Subsidized housing is not one program but a family of programs with different rules, different landlords, and different ways to lose. This article explains what a housing choice voucher actually is, why the waiting list works the way it does, how the rent is computed from adjusted income rather than from the apartment, and what the payment standard does when the market rent is higher. It then walks through the four ways a household loses assistance — income and reporting errors, the annual recertification, a lease violation the housing authority treats as a program violation, and the criminal-activity rules — and explains the hearing rights attached to each. Along the way it takes apart the myths that do the most damage: that a voucher is a guarantee, that the housing authority is the landlord, that a rent increase must be accepted, and that a termination notice is the end of the matter. Real numbers and worked examples run throughout. Primary authorities are linked to their text so a reader can check every claim. The audience is both the household holding the voucher and the lawyer, advocate, or landlord on the other side of the table.