FAQs

I have a Section 8 voucher and want to transfer my assistance to Oceanside.

Transfer Procedures (Also known as Portability)

This section is for families who receive their vouchers through one housing agency and wish to transfer their voucher to another housing agency. Unfortunately, we cannot accept a transfer to our jurisdiction unless we receive a portability packet from the initial housing agency. The initial housing agency should mail or fax the portability packet to our agency at the following address:

City of Oceanside Housing and Neighborhood Services
Attn: Portability
300 North Coast Highway
Oceanside, CA 92054
Fax (760) 757-9076

Processing time is 14-30 days. It is important that the family have sufficient resources, including a place to stay and available funds to pay for temporary housing and other expenses, to carry them through the processing period. We do not have emergency assistance. Since the policies and procedures of the receiving housing agency apply, some of the policies a transferring family should be aware of include:

• We research criminal history of all incoming transfers and will not process the transfer if anyone in the household has engaged in certain criminal activities, including violent and drug-related criminal offenses
• We may reduce the voucher size
• Our payment standards may be lower
• For an admission at the initial housing agency, the family income may exceed our income limits, and the family may be ineligible for assistance at our agency

There are five other housing agencies in San Diego County. We do not serve the following cities, and if you want to move to those cities, you must contact them directly:

1. San Diego County Housing Authority - Includes the unincorporated areas of the county and the cities of Chula Vista, Coronado, Del Mar, El Cajon, Escondido, Imperial Beach, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, Poway, San Marcos, Santee, Solana Beach and Vista.
   (858) 694-4831
2. Encinitas Housing Authority - Includes Cardiff
   (760) 633-2723
3. Carlsbad Housing Authority
   (760) 434-2810
4. National City Housing Authority
   (619) 336-4263
5. San Diego Housing Commission - Includes San Ysidro
   (619) 231-9400

If you are moving outside of San Diego County and do not know the address for the Housing Authority in the area you are moving to, this link may help you: http://www.affordablehousingonline.com/housingauthoritysearch.asp

It will be necessary to provide the following information at your interview:

1. Current proof of income (pay stubs, award letter for Social Security benefits, Unemployment, Child Support, CalWorks, etc.)
2. Current proof of any asset (all pages of current bank statements, trust funds, life insurance, etc.)
3. Birth certificates and social security cards for all household members
4. Picture identification for all adults
5. Legal immigration documents for all household members (if applicable)

The interview/briefing is very important. You will need to attend and provide all the necessary verifications requested before we can approve you for assistance. We require all household members 18 years or older to attend the interview and show their picture identifications. We cannot process the transfer until the family attends the interview. Failure to attend the interview may be grounds for denial/termination of assistance. After the interview, we will issue a voucher and a Request for Tenancy Approval (RFTA) form. We must receive the RFTA on or before the date the voucher expires. We cannot process the RFTA until the family passes the criminal history verification, and the unit selected must be rent-reasonable and affordable. After we approve the RFTA, we will schedule an inspection. Assistance will begin only after the unit passes an inspection, and the landlord enters into a lease with the family and signs our Housing Assistance Payment Contract.