HUD Announces New Vouchers, Rules, and Flexibilities
In the last month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) made several announcements related to housing vouchers and public housing.
On Monday, HUD announced a new flexibility that communities with significant or rising rates of homelessness can use to speed up the time it takes for people experiencing homelessness to move into stable homes using the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program. Housing agencies can now request to accept self-certification of income to determine program eligibility for people experiencing homelessness. (Agencies must then verify tenants’ eligibility within 90 days after they begin receiving assistance.)
On Tuesday, the federal agency invested $30 billion in renewal funding for the HCV Program, which has seen a $2 billion increase since last year.
HUD also made available an additional $12.7 million in Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) Initiative funding to prevent and end youth homelessness. FYI provides housing vouchers to 18- to 24-year-olds who left foster care or will leave foster care in the next 90 days and are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The application deadline is June 17 for public housing authorities (PHAs).
Last week, the federal agency published a new rule that increases efficiency and creates opportunities for housing providers to preserve and increase the supply of affordable housing. The rule effectively implements portions of the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016, making important enhancements and reducing barriers in the HCV and Project-Based Voucher (PBV) programs.
And in April, HUD awarded $3.17 billion in Public Housing Repair funds to 2,756 PHAs, which can use this money for the development, financing, modernization, and management improvements of public housing developments.