HUD Revitalizes Housing Voucher Program

This Rule increases efficiency and creates opportunities for housing providers to preserve and grow the supply of affordable housing.

WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the publication of a new rule implementing portions of the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA). Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing Richard J. Monocchio made the announcement in DeKalb County, Georgia.

“HUD is meeting the moment to address the Nation’s affordable housing supply shortage. This Final Rule comprehensively modernizes our voucher programs to meet the needs of housing providers and deliver greater support for tenants,” said HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman. “This effort represents collaboration between HUD and our stakeholders to build more affordable housing and make existing housing more affordable.”

The Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) and Project Based Voucher (PBV) programs help communities preserve and expand the supply of affordable housing for low-income families and streamline and accelerate processes to reduce the regulatory burdens on Public Housing Agencies (PHAs). These programs supply PHAs with the necessary tools to support activities that both preserve and expand the supply of affordable housing.

“These policy reforms help preserve and expand housing supply in our communities by making development actions easier and more flexible for housing agencies,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing, Richard J. Monocchio. “It also lays the groundwork for long-term improvements in our most vital programs, which ultimately benefit residents and the broader community.”

The HOTMA Final Rule makes important enhancements and reduces barriers in the HCV and PBV Program, which has become a vital strategy for communities to increase the supply of affordable housing. PHAs can choose to tie long term federal PBV rental assistance to specific units or developments rather than to a tenant. Project owners can secure additional private and public financing by leveraging the PBV assistance.

The rule aligns with and supports emerging National and local strategies to rapidly increase affordable housing supply while ensuring families are able to successfully lease a decent, safe and sanitary unit with tenant based or project-based voucher assistance. Among other significant updates, these new policies:

• Allow for PBV assistance to be paired with manufactured housing
• Establish local project-specific waiting lists to help families move into units more quickly
• Codify important tenant protections for families in the areas of inspections and property and contract dispositions
• Ensure families are able to find units in the local rental markets by providing PHAs additional flexibilities to increase rents.