PBV, HUD’s final rule, published May 7, 2024, measures the qualifying year by total time receiving PBV assistance, rather than time in a particular apartment. A lease anniversary alone therefore cannot establish eligibility. Ask the PHA to confirm the assistance dates it has counted. HUD’s explanation, Federal Register page 38283

As a hypothetical example, suppose you have lived in an apartment for 18 months, but PBV assistance began only six months ago. Those facts alone do not establish a year of PBV assistance. Conversely, a new lease does not by itself restart the assistance clock.

Once the qualifying year is complete, section 983.261(a) permits termination at any time with the required notice; it does not restrict the right to the next lease anniversary. The ordinary notice must be written, comply with the lease, and go to the owner with a copy to the PHA. The adopted rule, page 38335

Request assistance before giving notice

Follow the contact procedure in the PHA’s Administrative Plan to request a voucher or comparable tenant-based rental assistance. Tell the agency that you want to move with continued assistance under section 983.261. Keep a dated copy or receipt, and ask the agency to acknowledge your request.

Section 983.261 requires contact before ordinary lease-termination notice but does not prescribe one nationwide request form. The PHA must describe its contact procedure and how it records households waiting for assistance in its Administrative Plan. If you start by speaking with the property manager, follow through with a documented request to the PHA. Request requirements

An outdated plan does not postpone the federal requirement. HUD’s June 5, 2024 implementation notice states that section 983.261 required operational compliance on June 6, 2024, even though agencies had until June 6, 2025 to update existing Administrative Plans. Notice PIH 2024-19, pages 5–6

If assistance is unavailable, confirm your waiting status

The PHA must give an eligible household priority for the next available opportunity for continued tenant-based assistance. That priority does not establish an issuance date or pay rent at a new home while you wait. The agency’s plan must also identify whether it offers Housing Choice Vouchers or other comparable tenant-based assistance. Section 983.261(b)–(c)

HUD’s Notice PIH 2026-12, Revision 2, issued June 9, 2026, states that PHAs in a confirmed funding shortfall have no vouchers available for ordinary section 983.261 moves. Separate exceptions allow issuance for qualifying disability accommodations and emergency transfers involving violence or stalking. HUD’s shortfall requirements, Appendix B, section D

Before choosing a departure date, ask whether assistance is available now or your request is waiting. Keeping your existing tenancy in place while waiting may reduce the risk of a rent gap. If you intend to leave before issuance, obtain the PHA’s written explanation of your request’s status and what assistance, if any, will be available after departure.

Keep records of the request, issuance and lease notice

Ask for the following records as each stage occurs. These are practical documentation requests; the federal rule does not require a separate letter for every item.

Plan separately for the security deposit, moving expenses and any rent overlap. Ask whether help with those costs is available before committing money. Our practical renting guides cover related lease and move-out questions.

Understand early departure and an expired search term

If you terminate the assisted lease before completing one year of PBV assistance, you relinquish the opportunity for continued tenant-based assistance under this section. That consequence applies to this moving benefit; it does not mean you can never receive housing assistance again. Emergency-transfer provisions require separate consideration. Section 983.261(d)–(f)

After voucher issuance, track the search deadline. If the search term expires, the PHA must issue the voucher to the next eligible household. HUD explains that this happens before another voucher is issued to the household whose search expired. Do not assume an automatic replacement. HUD’s explanation, page 38242, and section 983.261(b)

Request any needed extension before your deadline and obtain the decision in writing. If you have already given move-out notice, ask the owner and PHA whether you can remain and on what terms while you resolve the search.

Emergency transfers have different notice protections

The ordinary advance-notice sequence has specific exceptions under the Violence Against Women Act protections incorporated into section 983.261(e). Advance owner notice and contact with the PHA before leaving are not required when either of these circumstances applies:

• A household member is or has been a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking, and the move is needed to protect the household’s or member’s health or safety.
• A household member experienced sexual assault on the premises during the 90 calendar days before the household’s request to move.

The PHA may not terminate assistance because of a move under those circumstances. It must offer the opportunity for continued tenant-based assistance when the household had received at least one year of PBV assistance before moving. Notice exclusions, section 983.261(e)

Households with less than a year of PBV assistance still fall within the PHA’s emergency-transfer planning obligations. That does not automatically waive the one-year condition for the ordinary moving benefit. Ask for the agency’s Emergency Transfer Plan and the options available in your circumstances. Section 983.261(f) and HUD’s explanation on page 38283

If the PHA disputes your eligibility or notice rights, request its reasons in writing and consult a local legal-aid attorney before relying on an ordinary move-out timetable.