HAP payment (housing assistance payment)
A housing assistance payment (HAP) is the subsidy portion of rent that a public housing agency (PHA) pays directly to the landlord under the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program. The tenant pays their share, the housing authority pays the rest, and the two together make up the contract rent set in the HAP contract.
How HAP payments arrive
- The PHA typically pays monthly by direct deposit.
- One deposit often covers many tenants and properties in a single lump sum.
- The accompanying statement lists each tenant’s subsidy, and amounts change when the PHA adjusts a tenant’s share.
- The PHA can also recoup a prior overpayment by shorting a later deposit.
The bookkeeping problem is splitting each lump deposit back into per-tenant, per-property rent and handling the adjustments. AXYS reads the housing authority statement, matches each line to the right tenant and lease, and posts the split automatically, including partial recoupments against earlier months. See Section 8 HAP statements.
Who pays what under Section 8?
The tenant pays a share based on their income (generally around 30 percent of adjusted monthly income), and the housing authority pays the remainder of the contract rent directly to the landlord as the HAP.
Can a HAP payment change month to month?
Yes. The PHA recalculates the tenant’s share when income or household circumstances change, and it can offset a prior overpayment against a later deposit.
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