How Do I Record Section 8 (HUD) Payments?

Tanner C.
  • Updated

Hemlane makes it easy to stay organized when rent payments come from multiple sources, such as a combination of direct tenant payments and subsidies from Section 8 (HUD). By tracking both transactions separately under Financials, you can maintain an accurate financial record within the platform.

 

Recommended Setup: Split Rent Into Two Requests

To clearly track payments from both HUD and the tenant, we recommend creating two separate rent requests:

  • One for the offline portion paid by HUD
  • One for the online portion paid by the tenant

This separation ensures transparency and accuracy when reconciling rent collections.

 

Step 1: Add HUD as a Co-Tenant (Tracking-Only)

Start by adding your actual tenant to the lease as you normally would. Then follow these steps to track HUD’s payments:

  1. Navigate to Tenants and Leases.
  2. Add a second tracking-only tenant to the group to represent HUD. A tracking-only tenant is simply a tenant without an email address.
  3. This co-tenant allows you to log HUD payments without sending any communication to them.

Need help adding a tenant without an invitation? Check out our article: How do I add a tenant without inviting them to sign up on Hemlane?

 

Step 2: Track HUD (Section 8) Payments

Once HUD is set up as a co-tenant, you can record their payment:

  1. Go to the Financials tab in the left-hand menu.
  2. Click Track Offline Transactions to log a payment made outside Hemlane.
  3. Select Extended Form at the top of the page.
  4. Fill in the payment details, making sure the amount reflects only what HUD is paying.

Pro Tip: If HUD’s payments are consistent, enter the amount due and amount paid as equal. This automatically marks the transaction as paid, saving you time on manual updates.

 

Step 3: Request the Tenant’s Share of Rent

Now that HUD’s portion is recorded, request the tenant’s portion through Hemlane:

  1. Go to the Financials tab.
  2. Click Request Money.
  3. Complete the payment request form with just the tenant portion.
  4. Review and click Request to send it.

The tenant will receive an email notification and can pay using their linked bank account or credit card.

 

What Your Financials Tab Will Reflect

Your Financials tab will now show:

  • A recorded offline payment from HUD, via the tracking-only tenant
  • A payment request sent to the actual tenant

This setup allows for clean, organized records and minimizes administrative headaches, especially for subsidized housing scenarios.

 

Related Articles for Setup

To set up the HUD and tenant payment requests described above, these articles walk through each scenario:

One-time payments:

Recurring payments:

keywords: section 8, HUD

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