Voucher-Friendly Housing in St. Louis

SLHA serves the city of St. Louis, operating public and mixed-income housing communities — such as Clinton-Peabody, Cambridge Heights, Renaissance Place, and Parkview Apartments — along with the Housing Choice Voucher program. Rent in SLHA public housing is income-based, set at roughly 30% of adjusted household income.

SLHA maintains waitlists for public housing and the Housing Choice Voucher program, applied for online through its RentCafe portal at slha.org. Waitlists open and close periodically; some site-based and voucher lists are often closed, while an elderly-only list may stay open. Check current status with SLHA before applying, and never pay to apply.

St. Louis renters lost source-of-income protection in 2025. The city previously had an ordinance barring landlords from refusing a tenant based on a lawful source of income such as a Housing Choice Voucher, but Missouri House Bill 595 — signed in July 2025 — preempts and nullifies those local ordinances statewide and expressly allows landlords to decline Section 8 vouchers. In practice this means a private landlord in St. Louis may now legally refuse your voucher, and Missouri has no statewide protection to fall back on. Federal Fair Housing protections still apply: a landlord may not refuse you based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability. Because this area of law has changed recently, it is worth confirming the current situation with a St. Louis legal aid provider.

Apply through the St. Louis Housing Authority (SLHA) at slha.org (online RentCafe portal) when waitlists are open. Rent is based on income (about 30% of adjusted household income); eligibility is generally limited to households at or below local income limits. Call SLHA at (314) 531-4770. Applications are free — never pay to apply.