🏠 Housing Authority Mod — Public Housing & Section 8 for The Sims 4
Your Sims can finally apply for real subsidized housing. Housing Authority is a deep gameplay overhaul that adds a full public-housing system to The Sims 4. Apply through a Housing Authority Office, get processed by a Caseworker, wait on a lottery list, and live inside the real rules of the program: income-based rent, annual inspections, recertification, income reporting, warnings, and everything that comes with it.
🏢 The Office & Caseworkers — a rabbit-hole Housing Authority Office to visit, plus real Caseworker NPCs (red "CASEWORKER" title) who come to your lot to process your case in person.
📋 Applications & Eligibility — apply for Public Housing or a Housing Choice Voucher from your Sim's pie menu; income & household-size eligibility checks; required documents; approval/denial letters; and a one-time appeals process.
⏳ Waitlist & Lottery — a position-scaled waitlist, periodic weighted lottery, and emergency priority for homeless or near-broke households.
🔑 Public Housing — a unit sized to your family, income-based rent (30%), annual inspections & recertification, and transfers as your family changes.
🎟️ Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) — voucher amount by size + income, landlords who accept or deny, lease signing, move with your voucher (portability), and a voucher that grows/shrinks with your income. (Currently you stay on your lot so it's an honor system, but in the future there will be moving options.)
⚖️ Enforcement — income reporting deadlines, complaint inspections, warnings → benefit pause → termination, repayment plans (debt follows you), and reapply after a cooldown.
🚪 Leave anytime — walk away from the program whenever you want; regular Sims 4 bills return and all benefits/checkups stop.
🔧 Under the hood — no EA overrides (mod-friendly), regular utility bills auto-waived while housed, save data stored outside your save, and everything configurable.
Base game only — no packs required.
Enable Script Mods (Game Options → Other), then restart.
Drop the HousingAuthority files into Mods/ (script mods must be ≤1 folder deep).
Start: click a Sim → Housing Authority → Apply…
⌨️ Cheat Console Commands (Ctrl+Shift+C)
Status: housing.status · housing.status_app · housing.eligibility · housing.bills Apply/waitlist: housing.apply public · housing.apply voucher · housing.docs · housing.appeal · housing.withdraw · housing.lottery · housing.caseworker Public Housing: housing.movein · housing.rent · housing.inspect · housing.recert Vouchers: housing.voucher · housing.leaseup · housing.movevoucher · housing.voucher_recert In-program: housing.report · housing.income_check · housing.complaint · housing.leave Settings: housing.settings · housing.set <setting> <value> · housing.reset
Handy tunables: income_limit_base, rent_income_fraction, minimum_waitlist_days, voucher_landlord_accept_chance, warnings_before_termination, inspection_fail_chance.
▶️ Getting Started — a quick walkthrough
1. Apply. Click one of your Sims and open the Housing Authority menu. Choose Apply for Public Housing or Apply for Housing Choice Voucher. You'll get a letter listing the documents you need.
2. Submit your documents. Click your Sim → Housing Authority → Submit Documents. (Prefer roleplay? Choose Visit Housing Authority to handle it at the office, or use housing.caseworker to have a caseworker come to you and pick Meet with Caseworker.) Once your file is complete, the office checks your income — if eligible, you're placed on the waitlist.
3. Wait for the lottery. Check your spot with Housing Authority → Check Application Status. Selection happens by lottery over several days (longer if you're further down the list; much shorter with emergency priority). In a hurry? Type housing.lottery to draw right now.
4. Get housed. When selected, finish up via Housing Authority → Visit Housing Authority (or meet the caseworker):
Public Housing: you're assigned a unit + income-based rent. (Currently you stay on your lot so it's an honor system, but in the future there will be moving options.)
Voucher: your voucher is issued — then use Use Housing Voucher to find a landlord (they may decline; try again until one accepts and you sign a lease).
5. Live in the program. Rent is charged automatically and your normal utility bills are waived. Keep up with Report Income Change and the automatic annual inspections & recertification.
6. If things slip. Missed rent, failed inspections, or unreported income earn warnings → benefit pause → termination, with a repayment plan for anything owed.
7. Leaving. Housing Authority → Leave Housing Authority anytime — bills return, benefits stop, and you can reapply whenever.
💡 Tip: type housing.settings to see every option, then housing.set <option> <value> to tune the experience.