Affordable & Section 8 Housing in San Antonio, TX

San Antonio has 114 apartment communities in this directory that offer affordable rents, income-restricted units, or accept Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8). These properties range from small privately owned complexes with a handful of voucher-accepted units to larger tax-credit (LIHTC) developments built specifically for households at or below a set income limit. Some are managed directly by the San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA) or its partners, while others are private owners who choose to participate in the voucher program.

Affordable housing generally works one of two ways. With a Housing Choice Voucher, you pay roughly 30% of your household income toward rent and the voucher covers the rest, up to a payment standard set by SAHA. With income-restricted (tax-credit) units, rent is fixed below market rate and your household income has to fall under a percentage of the area median income to qualify, regardless of whether you have a voucher. A single property can offer both types of units, so it's worth asking directly what a listing actually offers rather than assuming.

Before applying anywhere, check a few things: whether the property currently has a waitlist and how long it typically runs, whether the unit has passed a Housing Quality Standards (HQS) inspection if you're using a voucher, what utilities are included in rent, and whether the complex has a history of maintenance complaints or code violations. Ask to see the unit in person, not just a model unit, since condition varies a lot between buildings even at the same property.

Our rankings in the best apartment complexes guide weigh factors like maintenance responsiveness, management communication, and resident feedback over time, not just star averages. The full scoring breakdown is on our methodology page if you want to see exactly how we compare properties.